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Cascade Festival of African Films hosts Baba Wagué Diakité
Photos and story by James Hill
Artist and storyteller Baba Wagué Diakité will carry on the tradition of introducing the children’s screenings for the Cascade Festival of African Film’s Family Film Day.
Mali-born Baba Wagué Diakité is a well-known artist and storyteller in the Portland area.
The festival’s Family Film Day on Saturday, Feb. 19 focuses on films that appeal to younger audiences (ages 5 and up), and is free and open to the public. It will be held at McMenamins Kennedy School, 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave. The showing starts at 2 p.m. and is made possible by Providence Health & Services.
This year’s featured film selection is “White Lion,” the story of a rare white lion’s struggle to survive alone on the wild African plains and the young boy who is determined to protect it at all costs. This 2009, 88-minute film, which was directed by Michael Swan, is a live-action family feature film that was filmed entirely on location in South Africa.
Mali-born Baba Wagué Diakité is a well-known artist and storyteller in the Portland area. His ceramic work has been shown in groups and solo shows in New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Houston, and Portland. He has been commissioned to create poster designs for a number of Portland arts festivals, and has taught in the Oregon school system through the Art-in-Education program. His first picture book, a retelling of one of his grandmother’s fables called “The Hunterman and the Crocodile,” was named a Coretta Scott King Honor Book.
For 21 years, the African film festival at PCC has honored Black History Month with the showing of more than 20 African films. This year, it will be held Thursdays through Saturdays from Feb. 4 through March 5. It will open with the visit of director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, who will show his latest award-winning film, “A Screaming Man,” at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd) on Friday, Feb. 4.
For more details on this year’s African film festival, visit: www.africanfilmfestival.org
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »