5. Crafts and Crafts People (DVD 8384)
Adesuwa, aged 10, and Akugbe, aged 11, are going to have new party dresses made. They choose a tie-dyed fabric, and we learn how it is made. We also learn how the famous bronzes were cast. Today's chief bronze caster narrates the dance drama that explains how the bronze casters became the most important craft guild in Benin.
Director: Ben Onwukwe, Deborah Isaacs Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: Nigeria, Benin, agriculture, urban life, family, history, economy, crafts

Between Joyce and Remembrance (DVD : 68 min. )  [2004]
DVD 7638
Abstract: This video tells the story of one family, the Mtimkulu family, stretching back over two decades. Through the unfolding of personal narratives, this film raises far reaching questions about the nature of truth, forgiveness and reconciliation. It illustrates the ripple effect of an injustice, the disappearance and murder of Siphiwo Mtimkulu, twenty years ago to show how fragile the 'miracle' of South Africa's transition really is.
Director: Mark Kaplan Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, reconciliation, politics, history

Bushman Story (A) (Videocassette : 50 min. )  [2002]
V. CASS. VHS 7219
Abstract: Takes an in-depth look at the culture of the Ju/'hoansi of Namibia, known as the Bushmen of the Kalahari. They live cooperatively in extended family groups. Their skills at tracking game are extraordinary and they speak a fascinating language.
Director: Wayne Derrick Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Keywords: Namibia, San, bushmen, hunting

Chef! (Chief!) & La Tête dans les nuages (Head in the Clouds) (Videocassette : 96 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 4854
Abstract: In Chef!, director Jean-Marie Teno locates the roots of Africa's authoritarian regimes in the patriarchal family, reinforced by traditional kingship and the colonial experience. Teno insists that this film was not planned but imposed itself on him during a visit to his ancestral village, Bandjoun, in the Ghomala speaking region of Western Cameroon. He had gone to film dances dedicating a monument to King Kamga Joseph II, the filmmakers' great grand uncle, but the ceremony soon turned into a celebration of one-man rule, in particular Cameroonian President Paul Biya's. In La Tête dans les nuages, Teno investigates the ties between unaccountable government and an unproductive economy. Kleptocracy has become an accepted fact of Cameroonian life described by the proverb: 'The goat grazes where it is tied.' The government controlled formal sector, like its colonial predecessor, is essentially parasitical. An informal sector has emerged parallel to it which increasingly supplies the daily subsistence needs of the people. Irene, for example, works at the Ministry of Education for an unreliable and inadequate salary; she earns the money she needs to eat from selling beignets in the market. She also belongs to a tontine or 'credit union' which offers its members a pool of capital to draw on for business ventures. Such clubs, ubiquitous among African market women, help fill the economic and social vacuum left by the decay of traditional society and the unresponsiveness of the formal banking sector.
Director: Jean-Marie Téno Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Cameroon, politics, history, economy, education

Child Brides (The) (Videocassette : 51 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 5783
Abstract: In many parts of Africa, Asia, and South America, young girls are often engaged by the age of eight, and leave their homes to join their husbands by twelve. In many cases, the younger the girl, the more her family receives in the form of a dowry. This program travels to the most rural and poverty-stricken regions of Ethiopia to expose the common practice of child brides and the consequences for the young girls who often give birth before they are out of childhood.
Director: NA Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: Ethiopia, marriage, ritual, gender

Children of War (Videocassette : 28 min. )  [2001]
VHS 9178
Abstract: Thousands of children have been kidnapped and used as soldiers by the Ugandan rebel army, the Lord's Resistance Army. The children, many of whom are tortured, live a life of terror: girls as young as 12 are used as sex slaves, while the boys are forced to sometimes even kill family members. Once they have completed this terrible task, they are considered tough enough to be used in raids by the rebel army. This film follows two such children who escaped from their captors: Judith who for six years lived as a sex slave for a rebel commander, and Dennis who was caught when he tried to escape the first time and consequently forced to kill his friend. John Rheinstein, a therapist from 'Save the Children Denmark', attempts to create a new life for those children who have run away from the rebel army. The rehabilitation program includes having the children draw and reenact their traumatic experiences. Judith's parents are found and she is reunited with her family who thought that she had been killed. Three months after his return to the rehabilitation camp, Dennis is still battling with his traumas; his family has failed to retrieve him. Despite all attempts by groups like 'Save the Children' to stop the violence, it is a sad fact that very few children come out of the bush alive in this 'forgotten war'.
Director: Henrik Grunnet, Keld Kluwer Distributor:Filmakers Library, NY
Keywords: Uganda, children, child soldiers, civil war, rehabilitation, sexual abuse, trauma, violence

Choosing Exile (DVD : 55 min. )  [2003]
DVD 8241
Abstract: Filmmaker Marc Radomsky is third generation South African. His grandfather emigrated from Lithuania to escape pogroms. The family established their roots in Johannesburg and prospered. However Marc and his wife see that growing lawlessness and crime in post-Apartheid South Africa has driven the white community into gated communities where armed guards, attack dogs and barbed wire are the brutal signs of the need for increased security. Marc and his wife Vivianne have made the painful decision to emigrate to Australia. Their close-knit family, threatened with separation, tries to prevail upon the couple to reconsider. The camera captures the painful unravelling of their interconnected lives. Their parents will now be deprived of participating in the lives of their grandchildren, and their sobbing seven-year old tries to grasp why he must leave his dog behind. But leave they do, to an apparently welcoming new country, and hopefully a brighter future. Choosing Exile is a portrait of some of the current conditions in South Africa, as well as an intense portrait of the pain of emigration.
Director: Marc Radomsky Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, crime, emigration and immigration, family

Chutney in Yuh Soca (Videocassette : 36 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 4540
Abstract: Three short films that focus on the role of music in forming ethnic identities in multicultural settings. Chutney in Yuh Soca is a film showing the interaction of the East Indian and African populations of Trinidad and Tobago through the popular music 'Chutney' which is a combination of Indian folk tunes with the tempo and spice of the Caribbean. The Gospel Truth shows how a Black family in Great Britain reaffirms their values and family cohesiveness through the singing of gospel music. In Songs for Our Daughters, West Indian women in Britain discuss the way they pass their heritage and culture on to their mixed race daughters.
Director: Karen Martinez Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies, music, dance, race relations, social conditions, immigration

Come Back, Africa (Videocassette : 83 min. )  [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4563
Abstract: Originally made in the 1950s, the film focuses on one family that leaves Zululand because of famine and goes to Johannesburg to work in the gold mines. Reflects the barbaric reality of apartheid society in South Africa.
Director: Lionel Rogosin Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, social conditions, work

Crossroads/South Africa (Motion Picture : 52 min. )  [1980]
MP-16MM 382
Abstract: Shows the struggle of blacks to maintain a sense of community and to keep their families together by building illegal squatters towns like Crossroads in defiance of the ruling apartheid regime.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, family, squatters

Cry of the Owl: The Himba in Namibia (DVD : 70 min. )  [2005]
DVD 8842
Abstract: In Namibia, in one of the most desolate regions of Africa, lives the Himba tribe, one of the last tribes trying to maintain a traditional way of life. Today the modern world is pressing in on them. Coupled with the real menace of HIV/AIDS, the Himba find their situation threatened from all sides. The film reveals the everyday lives of one family in an intimate manner. They open their home to us, and their hearts as well, as over the course of one year they share their innermost thoughts, desires and fears.

