LIVE EVENTS AT MAYSLES DOCUMENTARY CENTER:

Friday, October 22nd
7:30PM

NEW YORK: SECRET AFRICAN CITY
Dir. Mark Kidel, 1989, 60 min.

In this rarely screened film, renowned scholar Robert Farris Thompson takes viewers on a cultural tour of New York, revealing the city’s deep African roots. He traces the salsa music of Spanish Harlem back to Congo, observes Haitian Fete Ghede, Yoruba ceremonies, Capoeira, Santeria, and hip hop, offering a time-capsule portrait of a lesser seen side of New York during its golden era.

+ Panel discussion moderated by Lubangi Muniania

Saturday, October 23rd
7:30PM

CONGO OYÉ
Bill Stephens, 1971, 45 min.

A rare and absolutely unknown work, made by Bill Stephens in collaboration with French filmmaker Chris Marker and Eldridge and Kathleen Cleaver. CONGO OYÉ was never completed and long believed lost until it was unearthed several years ago on video cassette from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The film follows an exploratory visit to Africa’s first People’s Republic declared by President Marien Ngouabi.

MALCOLM X: STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
Lebert Bethune & John Taylor, 1966, 20 min.

Filmed in Paris in November 1964, just months before his assassination, MALCOLM X: STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM, portrays the civil rights leader at a time when his views were expanding to include what was going on in the world at large. In his commentary, he advocates for solidarity with Africa, underscored by images of Patrice Lumumba and Congolese independence.

+ Panel discussion with Lebert Sandy Bethune (filmmaker) and Herb Boyd (scholar, author, educator, activist), moderated by Milton Allimadi (Black Star News)