The 13th Annual Africana Film Festival brought students and faculty to ten Hoor Hall on Saturday to showcase a series of documentaries highlighting African history and culture through themes such as social justice, identity and community.
The event opened with a drum performance by Timi Oyeyemi, graduate student in German studies and a native of Nigeria. His performance set the tone for the festival and highlighted the cultural significance of music across the African continent.
For Oyeyemi, participating in the festival was about more than performing. He said having the event hosted on campus signaled a sense of inclusivity and belonging, particularly for international students.
“It shows inclusivity and also shows acceptance. The international students, who are also Black, are accepted,” Oyeyemi said. “It made me feel so connected back home, because it’s been a while being away, and I definitely miss home.”
The Africana festival was intentionally designed to challenge perceptions and also expand cultural understanding among students and faculty.
Pamela Foster, a retired professor who helped launch the Africana Film Festival many years ago and continues to serve as a spearhead of the event, said the festival was created to challenge misconceptions and broaden understanding.
“The purpose was to really expose and break some of the stereotypes people have about Africans, African life, African culture and to break some of those myths and really increase their knowledge about history,” Foster said.
With the films presented, organizers said they hoped to educate and foster a stronger sense of pride and representation within the campus and surrounding community.
Olabayo Awodirepo, president of the African Students Association, said the organization aims to broaden cultural awareness on campus by highlighting the diversity and richness of traditions, perspectives and experiences represented across the African continent.
“We just want UA students to have this better understanding of how beautiful the African culture is, and it’s not just about the history of slavery,” Awodirepo said. “There are other things to know about Africa beyond just the story of slavery.”
The event showed three documentaries — “Ebrohimie Road: A Museum of Memory,” “Acts of Reparation” and “Eyes of Ghana” — and featured meaningful discussion over the course of five hours. Awodirepo said he hopes the event will continue to grow.
“I believe that it’s going to be a campus wide event, and people will get to know more about Africa, its people and its culture,” Awodirepo said.
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