Big Mama, the head of the clan, has been diagnosed with a life-threatening case of tuberculosis. She is hospitalized in the nearest town which is hundreds of miles away from the village. Without her presence, the clan finds it hard to cope. On top of their worries about losing her, they have to deal with a mysterious cattle disease that is killing their herd at an alarming rate. The film follows three generations of strong Himba women, as they raise their children, trying to cope with the immense difficulties to simply survive.
Director: Erez Laufer Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Nambia, Himba, HIV/AIDS, women, family, health

Dakan (Videocassette : 87 min. )  [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 3792
Abstract: Dakan is the first feature film on homosexuality from sub-Saharan Africa. It also is a contemporary African reinterpretation of the age-old Romeo and Juliet conflict between love and social convention.
Director: Mohamed Camara Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Guinea, homosexuality, gender, family, social conditions, feature film

Daratt (also known as Dry Season and Saison sèche (DVD : 96min min. )  [2006]
DVD 8778
Abstract: The government of Chad granted amnesty to war criminals in 2006, following forty years of civil strife. Atim, age 16, is given a revolver by his grandfather so that he may find and kill the man who killed his father. Atim quickly locates Nassara, now married and living as a baker in a nearby village. Pretending to be looking for work, Atim is hired as an apprentice baker. Despite his disgust, Atim gradually recognizes the father figure he has always needed. Nassara sees the teenager as a potential son and one day proposes adoption.
Director: Mahamet-Saleh Haroun Distributor:ArtMattan Productions
Keywords: Chad, family, war, reconciliation, feature film

Diary of a Maasai Village (Videocassette : 300 min. )  [1984]
V. CASS. VHS 3960 pt. 1-5
Abstract: A study of life in a Maasai village as a representation of the Maasai people in Kenya. An attempt to describe a moment in the history of the Laibon's family. (5 videocassettes: 300 min.)
Director: Melissa Llewellyn-Davies Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Kenya, Maasai, social life, family, ritual experts

Domestic Differences (Videocassette : 47 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 6440
Abstract: Depicts South African society during the ten days leading up to the 1994 election through a comparison of the lives and views of a prosperous white family in a a residential suburb of Cape Town and their maid and her family in Transkei.
Director: Nanette Burstein Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, elections, politics, history, race, social conditions

Eclipse (Videocassette : 25 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8248
Abstract: A dreamlike documentary depicting the total blackout of four girls' lives, eclipsed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is a story about four sisters, Lara, Eugenisse, Fátima and Luisa-- the oldest sixteen and the youngest nine. They are AIDS orphans living in the Mozambican town of Chimoio. Their mother died of AIDS and their father disappeared, probably to commit suicide in a nearby place of spirits. The film documents the girls' day-to-day struggle for existence as they try to make ends meet by reselling produce they have bought from the market. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 9).
Director: Orlando Mesquita Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, children, orphans, family, Steps for the Future

Everyone's Child (Videocassette : 83 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 3791
Abstract: In a rural village in Zimbabwe, Tamari and Itai are devastated following the tragic death of both their parents. For the children this is a time of fear and survival as family and neighbors turn their heads. The social climate in the city is just as hostile as it is in the village. In the end it is only tragedy that can bridge the gulf of denial between their two worlds and make the community realize that these are everyone's children.
Director: TsitsiDangarembga Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zimbabwe, children, family, social life, feature film

Family Across the Sea (Videocassette : 58 min. )  [1990]
V. CASS. VHS 1620
Abstract: A delegation of Gullah people travels from the United States to Sierra Leone to trace the roots of their heritage. Production of South Carolina ETV.
Director: Domino Boulware Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Sierra Leone, Gullah, African diaspora

Family of Man (The) (Videocassette : 315 min. )  [1971]
V. CASS. 62
Abstract: Designed to familiarize students with specific aspects of human nature. The tapes contrast family life from birth to death in different countries (sic.) such as Africa, England, India and New Guinea (7 videocassettes: approx. 45 min./ea).
Director: NA Distributor:Time-Life Films
Keywords: overview(comparative)

Faraw!: Une Mère des Sables = Mother of the Dunes (Videocassette : 90 min. )  [1997]
V.CASS. VHS 8414
Abstract: With three difficult children, a crippled, mentally unbalanced husband and no steady income, Zamiatou is the poorest woman in an impoverished desert village in Mali. She could have plenty of money to survive if she would sell her daughter as a prostitute to nearby French settlers, but she refuses to do so. Unfortunately, her family situation continues to spiral downward and she is finally forced to seek outside help.
Director: Abbdoulaye Ascofaré Distributor:ArtMattan Productions
Keywords: Mali, women, social conditions, poverty, feature film

Fathers (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 87 min. )  [2000]
V. CASS VHS 7169
Abstract: Each of these three films offers a critical look at the relationships between fathers and their children in contemporary Africa. In The Father, the patriarch in question is ultimately the military dictatorship which terrorized Ethiopia in the '70s and '80s. Surrender shows the traditional face of paternal tyranny, a father controlling his son's life. A Barber's Wisdom shows a modern father who compromises his children in his relentless pursuit of money.
Director: Ermias Woldeermlak, Celine Gilbert, Amak Igwe Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria, fatherhood, patriarchy, family, short films

Femi Kuti live at the Shrine (DVD : 87 min. )  [2004]
DVD 5042
Abstract: A live performance by Femi Kuti and his ensemble at the Afrika Shrine in the Kuti family's hometown of Lagos, Nigeria, where every Sunday Femi plays to a packed house of revelers. For decades, Nigerian icon Fela Kuti revolutionized afro-beat, a unique blend of driving funk and traditional African music that carried his message of liberation and dignity in the face of corruption. After Fela's death in 1997, his son Femi Kuti took over the afro-beat throne, and in 2000, Femi opened the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos. A community center during the day and venue for ecstatic concerts at night, the Shrine is Femi's home. Raphaël Frydman's documentary features private moments with the exceedingly charismatic Femi, interviews with his family, and plenty of live footage that captures the vibrant music and what it means to the community. Can't Buy Me, Femi intones while the horns propel the music forward, dancers undulate, and the crowd finds release from the troubled state of the country in the joyous celebration. Great news from a place where, against all odds, music and community matter more than sales figures and target demographics: the songs included in the movie were selected democratically by Femi's fans. Contains on DVD and one CD.
Director: Raphaël Frydman Distributor:Palm Pictures, New York
Keywords: Nigeria, Lagos, popular culture, musical performance, afro-beat, Femi Anikulapo-Kuti, feature film

