AfroPoP: Season Two

admin — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:39:02 +0000

Critically acclaimed actress, “Dreamgirls,” and “No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency,” star Anika Noni Rose joins the AfroPoP team for season two to showcase four spectacular films about the contemporary African experience. From boxing in Bukom, Ghana, to hip hop in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the tiles of AfroPoP this season are about migration and identity. Join Ms. Rose as we explore these titles.

This year AfroPoP’s four one-hour documentaries take up the movement and migration of African people in search of opportunities for a better life. Director Alex LeMay’s Desert Bayou puts the spotlight on victims of Hurricane Katrina, airlifted to Utah for humanitarian assistance only to be strip searched and treated as refugees in their own country. The Fighting Spirit, by George Amponsah, follows boxers from a tiny African town that produces the toughest, most skilled fighters in the world as they go for the gold in global contests that could change their lives forever. Tre Whitlow’s Black to Our Roots explores Africa through the eyes of a 17-year-old high school student journeying to Ghana in an attempt to escape the violence and despair of her Atlanta housing project. Moving to the Beat, by Caleb Heymann and Abdul Fofanah, tracks American hip hop artists as they collaborate with their African counterparts, exploring the roots of hip hop and dispelling the prevalent myths about the two Continents. Throughout the series, the subjects draw on their culture to help them navigate life’s challenges.

“Quite apart from the rampant tales of death and destruction, the African Diaspora offers fascinating stories of rich characters who are full of vibrant life,” said NBPC’s Executive Director Jacquie Jones. “AfroPop captures their accounts and presents a fresh way of looking at modern Africa and African people.”

AfroPoP.TV

AfroPoP: Season Two