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note: click on film graphics to see larger versions
Director: Gérard Louvin
From: Burkina-Faso, Togo, Switzerland, and France
Year: 1991 Minutes: 90
Language: French with English Subtitles
Genre: comedy
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Set in Togo, West Africa, Ashakara is a modern African tale. An African doctor finds a cure to a deadly virus and decides to mass produce the drug at low cost in Africa. However, a pharmaceutical multinational does not want the doctor to succeed and sends an agent to Africa first to buy the drug then to destroy it...Mixing action, suspense, good humor, and a lucid depiction of the contemporary African continent, Ashakara entertains and educates all at once.
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Official Selection, Cognac International Festival of the Thriller, 1992 35mm rental: $300
video rental: $90
video sale: $195
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Director: Peter Bate
From: Belgium/UK
Year: 2004 Minutes: 100
Language: English/French/Duch w/ English subtitles
Genre: Documentary
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This true, shocking, astonishing story of what the Belgians
did in the Congo was forgotten for over 50 years. Congo: White
King, Red Rubber, Black Death describes Leopold II, King of
the Belgium's private colony of the Congo between 1885 and
1908 as a gulag labor camp of shocking brutality. Leopold
posed as the protector of Africans fleeing Arab slave-traders
but, in reality, he carved out an empire based on terror to
harvest rubber. Families were held as hostages, starving to
death if the men failed to produce enough wild rubber. Children's
hands were chopped off as punishment for late deliveries.
The Belgian government has denounced this documentary as a
"tendentious diatribe" for depicting King Leopold II as the
moral forebear of Adolf Hitler, responsible for the death
of 10 million people in his rapacious exploitation of the
Congo. Yet, it is agreed today that the first Human Rights
movement was spurred by what happened in the Congo.
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video rental: $90
video sale: $195
DVD sale: $295
DVD also includes Bonus Documentary Boma Tervuren: The Journey
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Director: Michel Ocelot
From: France
Year: 1998 Minutes: 70
Language: French w/ English subtitles or dubbed in English
Genre: animation
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This animated film exquisitely recounts the tale of tiny Kirikou born in an African village in which Karaba the Sorceress has placed a terrible curse. Kirikou sets out on a quest to free his village of the curse and find out the secret of why Karaba is so wicked.
Lisa Nesselson of Variety (11/1/99) notes: “KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS employs snappy visuals to tell a catchy story for all ages. A blend of African folktales “Kirikou” has both humor and flair.” KIRIKOU depicts a precocious newborn infant who battles ignorance, and so-called evil, with endearing perseverance. This film speaks to the child within us all who yearns to express and defend the best in others and ourselves. KIRIKOU’s stunning visuals are accented by a traditional music soundtrack by African music giant Youssou N’ Dour of Senegal.
Also, see the official Kirikou web site.
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35mm rental: $300
video rental: $90
video sale: $195
DVD sale: $295
Special DVD Features:
- French and English tracks
- Comments by Filmmaker
- Color Game
- Scene Selection
- Character Presentation
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Winner Grand Prize for best animated feature, International Festival of Animated Film in Annecy, France
First Prize from both children and adult juries, Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.
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Director: Pascal Plisson
From: France/Kenya
Year: 2005
Minutes: 94
Language: Masai with English
subtitles
Genre: Drama
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| Faced with a drought that endangers the
continuity of their people, Masai elders are convinced
that they have been cursed by the Red God -- the God
of Vengeance. Following the death of the war chief,
a group of adolescents must now cross over to adulthood,
forced to quickly form a new generation of inexperienced
but brave warriors. The adolescents must bring back
the mane of a legendary lion, which appears at every
critical period of the Masai history to appease the
wrath of the God and bring back the rains. The survival
of their culture depends on this quest.
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35 mm: $300
VHS rental: $90
VHS sale: $195
DVD sale: $295
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Director: Solveig Nordlund
From: Sweden
Year: 1997 Minutes: 92
Language: Portuguese/Mozambican with English subtitles
Genre: drama
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Shot in Mozambique, but set in an unnamed city, the film depicts the life of an orphan boy, Nelio, whose parents were killed by guerrillas. He escapes to the city and finds magic there and is soon rumoured to possess healing powers, in this violent, yet mythic coming-of-age story. Based on a novel by the popular Swedish writer Henning Mankell.
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35mm rental: $300
video rental: $90
video sale: $195
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Youssou
N'Dour:
Return to Goree
Director: Pierre-Yves Borgeaud
From: Senegal/Switzerland/ Luxembourg
Year: 2006
Minutes:108
Language:English and French with English subtitles
Genre: Musical Documentary
Format: 35mm
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A musical road movie, Youssou N'Dour:
Return to Gorée follows Senegalese singer
Youssou N'Dour's historical journey tracing the trail
left by slaves and the jazz music they created. Youssou
N'Dour's challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire
of his own songs to perform a concert in Gorée,
the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands
to honor its victims.
From Atlanta to New Orleans, from New
York to Bordeaux and Luxembourg, the songs are transformed,
immersed in jazz and gospel. Transcending cultural divisions
and rehearsing with of some of the world's most exceptional
musicians, Youssou N'Dour is preparing to return to Africa
for the final concert...
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35mm rental: $400
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