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african diaspora November 20, 2018
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Pull up to this year’s African Diaspora International Film Festival

Established in 1993, the African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) is an international film festival that showcases contemporary black life through a global lens.

The ADIFF was created in an effort to utilize cinema’s didactic capacity and provide more opportunities for African filmmakers and filmmakers of African descent in the global film market.

“ADIFF’s mission is to present these films to diverse audiences, redesign the Black cinema experience, and strengthen the role of African and African descent directors in contemporary world cinema.”

A formative part of ADIFF’s mission is to illuminate how greater exposure to the other narratives and experiences have a direct correlation to the prosperity and social sustainability of our communities.

“The future of our communities of color is directly tied to the expansion of our experiences, the depth and breadth of our reach and interaction with other communities and the framework from which our talent can stand front and center. Our vision is to see an informed and talented community coming together to exchange ideas and strategies for improving our respective worlds.”

In exhibiting films from an array of different nations, the ADIFF’s diverse programming elucidates how black people are not a monolithic group, for there is not one way to be a black person.

In doing so, the ADIFF offers an important outlet for African and African-descent filmmakers to give voice to the untold experiences and interpretations of what it means to be a person of the African Diaspora.

In showing black people as nuanced and complex, these representations vehemently thwart and subvert hegemonic stereotypes of blackness.

This year’s festival program features films that explore the global phenomenon of colorism, the struggle for emancipation under the forces of nationalism and dictatorship, the tensions that come with navigating the world of modern dating and more.

Featuring the work of both established and emerging filmmakers of color, the festival offers an important platform for exhibiting different artistic styles, modes of storytelling and filmmaking practices from African filmmakers and filmmakers of African descent.

The festival will run from November 23 – December 9. The festival’s exciting program is bookended by opening and closing nights and jam-packed with gala screenings, panel discussions, and talk-backs after film screenings.

Films will be screened in several locations including, Cinema Village, Riverside Church, Teachers College, MIST Harlem, and Dwyer Cultural Center.