Scalarama is pleased to welcome back Aya Distribution as a partner in the Shared Programme this year.
Aya Distribution is an international sales and distribution company with a particular focus on African cinema. They distribute pioneering titles that excite curious minds, inspire imagination, and even change how people see the world.
For Scalarama 2018, they are offering the below titles at a special discounted rate.
Sembene!
Samba Gadjigo and Jason Silverman / 2015 / Senegal/US / 1h29m
Synopsis:
In 1952, Ousmane Sembène, a dockworker and fifth-grade dropout from Senegal, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This feature-length documentary tells the unbelievable true story of the “father of African cinema”, the self-taught novelist and filmmaker who fought, against enormous odds, a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give African stories to Africans. Sembène! is told through the experiences of the man who knew him best, colleague and biographer Samba Gadjigo, using rare archival footage and more than 100 hours of exclusive material. A true-life epic, Sembène! follows an ordinary man who transformed himself into a fearless spokesperson for the marginalised, becoming a hero to millions.
Format available on: DCP / Bluray / DVD
When available to screen from: Immediately
Terms: £100 per screening
To book, email Justine Atkinson at: j.atkinson@ayadistribution.org
Logos/publicity requirements:
Please display the Aya Distribution logo, available here: https://app.box.com/s/nunlc87zbwclydgs2rsiywifx28nyl6w
Images: https://app.box.com/s/pstjqqar6i5pymu42f5mpnkiee4utu1r
Poster: https://app.box.com/s/7m99u2682uv1exnui1nakz8wkyqoejj5
Trailer link: https://vimeo.com/139538743
Why should people book it:
This film tells the story of the father of African cinema, Ousmane Sembene, who was the first black African to make films in Africa. The film offers a perfect introduction to his work and also African cinema in general.
Complimentary programming ideas:
Sembene! could be screened as a double-bill with one of Ousmane Sembene’s other films, for example, Moolaade, Xala or Black Girl. The film could also be followed by a discussion led by leading experts in African cinema and/or Sembene’s work.
Love the One You Love
Jenna Cato Bass / 2015 / South Africa / 1h45m
Synopsis:
Phone sex operator Terri is comfortable with voicing the most intimate of thoughts over the phone with strangers. However, words don’t come so easily when it comes to communicating her feelings towards Sandile, her attentive and caring boyfriend who spends his time looking after animals when he is not pressing her to give up her non-committal attitude towards him. Unbeknownst to them, in another corner of Cape Town, a computer technician struggles to let go of a lost love, rubbing self-indulgent salt in his own wounds by insisting on spending time with his ex’s younger brother. As fate would have it, their parallel paths intersect and they begin to suspect that their love is a peculiar conspiracy – setting in motion an intimate, funny and bittersweet exploration of some of the more sacred ideals of young life in contemporary South Africa.
Format available on: DVD / DCP
When available to screen from: Immediately
Terms: £100 per screening
To book, email Justine Atkinson at: j.atkinson@ayadistribution.org
Logos/publicity requirements:
Please display the Aya Distribution logo, available here: https://app.box.com/s/nunlc87zbwclydgs2rsiywifx28nyl6w
Images and poster: https://app.box.com/s/7wbkwos9uw7kbm29x1hbp7jpq1emjae6
Trailer link: https://vimeo.com/136903021
Why should people book it: This is an edgy, gripping film about youth culture and love in Cape Town. It would be perfect introduction for any audience to contemporary South African cinema.
Complimentary programming ideas? What does love mean for different people? Invite participants to contribute their one-word interpretation of love on stickers and create a collage of emotions for all to see and reflect on.
Beats of the Antonov
Hajooj Kuka / 2014 / Sudan/South Africa / 1h5m / Arabic with English subtitles
Synopsis:
A music movement is at the core of this engaging and unsettling documentary from war reporter Hajooj Kuka. Telling the story of the Sudanese populations of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountain regions this concentrated documentary feature reveals, and revels in, the cultural production and societal organisation of these people. The film is structured around the daily bombing runs carried out by the Sudanese government in Khartoum. The bombing runs utilise Russian Antonov cargo-carriers to try to blast these ‘rebels’ out of existence. However, such tactics have only further reinforced a determination to preserve a specifically African culture that is viewed as under threat. Sarah Mohamed, an ethnomusicologist, features prominently as a guide to the various music forms that have sprung up around the impromptu celebrations staged after each bombing run. These are celebrations of life as much as culture.
Format available on: DVD / DCP
When available to screen from: Immediately
Terms: £100 per screening
To book, email Justine Atkinson at: j.atkinson@ayadistribution.org
Any logos/publicity requirements:
Please display the Aya Distribution logo, available here: https://app.box.com/s/nunlc87zbwclydgs2rsiywifx28nyl6w
Images and poster: https://app.box.com/s/9pox3s4p8si7vljwnwqngh419hc1e9he
Trailer link: https://vimeo.com/126547224
Why should people book it: So often Africa stories are told by people outside of the continent, but this documentary is directed by Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka and provides new insights into community responses to war in Sudan. It is an award-winning documentary (including the People’s Choice Award in Toronto) which focuses on the daily bombing runs carried out by the Sudanese government in Sudan and the music resistance movements that have sprung up in response.
Complimentary programming ideas? As this film celebrates music in the face of adversity, try hosting a drumming or song-writing workshop as part of the event, or follow the screening with an African music night.
White Shadow
Noaz Deshe / 2013 / Tanzania / 1h55m
Synopsis:
Since 2007 it has become known that albinos in Tanzania, Congo and Kenya have become a commodity – human targets of a lucrative and sinister trade. Witch doctors offer thousands of dollars for albino body parts that are believed to bring good fortune, prosperity and the ability to cure any illness. White Shadow follows the story of Alias, a young albino boy, on the run. After witnessing his father’s murder, his mother sends him away to find refuge in the city, but he soon discovers that wherever he travels the same rules of survival apply. This thought-provoking and beautiful film addresses a little-known topic in a luminous and poignant way.
Format available on: DVD / bluray
When available to screen from: Immediately
Terms: £100 per screening
To book, email Justine Atkinson at: j.atkinson@ayadistribution.org
Any logos/publicity requirements:
Please display the Aya Distribution logo, available here: https://app.box.com/s/nunlc87zbwclydgs2rsiywifx28nyl6w
Images and poster: https://app.box.com/s/rzh803yhxe0z4cs21y4q
Trailer link: https://vimeo.com/122768765
Why should people book it: Described by Ryan Gosling (Executive Producer) as a ‘transporting work of truly visceral filmmaking’, this film tells the story behind the headlines of the persecution of albinos in Tanzania. Through a captivating narrative this fictional piece takes us inside the life of a young albino boy, Alias, as we learn about the challenges both he and his family face in a modern and brutal world.
Complimentary programming ideas? A screening of White Shadow could be followed by a discussion of the persecution of albinos in Tanzania. You could also partner with a charity working on the issues and topics addressed in the film providing them with the opportunity to promote their work so that they can advise your audience on how to take action following the screening.