Portland Community College/Office of Public Affairs

Dana Haynes - Phone: (503) 977-4421/e-mail: dana.haynes@pcc.edu + James Hill - Phone: (503) 977-4376/e-mail: jghill@pcc.edu

Arts Calendar:

Renowned ‘Namibia’ director coming to PCC-Cascade

The 19th annual Cascade Festival of African Films will feature the filmmaker Charles Burnett, Mayor-Elect Sam Adams and some of the cast of ‘Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation,’ starring Danny Glover

PHOTOS: http://www.africanfilmfestival.org/press/download/

(The 2009 Cascade Festival of African Films poster)

SCHEDULE: http://www.africanfilmfestival.org/calendar/

NORTH PORTLAND, Ore. (Jan. 2, 2009) - The 19th annual Cascade Festival of African Films, held in honor of Black History Month at Portland Community College Cascade Campus, will run from Feb. 6 through March 7. Films are shown Thursday through Saturday every week during the month.

Every year the college features more than 20 films from or about the African continent. All films are free and open to the public. The films in the festival, which attracts thousands of filmgoers every year, come from every region of the African continent. The event will open with the adventure film, "Zaïna: Rider of the Atlas," directed by Bourlem Guerdjou of Morocco, on Friday, Feb. 6, at McMenamins Kennedy School (5736 N.E. 33rd Ave.). Screenings will be at 7 and 9 p.m.

The renowned African American director Charles Burnett will present his epic film, "Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation," starring Carl Lumbly, Danny Glover, Joel Haikali and Obed Emvula, as the centerpiece film on Friday, Feb. 20, at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd.). Burnett, Lumbly, and the film’s editor, Edwin Santiago, will be in attendance along with Portland Mayor Sam Adams.

Kevin Arkadie will introduce and discuss his documentary film, "FESPACO," a behind-the-scenes look at the Pan-African Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The event is seen through the eyes of six filmmakers from the African Diaspora. It will be shown at 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7, in the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Auditorium, Cascade Campus (705. N. Killingsworth St.)

Alrick Brown will open the Thursday Evening Documentary Series with his film, "Death of Two Sons." The screening will be at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 12 at the Moriarty auditorium at Cascade. The documentary examines the death of Amadou Diallo, the Guinean immigrant who was shot to death by New York City policemen, and the death of Jesse Thyne, an American Peace Corps volunteer who lived and worked with Diallo’s family in Guinea.

The StudentFest Matinee on Thursday, Feb. 19 also will present Burnett's "Nightjohn," at noon and will be followed by "Bab'Aziz - The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul" by Tunisian director Nacer Khemir at 2:30 p.m. These also will be shown at the Moriarty auditorium at Cascade.

Family Film Day on Saturday, Feb. 21, will feature the animated film, "Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest," directed by Michel Ocelot of "Kirikou and the Sorceress" fame at 2 p.m. It tells an enchanting tale that has captivated the imaginations of children and adults alike. Baba Wagué Diakité of Mali, an artist, author and film festival committee member, will serve as host and storyteller.

The festival will conclude with Women Filmmakers Week, which is set to go from March 5 through March 7. It will feature five films by women directors that will be shown in the Moriarty auditorium at Cascade.

Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon, serving approximately 86,700 full- and part-time students. It is also one of the top-20 largest employers in the Portland metro area. For more PCC news, please visit us on the Web at www.pcc.edu/news. PCC has three comprehensive campuses, five workforce training and education centers, and 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

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