Forgiveness (DVD : 105 min. )  [2004]
DVD 7903
Abstract: Tertius Coetzee was a police officer during the Apartheid era and was responsible for the torture and death of Daniel Grootboom, a young freedom fighter. After being granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he travels to the West Coast fishing village of Pater Noster to visit Daniel's family and ask for their forgiveness.
Director: Ian Gabriel Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, apartheid, police, history, feature film

Future of Mud: A Tale of Houses and Lives in Djenne: A Constructed Documentary (DVD : 58 min. )  [2007]
DVD 9917
Abstract: Through the story of a mason in Djenne, Komusa Tenapo, and his family, this documentary examines an African tradition of mud architecture in Mali.
Director: Susan Vogel Distributor:Icarus Films
Keywords: Mali, architecture, construction, heritage, education, art

Guelwaar (Videocassette : 115 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 4487
Abstract: When Guelwaar, a political activist and a Christian, is mistakenly buried in a Muslim cemetery, family members, political and religious leaders become embroiled in the dispute.
Director: Ousmane Sembène Distributor:New Yorker Films
Keywords: Senegal, social relations, religion, politics, feature film

Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (Videocassette : 98 min. )  [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 4918
Abstract: A coming of age film that is also a portrait of a 12-year-old boy's life, family, and community in a Mediterranean Arab society. Director: Ferid Boughedir.
Director: NA Distributor:Kino International
Keywords: Tunisia, gender, youth, Islam, social conditions, feature film

I Have a Problem, Madam (Videocassette : 59 min. )  [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 3254
Abstract: Run by female lawyers, FIDA-Uganda has set up several legal aid centers for women in domestic trouble. With the help of a weekly radio show, the centers fill daily with women waiting to tell their stories. FIDA lawyers attempt to reconcile the women and their men in face to face meetings, even if it means traveling to isolated villages. The attitudes of both men and women are beginning to change, but this slow process sometimes leads to conflicts between official and traditional law. A film by Maarten Schmidt and Thomas Doebele.
Director: Maarten Scmidt, Thomas Doebele Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: Uganda, women, law, marriage, social conditions, development, family violence

Imita Ikula (Videocassette : 26 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8250
Abstract: Memory is one of the 75,000 street kids in Lusaka, most of them orphans due to the AIDS epidemic. This documentary illustrates that she is streetwise and ready to fight, and yet she has her softer, more vulnerable side. Follows her as she finds a way to watch the solar eclipse, gets her hair braided, cooks, and sings and talks with her friends. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 11).
Director: Sampa Kangwa, Simon Wilkie Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zambia, Lusaka, HIV/AIDS, children, orphans, family, Steps for the Future

In Rwanda We Say: The Family that Does Not Speak Dies (Videocassette : 54 min. )  [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8766
Abstract: Two years after the Gacaca tribunals, close to 16,000 genocide suspects, still untried, were released across the country. Having confessed to their crimes and having served the maximum sentence the Gacaca tribunals would eventually impose, perpetrators of genocidal violence are sent home to plow fields and fetch water alongside the people they victimized. In Rwanda We Say focuses on the release of one suspect, tracking the effect of his return on a tiny hillside hamlet. While the government's message of a 'united Rwandan family' permeates the language of the community, the imposed co-existence brings forth varying emotions, from numb acceptance to repressed rage.
Director: Anne Aghion Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Rwanda, Hutu, Tutsi, civil war, genocide, law

In Search of Africa (DVD : 18 min. )  [1996]
DVD 9685
Abstract: In 1996, the filmmaker and writer Manthia Diawara, now living in New York, returned to Guinea, thirty-two years after he and his family were expelled from the newly liberated country. Despite the years that have gone by, Diawara expects to be welcomed as an insider, and is shocked to discover that he is not.
Director: Manthia Diawara Distributor:Third World Newsreel
Keywords: Guinea, immigration, history, diaspora

It's Not Easy (Videocassette : 48 min. )  [1991]
V.CASS. VHS 7537
Abstract: Dramatic representation of middle-class Africans and their struggle to deal with the realities and challenges posed when a married Ugandan business executive contracts HIV and passes the infection to his wife and unborn child.
Director: Faustin J. Misanvu Distributor:Media for Development International
Keywords: Uganda, family life, HIV/AIDS, drama, class, health

Je Chanterai pour Toi = I'll Sing for You (Videocassette : 76 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8719
Abstract: Boubacar Traoré, a Malian blues musician who performed under the name KarKar, sang for independence in the 1960s but he had to leave music and become a tailor and salesman in order to provide for his family. This documentary looks at KarKar's life and his eventual return to contemporary Malian culture. Narrated by Mamadou Sangaré.
Director: Jacques Sarasin Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Mali, music, economic conditions, popular culture

Kalahari Family (A) (Videocassette : 332 min. )  [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8339 PT1-5
Abstract: In 1951, Laurence and Lorna Marshall and their two children, Elizabeth and John, set out to find the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. Their aim was to study and document their life and culture. While in Nyae Nyae the Marshall family documented everyday life as well as unusual events and activities, producing a massive body of work that continues to define the fields of anthropology and ethnographic filmmaking today. Encapsulating 50 years of Namibian history, A Kalahari Family represents a lifetime of documentation, research, and personal contact by filmmaker John Marshall. Contents: pt. 1. A far country -- pt. 2. End of the road -- pt. 3. Real water -- pt. 4. Standing tall -- pt. 5. Death by myth. (5 videocassettes)
Director: John Marshall, Claire Ritchies Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Namibia, Bushmen, history, anthropology, John Marshall

Kaplans and the Black Demon (The) (Videocassette : 37 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 5434
Abstract: When Micha and Sara Kaplan's youngest daughter, Liat, brings home her new boyfriend, Micha and Sara's nightmare begins. The boyfriend is not from the neighborhood. Husam is from Sudan, is black, Muslim, and a refugee living in a makeshift hut in Sinai. The Kaplans and the Black Demon is about the impact this interracial, interclass relationship has on the Kaplan family, and what the parents try and do about it.
Director: Liat Kaplan, Yifat Elkayam and Udi Burstein Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Israel, Sudan, race relations, religion

