New York (TADIAS) – The Sheba Film Festival will mark its 10th anniversary this year with its annual line-up of films honoring the diversity of Ethiopia’s global cultural and religious heritage. The event, which takes place at various venues in New York from May 21st to June 6th, will include several prizes for the audience in commemoration of the 10th year celebration, such as a round-trip ticket to Addis Ababa sponsored by Ethiopian Airlines.
Among the films highlighted this year include Town of Runners an acclaimed feature documentary about young runners from Bekoji —an Ethiopian highland town known for being home to some of the world’s greatest distance athletes, as well as The Well: Water Voices from Ethiopia introducing us to a unique water management system that allows the Borana people in the southern part of the country to distribute water as the property and right of everyone.
— If You Go:
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 – 19:30
TAKE US HOME JCC Manhattan
334 Amsterdam Ave
New York. NY 10023
Admission: $12
Followed by Q&A
Wednesday, May 22nd 2013. 7:00PM
LEAH Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Admission: $10
Followed by a panel discussion
Thursday, May 23, 2013
TOWN OF RUNNERS The Schomburg Center
515 Malcolm X Blvd
New York, NY
Admission: $12
Thursday, June 6, 2013 – 19:30
THE WELL: WATER VOICES FROM ETHIOPIA Faison Firehouse Theatre
6 Hancock Place
New York, NY
Admission: $12
New York (Tadias) – Now in its eigth year, the Sheba Film Festival is set to begin on May 15th in New York. The annual event, organized by BINA Cultural Foundation Inc., primarily focuses on movies that pay homage to the rich legacy of Ethiopian Jews as well as the global Ethiopian community.
In addition to the film screenings – running from May 15 to June 2 – at four different locations (Faison Firehouse Theatre in Harlem, The JCC in Manhatan, The Schomburg Center and Kane Street Synagogue), the program also includes an art exhibition organized in conjunction with the International Agency for Minority Artists Affair (IAMAA). Opening reception is scheduled for Sunday, June 5th (5:00PM) at 163 west 125th Street in Harlem.
Here is the schedule for the 8th Sheba Film Festival:
Sunday, May 15th 2011 3pm (Admission: $12)
Faison Firehouse Theatre in Harlem
6 Hancock Place, New York NY 10027
(West 124th Street between St. Nicholas and Morningside Avenue). Director: Duki Dror (Israel 2010), 58 min, Amharic, Hebrew, English subtitles
Tuesday, May 24th 2011 7:30PM (Admission: $10)
JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave, at 76th St. Director: Curt Fissel (Uganda/USA 2010), 40 min, English
Synopsis:
Living in the lingering wake of the Idi Amin regime of terror and intolerance, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Ugandan coffee farmers challenged historical and economic hurdles by forming “Delicious Peace” Cooperative. Their mission was to build harmonious relationships and economic development, and they are succeeding. Partnering with a Fair Trade US roaster, the farmers’ standard of living is improving, peace is flourishing, and their messages of peace and fair wages are spreading to their coffee customers in the US.
Synopsis:
Using archival footage and photographs, the film explores key moments, both public and private, in the life and reign of Ethiopia’s last emperor Haile Selassie (1892 – 1975).
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011 7PM (Admission: $12)
Kane Street Synagogue (236 Kane Street Brooklyn, NY 11231) Director: Benjamin Mandell (Ethiopia/Israel 2010), 27 min, Amharic, English subtitles
Synopsis:
Ethiopia entered the new millennium on September 11, 2007 nearly eight years after the rest of the world. The celebrations are riotous. Desaly Goshu left his birthplace of Ethiopia seventeen years ago. As a young boy, his family immigrated to Israel. For the first time, Desaly returns to Ethiopia to remember his past and to celebrate the coming of a new era.
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011 7PM (Admission: $12)
Kane Street Synagogue (236 Kane Street Brooklyn, NY 11231) Director: Ruth Mason (Israel 2010) 30 min, Hebrew English subtitles
Synopsis:
Ethiopian Jews’ multiple names reflect the richness, wisdom and beauty of their culture — and every name tells a story. In the film, young Ethiopian Israelis share their journeys toward their names: stories of love and connection, survival and loss, anger and pride. The characters’ original names – changed without their consent upon arrival in Israel – take them back to their childhoods in mountain villages, to the hunger and fear in Sudan, to longing for loved ones who died or disappeared on the journey to Israel, to denial of their identity…and reclamation of their roots.
New York (TADIAS) – Now in its sixth year, the Sheba Film Festival is set to begin on May 6th in New York.
The annual event organized by BINA Cultural Foundation Inc, primarily focuses on movies that pay homage to the rich legacy of Ethiopian Jews as well as the global Jewish and Ethiopian communities.
“The Sheba Film Festival explores artistic works that celebrate and honor the traditions and cultural heritage of the Ethiopian Jewish community”, says Beejhy Barhany, Executive Director of BINA. “We also try to depict the greater Jewish community, as well as the greater Ethiopian community. Both of these communities are represented within this year’s Festival. We are also pleased to highlight the Abayudaya, a Jewish community from Uganda.”
Beejhy is referring to a documentary by Guy Lieberman entitled Pearls of Africa. According to the Segal Centre for Performing Arts: “This film documents a unique community of Jews living in a remote corner of Uganda, close to the border with Kenya. Called Abayudaya, which means “Jews” in the local language, these peasant farmers practice a home-grown form of Judaism which harks back to biblical times. Claiming no ancestral or genetic connection to Judaism, Chief Kakangulu and his followers chose to adopt the Jewish faith about 90 years ago, despite opposition and even persecution. Today the Abayudaya worship in several small synagogues dotted in the rural countryside, largely isolated and unknown to the wider Jewish world.”
In addition to the film programs running from May 6 – 17 at three different locations (The JCC in Manhatan, Helen Mills Theater, and The Schomburg Center), this year’s festivities also include an art exhibition by Ethiopian and American photographers and artists. The display includes works by Ezra Wube, Joan Roth, Rose-Lynn Fisher and Avishai Mekonen. Opening reception is scheduled for May 3rd from 7pm – 9pm at Harlem’s State Building Art Gallery.
Here is the schedule for the 6th Sheba Film Festival:
Pearls of Africa –
The Abayudaya Jews of Uganda Wednesday, May 6th 2009 7:30 pm
At the JCC in Manhathan.
The Abayudaya are a unique community of
600 Black Ugandans in Eastern Uganda,
who chose to adopt the Jewish faith
about 90 years ago. For More Info and to Purchase Tickets, Click Here
The Name My Mother Gave Me 2009 NYC Premiere!
Thursday, May 14th 2009 7:30 pm
Screening at Helen Mills Theatre
This moving documentary follows a group
of Israeli adolescents, mostly born in
Ethiopia, on a life changing journey. For More Info and to Purchase Tickets, Click Here
Vasermil Sunday May 17th, 2009 2:00 pm
Screening at Schomburg Center
Vasermil tells the story of three
teenagers who live in a tough
neighborhood, growing up in an
unforgiving environment, pinning
their hopes on football as a way out. For More Info and to Purchase Tickets, Click Here
Zrubavel Sunday May 17th, 2009 4:00 pm
Screening at Schomburg Center
Zrubavel tells the story of a family in cultural
disarray upon their journey from Ethiopia to
Israel. Zrubavel is a universal story of struggle
and generational rifts. Followed by Q&A For More Info and to Purchase Tickets, Click Here
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