The Black World Lights Up the Big Screen

Published on www.VidaAfroLatina.com on November 25, 2008

People from all nationalities and backgrounds will come together to embrace the Black experience at the 16th Annual African Diaspora Film Festival (ADFF).

This 17-day event, held in New York from November 28 to December 14, presents a diverse mix of foreign and domestic independent films focused on the experience of people of African descent across the world. The festival will screen 88 titles representing 41 countries in six venues, including films from Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay. ADFF features the work of emerging and established filmmakers that illuminate the cultures of the African Diaspora.

“Gospel Hill,” the directorial debut of actor Giancarlo Esposito, will be this year’s ADFF Opening Night film. This romantic drama features a stellar cast that includes Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson, Julia Stiles, Adam Baldwin, RZA and Esposito himself. Esposito narrates a story of greed, jealousy and adultery that explores morality and the temptations of wealth.

Reinaldo Barroso-Spech, co-director of ADFF, created the film festival in November 1993 with his wife Diarah N’Daw-Spech, with the belief that education is power. Barroso-Spech, an Afro-Cuban, is a professor of foreign languages and Black literature at Columbia University. He recently shared a behind-the-scenes look at the festival with VidaAfroLatina.com.

VidaAfroLatina.com: Why did you create the film festival?

Barroso-Spech: When I walked into a classroom and the students were surprised that I speak Spanish the way I do [because I am Black], I decided that it was time to teach them.

VidaAfroLatina.com: What type of films does the festival showcase?

Barroso-Spech: The festival is an open window to many cultures of the world. We do not only deal with stories with African descendants, but also stories about indigenous people.

VidaAfroLatina.com: What is the concept of Black?

Barroso-Spech: The concept of Black is larger than we think about it in this country. For lack of a better word, we use the term of people of color. When we look at the human experience, we see that there is a common thread connecting their lives.

VidaAfroLatina.com: How do you prepare for the film festival?

Barroso-Spech: Sometimes we have the habit of watching and reading about these films all year long. We need to remember the quality of the films and how it fits into the topics.

VidaAfroLatina.com: What is the purpose of the film festival?

Barroso-Spech: We need to preserve our memory, because if we don’t we loose our identity. The festival is an opportunity to learn and teach people about the world.

VidaAfroLatina.com: How do you think Obama’s election will change the future of Black films?

Barroso-Spech: We hope that with the election of a president of obvious and undeniable African descent, it will be a new beginning to [bring] our films about the African Diaspora into the mainstream theaters. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I get the impression that we live in different parts of the world. If we want to be more open to the human experience of people of color in theaters, then I think we have a long way to go.

VidaAfroLatina.com: Why will the film festival open with “Gospel Hill”?

Barroso-Spech: “Gospel Hill” is a film that deals with the bourgeois and it has very good casting. A film with that type of casting, you can expect it to have high quality. It is a film that tells the story that we live in this country.

VidaAfroLatina.com: What other film would you recommend seeing?

Barroso-Spech: Everyone should go see “Made in Jamaica.” We are talking about a small island of less than 4 million people that has influenced the world with the phenomenon of reggae and Rasta.

For a complete schedule for the 16^th Annual New York African Diaspora Film Festival, please visit: www.NYADFF.org. You can contact ADFF at 212-864-1760 or info@nyadff.org.

Aisha Al-Muslim, a native of Panama City, is a graduate student at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. She can be reached at aalmuslim@aol.com.