When the slave boats docked in the Americas, Cuba and the Caribbean, hundreds of cultures and religions arrived with their passengers. But not all of them survived the plantations. Los Angeles-based director Toyin Ibrahim Adekeye travels through the U.S, West Africa, Brazil and Central America, to map the widespread influence of the Yoruba of northwest Africa, a people whose culture withstood the depredations of slavery and colonialism. His interviews include playwright, poet and essayist Wole Soyinka; Afrobeat pop star Femi Kuti; and painter and philosopher LeRoy Clarke, all weighing in on the Yoruba's ability to adapt. Yoruba slaves and their Latin American descendants grafted their indigenous religion to the saints of the dominant Roman Catholic Church, giving rise to Santeria. In 1880, when the British governor of Trinidad banned African drum skins used to spur rebellion among poor blacks, Yoruba were among the first to retaliate with the invention of steel pan drums. And the strength of women within Yoruban tradition was key economically, as female entrepreneurs helped sustain a people transitioning from slaves to willing participants in capitalism. It's a story honouring the strength of traditions which not only survive, but flourish in the African Diaspora.
A film by Toyin Ibrahim Adekeye
Nigeria, 2018, Documentary, 1h30 minutes
Type : Documentary Length: 90 minutes Locations: Diaspora Languages: English
Director: Toyin Ibrahim Adekeye
Production: Motherland Productions.com/
FILM AWARDS / ACCOLADES: Africa Movie Academy Awards - Best Documentary Nominations 2018 Charlotte Black Film Festival - Winner, Best Documentary 2019 International Houston Black Film Festival - Winner, Best Documentary 2019 Silicon Valley Africa Film Festival - Winner, Best Diaspora Documentary 2018 Festival International du Film Panafricain de Cannes - Winner Jury Special Award 2019 AFI World Peace Initiative Cannes - Winner, Best Doc, in Cultural Preservation 2019 Toronto Black Film Festival - Official Selection 2019 Yale University Official Selection -Yale council of African studies / Yale Africa Film Fest 2018 Pan African Film Festival Los Angeles - Official Selection 2018 Montreal International Black Film Festival - Best Documentary Nominations 2018 Halifax Black Film Festival Canada - Official Selection 2019 Africa World Film Festival Detroit - Best Documentary 2nd Place 2018 Africa Diaspora International Film Festival Chicago - Official Selection 2018 IREP International Documentary Film Festival - Official Selection 2019 Zuma Film Festival Abuja - Official Selection 2018 Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival - official Selection 2018 Fade to Black Black History Month Montreal Canada - Official Invitation 2019 African Film Festival New Zealand - Official Selection 2019 Wassermusik Festival Berlin Germany - Official Selection 2019 The African Film Festival Dallas - Official Selection 2019 New York African Film Festival - Official Selection 2019 AND MANY OTHERS!
Please share your impressions, remarks, suggestions to help us improve the new Southplanet website. Don't hesitate to signal any bugs that you happen to come across !