Black History Month
Sankofa (Ghana, 1993) 

Dir. Haile Gerima
With Kofi Ghanaba, Oyafunmike Ogunlano, Alexandra Duah
124 mins.
English

Rated R

Grand prize winner at the African Cinema Festival in Italy, Sankofa comes from the Ghanaian Akan language and means “to go back, look for, and gain wisdom, power and hope” stressing the importance of one not drifting too far away from one's past in order to progress in the future. Gerima used the journey of Mona, a Black American fashion model on a photo shoot in Africa (Ghana) who is surrealistically transported back in time to a plantation in the West Indies where she experiences slavery, and eventually the redemptive power of community and rebellion as she becomes a member of a freedom-seeking Maroon colony. Gerima shows how the African American perception of identity includes recognizing one's roots in order to move forward. Learn more about the film

Faculty Hall, Room 208 on Thursdays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

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