Who is haile gerima

Haile Gerima Dialogue with Arthur Jafa Director Haile Gerima and Arthur Jafa, cinematographer, filmmaker, and mentee of Gerima, join for a robust conversation and dissection of Gerima's recent release, Sankofa.

Haile Gerima is a warrior, and as such in these times, a decidedly serious personality. The images suggest a somewhat grim personality. His determination to speak of his people and of himself in film, our most expensive popular medium, perhaps offers an explanation for the somewhat harrowing visage. Director Producer Writer Cinematographer Editor Child of Resistance Inspired by a dream Haile Gerima had after seeing Angela Davis handcuffed on television, Child of Resistance is an abstract and symbolic film that follows a woman imprisoned as a result of her fight for social justice.

Director Producer Writer Editor Bush Mama Bush Mama is Haile Gerima 's powerfully moving look at the realities of inner city poverty and systemic disenfranchisement as experienced by Dorothy, a pregnant welfare recipient in Watts, played by the magnetic Barbara O. Director Producer Writer Editor All Rights Reserved. Director Producer Writer Cinematographer Editor. Child of Resistance Inspired by a dream Haile Gerima had after seeing Angela Davis handcuffed on television, Child of Resistance is an abstract and symbolic film that follows a woman imprisoned as a result of her fight for social justice.

Director Producer Writer Editor. Bush Mama Bush Mama is Haile Gerima 's powerfully moving look at the realities of inner city poverty and systemic disenfranchisement as experienced by Dorothy, a pregnant welfare recipient in Watts, played by the magnetic Barbara O. He also lectures and conducts workshops in alternative screenwriting and directing both within the U.

Latest About Support Contact. Upcoming Past. Items Cart 0. What happens is you are somewhere not because you want to be there but because you are not a threat there. In America, no one cares who I am or what I do. In Ethiopia even my stupidity is a threat. America is not my home. I am still a guest who needs a visa to be there.

I am not a citizen of the US nor do I want to be. AfricAvenir: What are the possibilities for power structure change in Africa? What do you think is the potential of civil society movements?

Are they receptive to the themes you discuss in your films and which you see as fundamental to understand African history? Gerima: The danger of living long is you become more pessimistic.

In Ethiopia we had the so called Ethiopian Spring, which was not broadcast in other countries. What do you think will happen in Egypt? The military will not allow a revolution to happen. Neither the US nor Israel would want a revolution to take place there. Egyptians now are becoming more aware of what happens in their country, of where the military come from and how they came to power. No one discusses the history of Egypt, even in Egypt itself. Was Sadat appointed by the CIA?

And what about Mubarak? He too was a CIA-appointed leader. We are manipulated by the media. The minute imperialism calls your struggle revolution there is a problem for me. When the CNN refers to events in Egypt as a revolution people tend to view them with mistrust. Africans do not have the right to make a revolution unless sanctioned by the power that be, Europe, the US and increasingly China. Young people do not realize that the military are not to be trusted because they are an instrument of repression.

The Ethiopian military were supposed to be the friends of the people and then they killed millions. In Africa we are not allowed to interpret our own history without the sanction of the imperial powers.

Young Africans are not taught to understand history. Understanding circumstances should take precedence over revolutionary euphoria. I wish people in Ethiopia had stayed underground rather than rushing into a revolution which killed them. Understanding one's history allows one to draw lessons from the past and avoid making the same mistakes. I am a pessimist. My films make me more optimistic. But this optimism is still in the making.

It is important for me to know that things will not always be the same and there will be a generation that will have a broader perspective. What are people meant to do, twitter their way to power or what?

AfricAvenir: I would also like to talk about the distribution side. Our organisation AfricAvenir has a section in Windhoek, Namibia. Our colleagues there are mainly working on the distribution of and access to films that portray an African perspective. They seek to emphasize the role of film as a community-shaping factor through their screenings.

Do you see initiatives like this one as having a long-term potential to become a platform for independent films? Gerima: I think people need to do what they need to do to get their films out. My wife and I started our own distribution company.

I did not want to put up with the terms defined by distribution companies.