Keep the Dance Alive (Que la danse continue) (DVD : 75 min. )  [2007]
DVD 8816
Abstract: A unique voyage through the music, dance and spirit possession practices of the Ovahimba people of north-western Namibia and south-western Angola, Keep the Dance Alive features remarkable footage of how dance and spirit possession is integrated into everyday life from infancy to death. The documentary presents a singular vision of the Ovahimba people, that of director Rina Sherman who filmed the lives of an Omuhimba family for seven years. She focuses on how singing, rhythm and voice work together with dance and spirit possession to compose a complete imaginary universe and a dense and complex social structure.
Director: Rina Sherman Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Namibia, Angola, Ovahimba, dance, music, ethnography, spirit possession, religion, cosmology, family, social organization

Keita: The Heritage of the Griot (Videocassette : 94 min. )  [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 2796
Abstract: Keita creates a unique world where the West Africa of the 13th century Sundjata epic and the West Africa of today co-exist and interpenetrate. Director Dani Kouyate frames his dramatization of the epic within the story of Mabo Keita, a contemporary boy from Burkina Faso, learning the history of his family. During the film, Mabo and his distant ancestor, Sundjata, engage in parallel quests to understand their destinies, to 'know the meaning of their names.'
Director: Dani Kouyate Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Burkina Faso, Mande, history, myth, feature film

Language You Cry In (The) (Videocassette : 53 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 4624
Abstract: The film tells an amazing scholarly detective story reaching across hundreds of years and thousands of miles from 18th century Sierra Leone to the Gullah people of present-day Georgia. It recounts the even more remarkable saga of how African Americans have retained links with their African last through the horrors of the middle passage, slavery and segregation. The film dramatically demonstrates the contribution of contemporary scholarship to restoring what narrator Vertamae Grosvenor calls the 'non-history imposed on African Americans.' This is a story of memory and how the memory of a family was pieced together through a song with legendary powers to connect those who sang it with their roots.
Director: Alvaro Toepke, Angel Serrano Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Sierra Leone, Gullah, African diaspora, music.

Little Senegal (DVD : 93 min. )  [2001]
DVD 7817
Abstract: A story of a man who works as a tour guide at a historical site in Senegal from where slaves were taken to America. He heads to America himself, to trace his own family history there. He finds himself in New York City and falls in love with a distant cousin.
Director: Rachid Bouchareb Distributor:Paramount Home Entertainment
Keywords: Senegal, slave trade, immigrants, tourism, feature film

Long Tears: an Ndebele Story (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 5950
Abstract: This program, seen through the eyes of one family, documents five years in the life of a South African people, the Ndebele, exploring their art, culture and traditions. It shows the famous Ndebele wall art and dress traditions and puts them in the context of the new South Africa. Francina Ndimande is an internationally recognized mural artist, as is her daughter Angelina. The film explores the rituals and traditions associated with the rites of passage of both men and women. Also traces the history of the Ndebele defeat in war against the Boers and their subsequent enslavement and mistreatment at the hands of the Boer farmers.
Director: David Frost Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Ndebele, art, painting, ritual, history

Man Who Could Be King, The (DVD : 46 min. )  [2000]
DVD 8936
Abstract: This is the extraordinary story of a man torn between his obligation as a tribal leader and his duty to his family. Adongo Akway Cham is an Anyuak tribesman from Southern Sudan who escaped the civil war to live peacefully in Canada. No sooner had he settled in Canada when his father, the tribe's king, died, and Cham was chosen over all his brothers to be the successor. The camera follows Cham for three years as he struggles with his kingly duties and attempts to settle his family in Canada. His wife is in an Ethiopian refugee camp, burdened with caring for his eight children. She is waiting for Cham to release her from the camp and obtain entry to the safe haven that Canada represents. Cham is in conflict. 'From the beginning I have tried to say no. I don't want to take the responsibility, but who will go and take it if not me?'
Director: Edith Champagne and Nancy IngDuclos Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Sudan, Anyuak, emigration, government, refugees

Man Who Stole My Mother's Face (The) (Videocassette : 58 min. )  [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8881
Abstract: Two days before Christmas in 1988, Cathy Henkel's 59 year-old mother Laura was sexually and brutally attacked in her home in Johannesburg, South Africa by a local white teenager. Although Laura identified her attacker, the man was never charged and remained free. For fourteen years, unable to recover, Laura Henkel retreated from her family and rejected contact with the outside world. In an attempt to help her mother heal, Cathy Henkel took matters into her own hands, returned to Johannesburg and confronted her mother's attackers. What begins as an exploration about the unsolved case of Laura Henkel's rape becomes a revelation about the healing process.
Director: Cathy Henkel Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: South Africa, women, rape, violence

Mauritania: The Vanishing Oasis (DVD : 57 min. )  [1993]
DVD 9001
Abstract: Beautifully photographed, this film introduces us to a couple, Baba and his wife Fatou, and their two children who live in a tiny oasis at the outskirts of Chinguetti, once a holy city of Islam. Ninety percent of Mauritania is desert, which encroaches a little every day upon the remaining arable land. Barely twenty years ago, eighty percent of Mauritania's population was nomadic. Today, only twelve percent can maintain the nomadic life. Fatou had grown up in a nomadic family and struggles with her new sedentary life. The family lives as best it can by protecting their date trees, which are constantly threatened by the ravages of sand. Drinking sweet tea to assuage their own hunger, they aim to keep their baby daughter plump so she can be married off at age seven. This is a memorable portrait of human beings surviving despite the forces of nature that buffet them.
Director: Louise Racicot Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Mauritania, economy, family, environment

Miner's Tale (A) (Videocassette : 40 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8246
Abstract: Joaquim is a migrant laborer with a junior wife in urban South Africa and a senior wife and family in rural Mozambique. He is torn between his responsibilities for both. He is also torn between his understanding of his HIV infection when visiting his home village after being absent for four years and what traditional society expects of him. Joaquim must make a choice since the elders are adamant that it is his traditional duty to father more children with his wife, but Joachim does not want to infect her. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 7).
Director: Gabriel Mondlane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, sexual behavior, migrant labor, kinship, family, Steps for the Future

Motherland: Moving On (DVD : 60 min. )  [2003]
DVD 8835
Abstract: The film Motherland: A Genetic Journey followed three people of African descent who traced their roots through DNA testing. This new film picks up their story two years later. Shot in the UK, USA, Africa and Jamaica, this very moving film continues their soul-searching journeys, raising fundamental questions about who we are. Mark discovers that his ancestors belonged to the Kanuri tribe. When he connects with them, he cannot communicate since there is a language barrier. He goes through an emotional 'naming ceremony' but finds that he has mistakenly chosen a name that belongs to the slave catchers that oppressed his people. Beaula learns that she has ancestors that belong to more than one tribe and some of the tribespeople are only interested in what gifts she can offer them. Jacqueline visits English cousins who are white who accept her as part of the family. All three participants feel enriched by their new discoveries but understand that DNA tracing may lead to complicated emotional discoveries. With Dr. Rich Kittle, Howard University, and Fatimah Jackson, University of Maryland, and other experts.
Director: T. Jackson and A. Baron Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: ethnic identity, African diaspora, genealogy, genetics

