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Saturday, August 7, 2010

The American Documentary Showcase in Nigeria

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the US Consulate General in Nigeria and the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACi) in West Africa hosted American Documentary Showcase in Abuja, Kano and Lagos.

The showcase was coordinated by notable award winning American documentary filmmakers Bart Weiss and Kim Synder .

The Lagos event was held at the Ozone Cinema in Yaba on Thursday August 5, and at the Public Affairs Section on Broad Street, Lagos, on Friday August 6, 2010. Followed by a cocktail party attended by the participants, including the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Renée Sanders.


Kim Synder's Welcome to Shelbyville got a well deserved standing ovation.

Welcome to Shelbyville is a glimpse of America at a crossroads. In one small town in the heart of America's Bible Belt in the South, a community grapples with rapidly changing demographics. Just a stone's throw away from Pulaski, Tennessee (the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan), longtime African-American and White residents are challenged with how best to integrate with a growing Latino population and the more recent arrival of hundreds of Somali refugees of Muslim faith.

Set on the eve of the 2008 US Presidential election, the film captures the interaction between these residents as they navigate new waters against the backdrop of a tumultuous year. The economy is in crisis, factories are closing, and jobs are hard to find. The local Tyson chicken plant is hiring hundreds of new Somali refugees, and when a local reporter initiates a series of articles about these newcomers, a flurry of controversy and debate erupts within the town. Just as the Latino population grapples with its own immigrant identity, African-American residents look back at their segregated past and balance perceived threats to their livelihood and security against the values that they learned through their own long struggle for civil rights. While the newcomers, mostly of Muslim faith, attempt to make new lives for themselves and their children, leaders in this deeply religious community attempt to guide their congregations through this period of unprecedented change.

Through the vibrant and colorful characters of Shelbyville, the film explores immigrant integration and the interplay between race, religion and identity in this dynamic dialogue. The story is an intimate portrayal of a community’s struggle to understand what it means to be American.


Featured Films 2010

Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy
Bronx Princess
Burning the Future: Coal in America
Come Back to Sudan
The First Kid to Learn English from Mexico *
Freeway Philharmonic
How to Fold a Flag
King Corn * & Big River *
Neshoba
New Muslim Cool
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos
Notes on Liberty
Oh, Saigon
Racing Dreams
Reading the Water
Soundtrack for a Revolution
Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo
Trouble the Water
A Village Called Versailles
Welcome to Shelbyville
Which Way Home *
Whiz Kids
Animated Shorts


Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
6 Aug 2010
18:51 Nigeria / AU / Experts' sessions of CITMC3 ended today with critical recommendations to ministers
18:51 DOT Africa / A specific internet namespace for Africa
17:29 Platts Survey: OPEC Pumped 29.22 Million Barrels of Crude Oil Per Day in July
5 Aug 2010
16:20 MACH and Accuris Networks Enable World's First Pre-Paid Inter-Standard Roaming Call for Starcomms Plc Nigeria
12:49 E-Applications for the development of Africa
4 Aug 2010
22:01 Bristow Group Reports Financial Results for Its 2011 First Fiscal Quarter Ended June 30, 2010
13:45 Communication and Information Technologies (CIT) in Africa, AU meeting calls for a re-push
13:45 Obama / Africa / Fact Sheet: The President's Engagement in Africa
09:59 Sasol Limited: Voluntary Trading Statement for the Year Ended 30 June 2010
05:49 La Commission européenne demande une aide humanitaire supplémentaire pour répondre à l'aggravation de la crise alimentaire au Sahel et au Soudan
00:29 More Than 200 Leaders From 31 Countries Sign World Congress of Families Kenya Pro-Life Petition: Supporting the 'No' Campaign - Kenyans Opposed to Pro-Abortion Constitution
3 Aug 2010
18:41 European Commission requests further humanitarian funding to respond to the worsening food crisis in the Sahel and Sudan
12:35 The Sahel food crisis: Do we have to wait for more deaths?
2 Aug 2010
08:30 SEPLAT : conclusion de l'acquisition de 45% des OMLs 4, 38 et 41 au Nig?ria




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