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“Quilombo
Country” Holding Debut Theatrical Run
at NY’s Pioneer Theater
Following
its first public theatrical screening at the
Anthology Film Archives — a sold-out
event — “Quilombo Country”
has now secured a one-week run at the Pioneer
Theater in the heart of New York City’s
East Village. The film opens on Friday, September
19th and runs every evening at 7 pm. Director
Leonard Abrams will take questions after the
Friday and Saturday screenings. Check back
for more details.
How
to See “Quilombo Country” for
Free
It’s
simple — just buy a ticket, go to the
show and buy a copy of “Quilombo Country”
at the theater for only $20 — $10 off
the regular price. See you there!
"Quilombo
Country" Wins "Best Film/Video Documentary"
Award at Berlin Fest
"Quilombo
Country" was the recipient of the Best
Film/Video Documentary Production award given
by the 2007 Black International Cinema Berlin
festival. The award this year was also given
to three shorter films.
Two New Reviews
From California State University’s Southern
California Quarterly:
“In
classical historical narratives [quilombos]
seem lost in the colonial Brazilian past,
and more myths than documents have survived.
The new film “Quilombo Country”
provides a welcome and innovative approach
to this important Afro-American experience
by focusing on contemporary quilombo communities
and the life of today’s quilombolas.”
From
Indiana University’s Black Camera:
“This
new documentary gives a wonderfully rich picture
of everyday life and festival culture in quilombos
in the north of Brazil, based in abundant
interviews with quilombo resldents, or quilombolas,
themselves. In their own voices, quilombolas
draw us into their country, and their world...
Abrams's
grainy, intimate portrait of the difficult
everyday life of contemporary quilombo residents
refuses romanticization. It rightly places
the quilombolas' experience, understanding,
and practice as evidence of their insistent
continued struggle against racism, for land
rights, for political recognition —
squarely in a complicated present.”
More
Reviews
From
African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter:
From the December 2007 African
Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter:
"A
visually stunning investigation into quilombos
of Brazil...a fast-moving, yet detailed, examination
of today's quilombos, of their history, and
of their ties to African culture....It is
a well-made, interesting, and enlightening
story....Strongly recommend[ed]..."
— Christopher Espenshade,
ADAN
From
In
These Times:
"'Quilombo
Country' brings to light the concerns of a
segment of Brazil society, which, though small,
has greatly influenced Brazilian culture.
The film makes it clear that the Quilombos”
fight for land rights and legal recognition
is integral to saving a living culture from
extinction...features outstanding footage
of festivals, parties and religious ceremonies."
The complete review is also online.
From
the Southern Quarterly:
From
the review
of "Quilombo Country" by Phillip
Gentile in the Spring 2007 issue of the University
of Southern Mississippi's Southern
Quarterly,
one of the nation's most noteworthy cultural
journals:
"Very
often the more interesting 'story' of a documentary,
in addition to its narrative line, is how
it reveals a complexity of form or style commensurate
with the importance of its subject. 'Quilombo
Country' accomplishes this by immersing the
viewer in an ever-expanding network of relationships
– alive with the music and intermixed
rhythms of doing and making, work and worship
– which encompasses the concrete details
of religious practices, public celebrations,
and production of material culture. Abrams'
considerable achievement has been to draw
upon these formal resources and provide us
access to the many dimensions of quilombo
experience in a way that is persuasive, complex,
and timely."
The
24-page piece also includes an interview with
director Leonard Abrams, which took place
this March while he was at the University
to present the film.
Blogged
"Quilombo
Country" was also reviewed
in the popular blog J's
Theater, which "recommend[s]
it for anyone with an interest in this area
of Brazilian, African Diasporic and South
American histories and cultures."
From
the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean
Anthropology:
From
the review
of "Quilombo Country" in the April
2007 Journal
of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology:
"Abrams
brings us a richly textured look at the lives
of communities of escaped slaves in the Brazilian
north…The brilliance of his characters
shines against the background of breathtaking
landscapes….turns a sensitive ethnographic
eye to the racial issues facing quilombolas…in
Brazil's unique system of ethnic and color
classification. But the identitarian political
issues in the film are anchored in a historical
and ethnographic examination of the quilombos'
emergence and present day culture….Provide[s]
useful source material for students of Afro-Brazilian
culture and teachers who focus on slave societies
in the Americas."
—
Brian Brazeal [University of Chicago]
"Quilombo
Country" Screens in London At British
Museum and Festivals in San Francisco, Austin
and Berlin
"Quilombo
Country" screened as part of the film
series "Resistance!" at the British
Museum on April 13th to a near-sellout
audience. Director Leonard Abrams was there
to present the film and take questions.
The
documentary was also included in the Cine
Las Americas International Film Festival
in Austin, TX in April, the Black
International Cinema Berlin in
May and the San
Francisco Black Film Festival.
AOL
Interviews Abrams
AOL
Black Voices, a website dedicated to African-American
concerns, interviewed director Leonard Abrams
and other directors whose films screened at
the Pan African Film Festival. See below:
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