Na cidade vazia = Hollow city (Videocassette : 88 min. )  [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 9143
Abstract: N'dala is an orphan from the Angolan province of Bie, a flashpoint in the rebellion that incited Angola's brutal civil war. In 1991, N'dala is airlifted by missionaries to the port city of Luanda, Angola's capital. He slips away from the nuns at the airport, choosing the solitude of the streets of the old city, but he is not prepared for living by his wits. His wandering leads N'dala to the beach where he takes shelter in an old fisherman's shack, but he is haunted by nightmares of the assault that left his family dead, and he soon disappears into the shanty-town neighborhoods of the city. N'dala meets Zé, an older boy who shares the epic story of a young warrior. Zé and his friends, who drift amongst the Luanda homeless, fascinate N'dala and he is tragically pulled into their existence of survival. Each step N'dala takes into the dark streets of the city leads him farther from his home.
Director: Maria Joao Ganga Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Angola, Luanda, children, civil war, homelessness, orphans, trauma, feature film

Neria (Videocassette : 100 min. )  [1992]
V. CASS. VHS 2851
Abstract: Patrick and Neria, through shared hard work and resourcefulness, built a comfortable home, a good life and family in the city. But when their loving and equal partnership suddenly ends with the tragic death of Patrick, Neria's nightmare begins. Utilizing a new Zimbabwean law protecting women, the widow fights back. A box office hit in Zimbabwe.
Director: NA Distributor:KJM3 Entertainment Group/Documentary Educational Resource
Keywords: Zimbabwe, gender, law, marriage, development, feature film

Nirgendwo in Afrika = Nowhere in Africa (DVD : 135 min. )  [2002]
DVD 2290
Abstract: The German Jewish Redlich family flees in 1938 to Kenya, where husband and lawyer Walter finds work as a manager on a farm. While his wife Jettel struggles with their new life and its challenges threaten their marriage, their once shy daughter Regina blossoms. The film follws their efforts to adjust to the different cultures around them and the challenges that they face during the War. After the War is over Walter is offered a position as a judge in Frankfurt. After so many years in Kenya, should he go back and will his family go with him?
Director: Caroline Link Distributor:MC One
Keywords: Germany, Kenya, Jews, settlers, WWII, Holocaust, feature film

O Jardim do Outro Homem = Another Man's Garden (DVD : 80 min. )  [2006]
DVD 10219
Abstract: For a young girl who wants to study medicine in Mozambique, the obstacles extend far beyond the distractions of her boyfriend and her family. A moment of weakness or an error in judgment can cost her a place at the university, an irretrievable loss in a country with so few opportunities for women.
Director: Sol de Carvalho Distributor:Icarus Films
Keywords: Mozambique, gender, education, poverty, feature film

Our Way of Loving (Videocassette : 50 min. )  [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 3281
Abstract: The third program in a trilogy focusing on the Hamar, an isolated people of Southwestern Ethiopia. This film shows Duka, now a mother with two young children. Her life is dominated by caring for them and her husband, Sago. Although Sago and Duka seem to have an affectionate marriage, he beats her when provoked. She accepts this behavior for she believes it is a man's way of loving. Film also shows the ceremony of Sago's cousin's initiation into manhood. Producer: Chris Curling. (Part of the Hamar Trilogy. Other titles include: The Women Who Smile and Two Girls Go Hunting.)
Director: NA Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Ethiopia, Hamar, women, social conditions, family, marriage, gender, rites and ceremonies

Photo Souvenir (DVD : 54 min. )  [2007]
DVD 9925
Abstract: During the social and cultural euphoria of a newly independent Niger in the 1960s, Philippe Koudjina worked as a photojournalist and later opened his own photo studio. For many years, his snapshots of the youth scene in Niamey and his individual and family portraits provided Koudjina with a national reputation and a good living. Today he is no longer able to take photos because he is slowly losing his sight to glaucoma, and after having been hit by a car, he must use crutches to get around. His cameras, photographic equipment and a disorganized collection of negatives gather dust in a decaying cupboard, while he begs on the street in order to survive. Photo Souvenir features interviews with Koudjina, and contrasts his desperate situation with the fortunes of other African photographers such as Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keita, whose work from the same period has brought them renewed attention and financial rewards. While the film documents the effort by two French photo connoisseurs to organize an exhibition of Koudjina's work in Paris, Photo Souvenir reveals the fickle cultural process by which one-time 'photo souvenirs' become 'photographic art,' and whether or not an artistic reputation is made in the western world.
Director: Paul Cohen and Martijn van Haalen Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Niger, photography, journalism, youth, art, exhibitions

Pilgrimage to Africa: One Savannah Woman's Journey to Find Her People and Their Past (Videocassette : 30 min. )  [1999]
V.CASS. VHS 6439
Abstract: Stan Deaton talks to Charleston Post and Courier feature writer Wevonneda Minis about her experiences researching her family history. Her investigation of an ancestor named Mohammed Bilali, a slave working on the Thomas Spalding plantation on Sapelo Island who was a practicing Muslim and could read and write Arabic, eventually led her to trace her family history back to the area now known as Guinea in West Africa.
Director: Stan Deaton Distributor:Georgia Historical Society
Keywords: United States, Guinea, diaspora, slave trade, history, family

Population 6 Billion (Videocassette : 58 min. )  [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 6140
Abstract: Discusses problems created by the growing human population, which surpassed the six billion mark in 1999. Covers topics such as poverty, illiteracy, the toll on the environment, and water, food and other resource shortages. Addresses the grim realities of life in Third World nations while discussing population control initiatives in Vietnam, Uganda, and Mexico that include family planning, HIV/AIDS testing and counseling, sex education, and efforts to improve the economic status of women.
Director: Sam Shinn, Jonathan Silvers Distributor:Films for the Humanities
Keywords: Uganda, population, development, environment, poverty

Portrait of Altinè in the Dry Season (Motion Picture : 26 min. )  [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 6297
Abstract: Twenty seven year-old Altinè is a mother of two, living on the plains of Northern Senegal. As we watch her going about her daily chores, rhythmically threshing the millet, cooking over an open fire, she tells us of her aspirations. Her strongest wish is for adequate food, good health, and to remain close to her family. Images of Western life have not penetrated her village,which is three hours from a paved road.
Director: Marco Mensa and Elisa Mereghetti Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Senegal, Fula, women, drought, economics, labor, rural conditions, family

