A featured strand of the Africa in Motion Film Festival in 2017 also included works curated by the Network. Comprising a series of five screenings and associated cultural events, Afro-Latin Visibility in Focus highlighted diverse engagements with Afrodescendant heritages and futures from across the Central American and Caribbean region. This featured film strand was collectively curated by organisers of the AHRC-funded International Network hosted at University of Edinburgh, ‘Afro-Latin (in)visibility and the UN Decade: Cultural politics in motion in Nicaragua, Colombia and the UK’ and was staged in collaboration with Africa in Motion Film festival and Havana-Glasgow Film Festival. Invited speakers and activists Ramón Perea Lemos (Carabantú Association, Colombia), Dixie Lee (URACCAN University, Nicaragua), and Roberto Zurbano (Casa de las Américas, Cuba), all members of the Network, hosted talkback sessions and Q&As in relation to the screenings. Afrodescendants occupy distinct symbolic and cultural spaces within their national contexts throughout Latin America. Despite the significance of their cultural and economic contributions since colonial times, they are continually invisibilised and marginalised by state and international political agendas. In order to resist and overturn the prolonged abuses enacted against their communities, Afrodescendant intellectuals, artists and civil society leaders mobilise audiovisual tactics to enhance their presence and draw recognition for their vibrant cultural practices. This film strand contributed to those efforts for recognition and invited attendees to think afresh the diversity of Latin America and its filmic output. Edinburgh / Tuesday 31 Oct / 7.30pm. Free and non-ticketed. Screening Room, 50 George Sq., University of Edinburgh. Cuba libre. Dir. Jorge Luis Sánchez | Cuba | 2hs | 2015 | Fiction Feature Set in 19th century Cuba at the end of the country’s War of Independence, Cuba libre witnesses the moment when the Cuban Liberation Army, supported by the United States, puts an end to the Spanish empire. Through the perspectives of two boys, Simón and Samuel, this historical tale shows how the American army soon became an occupying force whose neo-colonial agenda would divide (racially and politically) the two friends, and, symbolically, the whole island of Cuba. Glasgow / Wednesday 1 Nov / 7.30pm. Free and non-ticketed. The Rum Shack, 657-659 Pollokshaws Rd, G41 2AB. Black and Cuba. Dir. Robin J. Hayes|US/Cuba| 1hr21 |2014| Documentary This award-winning documentary follows nine Black Ivy League students who feel like outcasts at their elite university. They band together and venture to the Caribbean island of Cuba, whose population is 60% black, to further explore their roots and identity. In revealing scenes of Cuban life, including hip-hop performances, block parties, and candid spontaneous encounters with Afro-Cuban youth, they discover connections between Cuban and American perspectives on human rights, race, and revolution. This screening will be followed by a discussion and Afro-Cuban snacks. Edinburgh / Friday 3 Nov / 6.30pm. Free and non-ticketed. Screening Room, 50 George Sq., University of Edinburgh. The Black Creoles–Memories and Identities. Dir. Martha Clarisa Hernández & María José Álvarez | Nicaragua/Costa Rica | 1hr24 | 2015| Documentary The Black Creoles gives voice to the Creole people from Nicaragua and Costa Rica who have lived in resistance to colonialism, and now struggle to maintain their identity. Through testimonies that reflect the cultural distinctions and traditions of different communities, we learn about their world-views, memories, dreams, identities and the challenges they face(d) – yesterday and today. Edinburgh / Friday 3 Nov / 6.30pm. Free and non-ticketed. Screening Room, 50 George Sq., University of Edinburgh. Carabantú Association short films. The Black Creoles feature documentary will be preceded by a programme of short films produced by Carabantú Association with young Afro-Colombians in the city of Medellín. Invited speakers and activists Dixie Lee (URACCAN University, Nicaragua) and Ramón Perea Lemos (Carabantú, Colombia) will introduce the screening. Edinburgh / Saturday 4 Nov / 1.15pm. Ticketed. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Keyla. Dir. Viviana Gómez Echeverry | Colombia | 1hr27 | 2017 | Fiction Keyla, a young woman, is searching for her father who is lost at sea. When her estranged family comes to help look for him, she must confront their dark past. A poetic exploration of identity in an island territory disputed by Colombia and Nicaragua. Invited activist and co-curator of the strand, Ramón Perea Lemos, from Carabantú Association, Colombia, will introduce the screening and there will be a Q&A session following the film. Glasgow / Sunday 5 Nov / 3pm. Free and non-ticketed. Clubroom @ CCA, Glasgow. Race & Cuba: Afrodescendant (in)visibility (in partnership with Havana-Glasgow Film Festival). In Cuba, despite the significance of their cultural and economic contributions, Afro-descendants are often marginalised by state and political agendas. The screening will be followed by a discussion on race in Cuba and the contemporary challenges faced by Afro-descendant artists and activists. We will continue the discussions informally over Saramago Café food and HGFF drinks until 6.30. This event has the support of the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, University of Edinburgh.
