International Film Festival Through Nov. 6

An international film festival with the theme "World Leaders and African Conflict" will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 4, on Fairmont State University's and Pierpont Community & Technical College's main campus.

The goal is to make visible the stories behind images of perpetual conflict and violence we see in daily news about Africa. Films highlight the destructive nature of interna­tional entanglement in local issues.

Films are also part of the semester's coursework in elementary and intermediate French courses, where students learn about language and world cultures. Screenings are free and open to the public. Dr. Erin Hippolyte will present an introduction before each film and lead a discussion after each film.

The schedule for the international films is as follows:

* "Lumumba" (Raoul Peck, France/Belgium/Haiti/Germany, 2000) - 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, in Multi-media Room A of the Ruth Ann Musick Library

The story comes from what is now the DR Congo. At the time of the country's independence from Belgium in the early 1960s, Patrice Lumumba was the country's first prime minister.  His Pan-African thinking and ideas of self-sufficiency and dignity for African people caused him to be unpopular in a global neocolonial climate. He was brutally delivered into the hands of his enemies by European and American forces and assassinated less than a year after taking office.

* "Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man" (Robin Shuffield, France, 2006) - 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 5, in Multi-media Room A of the Ruth Ann Musick Library

The documentary tells the story of the leader who changed his country's name in the 1980s from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, a name that signifies "land of upright people." He undertook a radical agenda for change that included a railroad to traverse Burkina Faso built collectively by the citizens and a gender-bending "men's day at the market." He was assassinated soon after seizing power. 

* "Bamako" (Abderrahmane Sissako, Mali/France/USA, 2006) - 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, in Multi-media Room A of the Ruth Ann Musick Library

Set in an outdoor courtyard in present-day Mali, citizens hold a trial to accusing the World Bank and the IMF of impeding African progress and stability. Amateur and professional actors come together to bear witness, some singing or choosing silence, and some delivering complex and insightful readings of contemporary Africa and global dynamics. The trial cannot be separated from daily life, and the testimony is accompanied by various events like a passing wedding procession and the work of women dying fabric. In relation to the other two films in the series, viewers can trace the continuing destructive nature of outside forces as Africans work toward goals of self-sufficiency and prosperity.

For more information, call Dr. Erin Hippolyte at (304) 367-4598. Admission is free and open to the public.