Refugee All Stars (The): Living Like a Refugee (CD-ROM )  [2005]
IN-PROCESS
Abstract: The Refugee All Stars album Living Like a Refugee is the realization of a lifelong dream for this inspiring band of Sierra Leonean musicians who lived for nearly a decade in refugee camps in West Africa. A brutal civil war (1991-2002) forced them from their homes in Sierra Leone. Many of their family and friends were murdered in the violence, leaving them with physical and emotional scars that may never heal. Despite the unimaginable horrors of civil war, they were saved through their music. Through music, The Refugee All Stars have found refuge, purpose and a source of power by giving a voice to the experiences of so many struggling to survive. Each song on Living Like a Refugee is an original composition written during their years in exile in the refugee camps. The powerful lyrics speak to the suffering and injustice they have seen but also reverberate with hopeful optimistic rhythms. The Refugee All Stars are the subject of a soon-to-be released documentary film that chronicles the band over three years, from refugee camps in Guinea back to war-ravaged Sierra Leone. The Refugee All Stars film reveals unique and inspiring personal stories of survival and rebirth through the universal language of music. As violent conflicts multiply around the globe the worldwide refugee crisis deepens. The story of The Refugee All Stars puts a human face, gives names and real experience to the innocent survivors of war whose brutal realities are often dismissed by mainstream media soundbites. Their music is available on CD 16583.
Director: NA Distributor:cdbaby.com
Keywords: Sierra Leone, popular music, refugees

Regopstaan's Dream (Videocassette : 24 min. )  [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8927
Abstract: On March 21st, 1999, at a ceremony in the Kalahari desert, a community of 300 Bushmen were granted 125,000 acres of their own land for the first time by the South African government. Twenty-five years earlier, they had been evicted from the Kalahari by the previous, apartheid government of South Africa who said that they were 'too westernized' to cohabit with the wild animals in the National Park. Forced to live in shanty conditions on a patch of land just outside the park, their eviction was just one more chapter in a history of violence and exploitation dating from the beginnings of Dutch settlement. Regopstaan Krupier was an elder in the #Khomani clan of the Bushmen who initiated the fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. Regopstaan's Dream follows the story of his son, Dawid Krupier's campaign to make the dream come true by making sure that the South African government honors their agreement to allow him and his extended family the right to live in their Kalahari home.
Director: Chris Walker Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, Kalahari, Bushmen, San, national parks, apartheid, politics, conservation, land

Regopstaan's Dream (DVD : 24 min. )  [2000]
DVD 8128
Abstract: In 1974, the South African apartheid government evicted the Bushmen inhabiting areas of the Kalahari Desert as part of an ongoing genocide against these people, which had gone on for generations. Forced to live in shanty conditions on the edge of their own land, the Khomani clan of the Bushmen initiated a fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. On 21st March 1999, at a ceremony in the Kalahari Desert, 300 of the world's remaining Bushmen were granted 125,000 acres of land by the new South African government. Regopstaan Krupier was an elder in the #Khomani clan of the Bushmen who initiated the fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. Regopstaan's Dream follows the story of his son, Dawid Krupier's campaign to make the dream come true by making sure that the South African government honors their agreement to allow him and his extended family the right to live in their Kalahari home.
Director: Chris Walker Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, Kalahari, Bushmen, San, national parks, apartheid, politics, conservation, land

Saaraba (Videocassette : 81 min. )  [1988]
V. CASS. VHS 1563
Abstract: A young Senegalese who returns to his country after 19 years of exile in France. He had hoped to find his roots, but instead is disillusioned by government corruption, alienation among young city dwellers, and apathetic family and friends.
Director: Amadon Saalum Seck Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Senegal, feature film

Selbe: En tant d'autres (Videocassette : 30 min. )  [1982]
V. CASS. VHS 4972
Abstract: Due to economic constraints, women in Senegal are often left with the sole responsibility of raising their families. Depiction of one such woman's struggles under these trying circumstances. .
Director: Safi Faye Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: Senegal, women, family, economics

Si-Gueriki = The Queen Mother (Videocassette : 62 min. )  [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8657
Abstract: This documentary film was intended as a tribute to the filmmaker's late father, a member of a royal family in northern Benin. But in the course of his investigations, the director discovers the lives of his mother and sisters, which had previously been invisible to him, and he decides to make a film about them instead. Si-Gueriki examines patriarchy and the role of women in a polygynous society...Mora Kpai's mother is the si-gueriki or 'queen mother' of the Borgu people. Yet her daily routine of grinding rice and potash show into what low estate this once noble position has fallen in many parts of Africa. The title of 'queen mother' is misleading to Westerners since the si-gueriki is most typically not the mother but the aunt, niece or cousin of the king. From Ghana to Swaziland, legendary noblewomen have been praised for their prowess as military leaders. They have had their own palaces, feudal land holdings, retinues and, like the king, even enjoyed sexual freedom. They characteristically resolved disputes especially in the marketplace and in agriculture, two arenas controlled by women in most of Africa. The 'queen mother' even could nominate the next king and serve as one of his counselors.The Borgu queen mother, like European monarchs today, fills largely a ritual function. In this film, for example, we witness the annual gaani festival over which the si-gueriki presides; she is announced by trumpeters, brightly caparisoned horses and riders pass in review and she accepts the tribute as her subjects prostrate themselves before her.
Director: Idrissou Mora Kpai Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Benin, Borgu, queen mother, kinship, history, government, festival

Sisters in Law (DVD : 104 min. )  [2005]
DVD 5952
Abstract: In the little town of Kumba, Cameroon, there have been no convictions in spousal abuse cases for 17 years. But two women determined to change their community are making progress that could change the world. This fascinating, often hilarious documentary follows the work of State Prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Court President Beatrice Ntuba as they help women fight often-difficult cases of abuse, despite pressures from family and their community to remain silent. Six-year-old Manka is covered in scars and has run away from an abusive aunt, Amina is seeking a divorce to put an end to brutal beatings by her husband, the pre-teen Sonita has daringly accused her neighbor of rape. With fierce compassion, the two feisty and progressive-minded women dispense wisdom, wisecracks and justice in fair measure, handing down stiff sentences to those convicted.
Director: Florence Ayisi, Kim Longinotto Distributor:Women Make Movies [www.wmm.com]
Keywords: Cameroon, children, domestic abuse, gender relations, justice system, law, rape, women, gender, family

Sorious Samura Collection (The): Cry Freetown, Exodus, Return to Freetown. (DVD : 134 min. )  [2005]
DVD 8476
Abstract: Compilation DVD of three films about Sierra Leone by Sierra Leonean filmmaker Sorious Samura. In Cry Freetown, Samura documents the civil war in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In Exodus, he follows the story of one migrant, Osas, whose absolute determination to achieve his mission reveals that he is willing to sacrifice everything to get out of Africa. In Return to Freetown, Samura returns to Sierra Leone and talks with three of the children who were abducted and forced to become soldiers in the civil war. Thousands were taken from their families by a ruthless rebel leader and turned into killers.
Director: Sorious Samura Distributor:Insight News Television
Keywords: Sierra Leone, immigration, war, children, violence, family

