ADIFF Chicago 2024

Since its inception, ADIFF Chicago has presented culturally significant films that explore the Black and Indigenous experience, giving a multidimensional voice to often misrepresented realities and peoples. This year, ADIFF Chicago brings a special selection of films and events to FACETS, spotlighting a range of subjects and topics, like colorism, the Harlem Renaissance, Brazil, and the work of filmmaker Rolf de Heer.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, JUNE 14

7pm – Colorism in Latino Communities

A powerful program exploring the complex dynamics of skin color and identity within Latino communities through two poignant films:

White Like the Moon

A Mexican-American girl struggles to keep her identity when her mother forces her to bleach her skin. White Like the Moon is a revealing film about a dilemma not very well known outside Latino communities; that of the myth of the light skin superiority in Indigenous and Indigenous descendant communities.

Directed by Marina Gonzalez Palmier, 2001, 23 minutes, Short film/Drama, USA, English

Negrita – Chicago Premiere!

Exploring the ideology of Blackness, diverse Afro-Latinas explore and confront culture and racism while defining their own identity in the U.S. – Racially Black Ethnically Latina.

Directed by Magdalena Albizu, 2023, 51 minutes, Documentary, USA, English, Spanish (with English subtitles)

Opening Night (Special Event)

7:30pm – Opening Night Reception

8:30pm – Respect My Crown + Q&A

With who’s who interviews from the worlds of politics, community activism, organized labor, and the judicial system, this is a 170-year herstory chronicling the struggles and sacrifices of Black women seeking equity while battling race and gender barriers in pursuit of equality and political power in the State of California.

Directed by Pamela Bright-Moon, 2023, 88 minutes, Documentary, USA, English

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

11am – Walter Rodney, What They Don’t Want You to Know

Through a series of enlightening interviews and footage captured across Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, Tanzania, the United States, and the United Kingdom, the film presents a comprehensive portrait of a man who dedicated his life to fostering unity in the face of adversity. Rodney’s ideals and struggles continue to resonate with contemporary global movements for social justice and equality.

Directed by Arlen Harris and Daniyal Harris-Vajda, 2023, 72 minutes, Documentary, UK, English

Celebrating Two Voices of the Harlem Renaissance (Double Feature)

1pm – Zora Neal Hurston: Jump at the Sun

The film takes its audience on a journey through Hurston’s eventful life, from her early years in Eatonville, Florida, to her pivotal role in the Harlem Renaissance. It delves into her works, her unique storytelling style that blended folklore with rich depictions of African American life, and her contributions to African American literature. The documentary also addresses the challenges Hurston faced, including her struggle with financial instability and her controversial viewpoints that often placed her at odds with the mainstream civil rights movement.

Through interviews with scholars, contemporaries, and excerpts from her own writings, Pollard’s film pays homage to Hurston’s indomitable spirit and enduring impact on literature and African American culture.

Screening with Claude McKay: From Harlem to Marseille in the Celebrating Two Voices of the Harlem Renaissance double feature.

Directed by Sam Pollard, 2008, 84 minutes, Documentary, USA, English

2:45pm – Claude McKay: From Harlem to Marseille

CHICAGO PREMIERE!

Rebellious figure of the Harlem Renaissance, precursor of literature and of the black cause, this unclassifiable author wandered for more than 10 years in Europe, frequenting the artistic and political avant-gardes.

Screening with Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun in the Celebrating Two Voices of the Harlem Renaissance double feature.

Directed by Matthieu Verdeil, 2021, 80 minutes, Documentary, France, French and English with English subtitles

4:45pm – Nome

Official Selection ACID Cannes Film Festival 2023!

The film tells the story of Nome, who leaves his village to join the guerrillas of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde. After years of conflict, Nome returns to his village as a celebrated hero. However, the initial triumph soon turns to bitterness and cynicism as he confronts the realities of the new independence.

This screening will be accompanied by pre-recorded remarks from the filmmaker.

Directed by Sana Na N’Hada, 2023, 117 minutes, Drama, Guinea-Bissau/ France/ Portugal/ Angola, Portuguese with English subtitles

7:30pm – A Heart on the Mend + Q&A

Following the unexpected death of his fiancée the night before their wedding, Ralph’s desire to ever love again is shattered. Then he meets Joanne. Will her love and her charm be enough for him to start living again; for good this time?

Directed by Karm Syndia, 2022, 127 minutes, Drama, USA, Screening in English, French and Haitian with English subtitles

SUNDAY, JUNE 16

Rolf de Heer’s Cinematic Visions (Double Feature)

11am – The Tracker

4K RESTORATION!

The year is 1922 and The Tracker (David Gulpilil, Walkabout, Rabbit-Proof Fence) has the job of pursuing The Fugitive – an aborigine who is suspected of murdering a white woman – as he leads three mounted policemen: The Fanatic, The Follower and also The Veteran across the outback.

Screening with The Survival of Kindness in the Rolf de Heer’s Cinematic Visions double feature.

Directed by Rolf De Heer, 2002, 98 minutes, Drama, Australia, English, Warlpiri, Anmatyere with English subtitles

1pm – The Survival of Kindness

CHICAGO PREMIERE!

Following her escape, she walks through pestilence and persecution, from desert to mountain to city, only to find more captivity. The Survival of Kindness’s narrative and visual impact offers a stark portrayal of societal collapse in opposition to human kindness and resilience as embodied by BlackWoman.

Screening with The Tracker in the Rolf de Heer’s Cinematic Visions double feature.

Directed by Rolf De Heer, 2023, 96 minutes, Drama, Australia, No Dialogue

Spotlight on Brazil (Double Feature)

3pm – Rolê – Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls

CHICAGO PREMIERE!

This documentary explores the lives and memories of three black activists who have faced traumatic experiences of racism and played a central role in recent protests against the violence of security guards and shopping mall employees in Brazil.

Screening with Power Alley in the Spotlight on Brazil double feature.

Directed by Vladimir Seixas, 2021, 82 minutes, Documentary, Portuguese with English subtitles

5pm – Power Alley

2023 Cannes Film Festival Semaine de la Critique selection

It tells the story of Sofia (17), a promising volleyball player from a humble suburb of São Paulo in Brazil who, on the eve of a future-defining championship, is faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Seeking an illegal termination, she becomes the target of a fundamentalist group determined to stop her at any cost.

The film delves into the challenges Sofia faces in her community, dominated by conservative values. Her extraordinary talent offers her a glimpse of a different life, but she soon finds herself at a crossroads when unforeseen circumstances threaten her future.

Screening with Rolê – Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls in the Spotlight on Brazil double feature.

Directed by Lillah Halla, 2023, 99 minutes, Drama, Brazil/France/Uruguay, Portuguese with English subtitles

Closing Night (Special Event)

6pm – Closing Night Reception

7pm – One Person, One Vote + Q&A

An absolute must-see for anyone who can vote for president in the United States, this eye-opening exposé of the origins and contentious history of the Electoral College gives context to current events recalling the often-forgotten role of slavery in its creation.

Throughout American history, the Electoral College has dramatically impacted American politics and society, particularly with respect to vote erasure of the minority party vote. Featuring commentary by scholars Dr. Jelani Cobb, Dr. Carol Anderson, and Dr. Paul Finkelman, cameo performances by Kelly McCreary, Boise Holmes, Tyee Tilghman, Veralyn Jones, Peter Jerrod Macon and stunning animation by Pierre Bennu.

Directed by Maximina Juson, 2024, 78 minutes, Documentary, USA