![\"Penda](\"http:\/\/2015.africanfilmfestival.org\/files\/2009\/12\/penda-diakite-150x150.jpg\")
For our 23rd year, the Cascade Festival of African Films was thrilled to welcome three African filmmakers from very diverse backgrounds: Philippe Niang of Senegalese and French descent; Eliaichi Kimaro of Tanzanian and Korean descent; and local filmmaker and Malian-American, Penda Diakit\u00e9. Here is a summary of their exciting adventures during the festival:<\/p>\n
Seasoned filmmaker Philippe Niang joined us for opening night with his highly acclaimed film, Toussaint Louverture<\/i>. After the opening night post-film discussion, many collected at Caf\u00e9 Allora in the Pearl District for a special evening of great food, wine and conversation hosted by festival committee member, Mark Holman.<\/p>\n
While in Portland, Niang also visited students in a writing class at PCC Cascade, sharing his knowledge of Haitian history and slave uprisings. But that wasn\u2019t all; he also enjoyed snapping photos and shopping as well during his stay. Two local Ethiopian restaurants, E\u2019Njoni and Queen of Sheba, each welcomed Niang and the festival committee as we discussed film, history, and world affairs over sumptuous East African cuisine.<\/p>\n
The night before Niang flew home to Paris, he joined many Portlanders for an evening of wine and dancing at the Vie de Boehme wine bar, expressing to committee members how very much he loved the festival and that it was the most welcoming of any he\u2019d ever attended.<\/p>\n
Please\u00a0come to\u00a0an encore screening of Niang\u2019s film\u00a0<\/a>Toussaint Louverture<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>at PCC Cascade on September 14th.\u00a0The film\u00a0<\/i>will also be available through the PCC Library in early\u00a0fall 2014.<\/p>\n During Women Filmmakers Week, the festival was overjoyed to welcome both A Lot Like You <\/i>filmmaker, Eliaichi Kimaro, and Portland-based filmmaker of Tanti, <\/i>Penda Diakit\u00e9. CFAF committee members and friends dined with both filmmakers at Queen of Sheba where we discussed the similarities and differences of Kimaro\u2019s and Diakit\u00e9\u2019s experiences as African women living in America, and having been raised on both continents. Kimaro\u2019s A Lot Like You<\/i> matinee was highly attended; audiences were moved and captivated by her documentary narrative and the after-film discussion that explored women\u2019s rights in her family\u2019s Tanzanian villages. She wove the experiences of her Chagga aunts into her own story as a survivor of violence against women. A Lot Like You <\/i>is available through the PCC Library.<\/p>\n The largest audience of the entire festival came to see Portland\u2019s own Penda Diakit\u00e9 as she shared her film Tanti and The Neighborhood Kids: Winter Vacation<\/i> on the last documentary evening of the 23rd festival. While in town from film school at CalArts in Burbank, California, Penda also visited with high school students. She met with two sections of Chris Dreyer\u2019s Film Studies class at Grant High School, inspiring some to make their own films. Tanti<\/i> was shot entirely with a handheld camera by Penda on location in her family\u2019s Boulkassoumbougou neighborhood in Bamako, Mali. In addition to its artistry, the film is also intended to raise money for local children to attend school. Diakit\u00e9 explained that it is especially hard for families to find the $45 to $50 a year required for young girls to attend classes. Those interested in helping can donate online<\/a>. You have the choice to designate your funds for \u201cstudent sponsorship\u201d or \u201ctutoring at Ko-Falen,\u201d both important components of a proper education for these children. Tanti <\/i>will also be available through the PCC Library.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For our 23rd year, the Cascade Festival of African Films was thrilled to welcome three African filmmakers from very diverse backgrounds: Philippe Niang of Senegalese and French descent; Eliaichi Kimaro of Tanzanian and Korean descent; and local filmmaker and Malian-American, Penda Diakit\u00e9. Here is a summary of their exciting adventures during the festival: Seasoned filmmaker […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":2259,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2261","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africanfilmfestival.org\/2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africanfilmfestival.org\/2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africanfilmfestival.org\/2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africanfilmfestival.org\/2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africanfilmfestival.org\/2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2261"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.africanfilmfestival.org\/2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2572,"href":"https:\/\/www.africanfilmfestival.org\/2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2261\/revisions\/2572"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africanfilmfestival.org\/2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africanfilmfestival.org\/2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}