Sweet Sorghum: an Ethnographer's Daughter Remembers Life in Hamar, Southern Ethiopia (Videocassette : 32 min. )  [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 4357
Abstract: The intimacy of shared family life and childhood relationships between the Hamar people of Ethiopia and an anthropologist's children is revealed as we also learn about the important role sorghum plays in the Hamar diet.
Director: NA Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Ethiopia, Hamar, family, youth, anthropology

T-Shirt Travels (DVD : 57 min. )  [2001]
DVD 8789
Abstract: What happens to all those old clothes you bring to the Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries? This comprehensive program is about Third World debt and secondhand clothes. The filmmaker travelled to Zambia and was amazed to find almost everyone wearing Calvin Klein, MTV and James Dean t-shirts! Huge bales of American secondhand clothing are sold to African importers, putting the African manufacturers out of business. We see a secondhand clothing dealer in Zambia carefully select a bale among dozens, bundled and shipped from abroad. He pays for the used clothing and then transports it by bus ten hours to a market. His meager profits support his entire extended family who subsist in shanty towns miles from the market. Their lives exemplify the poverty plaguing Africa today. They have virtually no possibility of advancing themselves and their children. Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Harvard University Center for International Studies and other experts discuss the history of colonialism, slavery and the depletion of Africa's natural resources. They draw the connection between this shameful legacy and the current huge debt. As the African governments service their debts according to an IMF/World Bank policy known as 'structural adjustment lending,' people's benefits are slashed drastically, resulting in terrible suffering from malnutrition, poor healthcare, inadequate schools and a crumbling infra-structure. Our old t-shirts come with a high price-tag.
Director: Shantha Bloemen Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Zambia, trade, economy, clothing, poverty, history, government, development

TemeTTeme (Videocassette : 30 min. )  [1998]
VHS 9348
Abstract: Set in the beautiful drylands region of northern Ethiopia, TemeTTeme is a moving parable about progress and the values of family life. TemeTTeme tells the story of 12-year-old Belete who runs away from his father's desertified farm to pursue an education in the city of Addis Ababa. The story illustrates the African proverb, 'begezza rasu 'bab TemeTTeme', which means, 'by his own doing, he wrapped a snake around himself.' It reveals hope and resourcefulness in the midst of social and economic problems in rural and urban Ethiopia. The young actors in this film and many of the production team are street children in Addis Ababa. This film is dedicated to them and to the thousands of children whose talent and potential lies wasting and unseen on the streets of towns and cities throughout the world.
Director: Richard Duplock Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Ethiopia, youth, desertification, rural-urban migration, street children, poverty, family

They Carry Their Families: A Village in Mauritania (DVD : 14 min. )  [1999]
DVD 8972
Abstract: Life in a rural village in Mauritania is hard on women. Tradition and Islamic religion are intertwined to reinforce strict gender roles. The husband is the protector and keeper; his word is law. While the men take their ease, the girls and women are off to the fields during the peanut planting and harvest season, walking five miles each way, and coming home with heavy burdens from the fields to prepare the family dinner. They carry the water, sweep the yard, wash the clothes, and care for the children. This short, beautifully filmed video captures succinctly the subservience of women, while at the same time remaining respectful of tradition and culture. There are no drugs, alcohol or loneliness in this kind of community, where family bonds are very strong. We hear from several young Peace Corps workers in the village who are hopeful that by educating and thereby widening the horizons of young women, eventually women will have more choices. From a Western perspective, the future of Africa depends on education and family planning.
Director: Ingo A. Zamperoni Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Mauritania, women, gender, religion, family, work, education

Through My Eyes (DVD : 44 min. )  [2006]
DVD 7689
Abstract: Through My Eyes follows Rwandan youths who use the arts to help move the country forward ten years after the genocide. By expressing themselves through dance, poetry, music and painting, the teens, many of whom lost parents and family members during the conflict, are able to deal with the emotional and physical trauma they endured. The film documents how--through organizations and group activities--these creative talents not only honor those who perished but also confront new problems affecting the country such as poverty and AIDS. By focusing on what they can accomplish by working together in creative endeavors, the youth of Rwanda prove that art can not only benefit those around them but ensure that future generations have a brighter future.
Director: Hawa Essuman Distributor:NA
Keywords: Rwanda, youth, art, music, poverty, HIV/AIDS, genocide

Tooth of The Time (The) (Videocassette : 26 min. )  [1993]
VHS 9198
Abstract: Eddie Jacobs dreamed of being buried under an old prickly pear tree on the farm owned by his family for four generations. But when the government ceased its policy of 'buying' farmers' votes with subsidies - while an extended drought continued - Eddie was bankrupted, unable to pay back numerous loans. Thousands of other farmers and their workers faced the same plight. The Tooth of The Time spends a day with Eddie; Faan, a black laborer also born and raised on the farm; and Rudy Nagel, who is charged with auctioning away Eddie's life. Part of the Ordinary People series (a South African television series).
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, agriculture and farming, economy, labor, land

Tree of Our Forefathers, The (DVD : 53 min. )  [1994]
DVD 9405
Abstract: Follows a refugee family who has spent 10 years living in a refugee camp in Malawi as they make the return journey to their homeland in the Tete Province of Mozambique where they at last can pay proper respects to their dead under the village tree. During the 15-year civil war in Mozambique, one and a half million people fled to seek refuge in neighboring countries. There was no time for ceremonial leave-taking, no time to pay the proper respects to the dead. But in 1993, with the war finally over, the refugees began to return home. Licinio Azevedo's moving documentary is the story of one family's long journey back to seek the forefathers' atonement under the village tree. The film follows Alexandre Ferrao and his extended family as they toil home across a land emptied of people and littered with the twisted scrapmetal of warfare. At night, around the camp fire, the family recounts their experiences of the years in exile and their fears for what they might find when they finally reach home.
Director: Licinio Azevedo Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Mozambique, refugees, emigration, immigration, funeral rites, ceremonies, civil war

Trokosi: Wife of the Gods (Videocassette : 25 min. )  [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 6445
Abstract: Documents a system of providing young girls as servants/slaves to priests among the Ewe people of southeastern Ghana. These 'inmates' (or wives of gods) must serve for an indefinite time as workers and wives to atone for family crimes that can date back to the 17th century.
Director: Kofi Boateng Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: Ghana, Ewe, women, slaves, religion, history

Two Dollars With or Without A Condom (DVD : 40 min. )  [1997]
DVD 8758
Abstract: Ethiopia has become to the Arab world what Thailand is to European tourists. Prostitution in Ethiopia has increased incredibly in recent years. In one section of Addis Ababa, some 130,000 girls support themselves by selling their bodies. Most of them are under eighteen, and many even under fourteen. In this probing documentary, we meet the victims, girls that have been orphaned, or thrown out by their family, or are hoping to find a better life. They are compelled to turn to prostitution to survive. The young ones, like nine-year-old Yashwarek, don't even earn enough money to buy food. The older ones earn more, about $2 a night, but yearn to work the luxury hotels as high-class prostitutes. Virtually all the girls are HIV positive. Condoms are seldom used, even though they are distributed free in many places. Customers, believing the youngest girls are HIV-free, seek them out, which in turn keeps lowering the age of girls becoming HIV-infected. Some attempts by agencies are being made to help these girls, but they face heavy odds.
Director: Leyla Assaf-Tengroth Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Ethiopia, prostitution, orphans, HIV/AIDS, women, youth, economy, poverty

Two Girls Go Hunting (Videocassette : 50 min. )  [1991]
V. CASS. VHS 3282
Abstract: The second program in a trilogy focusing on the Hamar, an isolated people of Southwestern Ethiopia. This film shows Duka and her friend, Gardi, as they prepare to marry men they have never met. The film follows the build-up to the marriages, from the all night vigil with girlfriends, to farewells when the brides are taken away at dawn to the village of their husband's family, the arrival in the villages and the preparation of the prospective brides for the ceremony by the mother-in-law. Part of the Hamar Trilogy. Other titles include: The Women Who Smile and Our Way of Loving.
Director: Chris Curling Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Ethiopia, Hamar, women, social conditions, marriage, gender, rites and ceremonies

Wedding Camels (The) (Videocassette : 108 min. )  [1980]
V. CASS. VHS 2600/ DVD 8924
Abstract: An account of a marriage among the Turkana, a remote pastoral tribe of the dry thorn-country of northwestern Kenya. Shows the preparations for the wedding of the daughter of Lorang, one of the senior men of the region. Explores the quarrels and customs which surround the wedding. Shows the tensions that arise during bridewealth negotiations between the two families, and how these strain the old friendship between the bride's father and his future son-in-law. Part of Turkana Trilogy (see also Lorang's Way and Wife Among Wives). In Turkana with English subtitles. Also available in DVD format (DVD 8924).
Director: David and Judith MacDougall Distributor:University of California Extension Center for Media
Keywords: Kenya, Turkana, pastoralism, wedding, ritual, gender, marriage, family

Wedding Camels (The): A Turkana Marriage (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 108 min. )  [1976]
DVD 8924/ VHS 2600
Abstract: An account of a marriage among the Turkana, a remote pastoral tribe of the dry thorn-country of northwestern Kenya. Shows the preparations for the wedding of the daughter of Lorang, one of the senior men of the region. Explores the quarrels and customs which surround the wedding. Shows the tensions that arise during bridewealth negotiations between the two families, and how these strain the old friendship between the bride's father and his future son-in-law. Part of Turkana Trilogy (see also Lorang's Way and Wife Among Wives). In Turkana with English subtitles. Also available in videotape format (VHS 2600)
Director: David and Judith MacDougall. Distributor:Berkeley Media LLC
Keywords: Kenya, Turkana, marriage, gender, pastoralism, family, ritual

Wend Kuuni (Videocassette : 70 min. )  [1982]
V. CASS. VHS 1557
Abstract: In the literary tradition of an African tale, this film is the story of a little boy whose traumatic experiences cause him to lose one family and find another. The action takes place in Burkina Faso on the West African savannah in pre-colonial times.
Director: Gaston Kabore Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Burkina Faso, family, feature film

Where Truth Lies (Videocassette : 30 min. )  [1999]
V.CASS. VHS 8932
Abstract: This moving film is about one of the many terrible cases to come before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Twenty-two year-old student leader Siphiwo Mtimkulu, and his friend Topsy Madaka, were shot and burned in 1982 by the feared Security Police under the former apartheid government. Gideon Nieuwoudt - nicknamed 'Notorious Nieuwoudt' - was a colonel in the Security Police. He and his colleagues are responsible for the torture, poisoning, and death of numerous black activists, including Steve Biko. In 1995 a group of top Security Police officers got a court order to block Mtimkulu's family from giving evidence before the TRC, threatening to undermine the whole process. Forty-eight hours before the deadline expired, the officers finally applied for amnesty. Filmmaker Mark Kaplan documented the case for three years, during which time Nieuwoudt met with the Mtimkulu family seeking their forgiveness with unexpected and dramatic consequences.
Director: Mark J. Kaplan Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, TRC, politics, apartheid, history, violence

Ye Wonz Maibel (Deluge) (Videocassette : 62 min. )  [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 4103
Abstract: Salem Mekuria looks at her family's history and the history and life of Ethiopia during her life.
Director: Salem Mekuria Distributor:NA
Keywords: Ethiopia, politics, revolution, youth, history

Yesterday in Rwanda (DVD : 14 min. )  [2005]
DVD 8259
Abstract: Yesterday in Rwanda is a haunting film that focuses on one survivor of the genocide and her experience of trauma, displacement and hope. Claire Wihogora emigrated to Canada in 1998, four years after her father, brother and countless other family and friends were killed. The film portrays Claire carrying on with her life today in Toronto, while inevitably haunted by terrible memories of Rwanda. On film she recounts how she and her sister hid in the brush while all around her people were massacred. Nothing can help her forget the hundred days when 800,000 members of the Hutu and Tutsi tribes were slaughtered. Yet she finds comfort in telling her story in schools 'to share it to make sure it never happens again.' Also, she has founded Women in Rwanda, which links female genocide survivors now living in North America in a support system. The film achieves a fascinating interplay of past and present, as images from Claire's everyday life in Toronto (grey tones) are differentiated from the images of Kigali rendered in color.
Director: Davina Pardo Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Rwanda, Kigali, history, civil war, genocide, emigration, NGO

Zan Boko (Videocassette : 92 min. )  [1988]
V. CASS. VHS 1558
Abstract: A rural family's world is brutally disrupted when their ancestral village is absorbed by the expanding boundaries of their country's largest city. A crusading journalist takes up their case against the powerful interests whose policies overwhelm traditional African society.
Director: Gaston Kabore Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Burkina Faso, urbanization, media, feature film

Zulu Love Letter (Videocassette : 100 min. )  [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 9142
Abstract: It is ten years since the last vestiges of apartheid's political regime were dismantled. For the average South African, the notion of struggle has been all too quickly relegated to the question of which cellular network is better than the next. But for Thandi, a journalist suffering from writer's block, a more profound struggle continues to rage within. Living in a nation that seems too eager to forget its past, Thandi cannot shake the gnawing sense of guilt that continues to alienate her from her own family.
Director: Ramadan Suleman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, children, terrorism, trauma, women, feature film