On Thursday, February 13, the African Black American Film Society kicked off their first meeting of the year by setting the initiative of the club in motion as several New York Film Academy (NYFA) students as well as alumni from various departments gathered to discuss the way forward.
Members showed a keen interest in organizing and hosting events that would build morale, as well as establish and solidify relations amongst individuals. During the event, new members also had the pleasure of meeting the ABA advisor, NYFA Producing instructor Kim Ogletree.
Ogletree spoke about the Industry Lab and how it is beneficial in assisting creatives in developing their projects. The club has a lot in store for current and potential members this year in terms of numerous networking and collaborative opportunities that will benefit students in their respective fields.
Four days later, on February 17, the ABA hosted an African Heritage Day presentation and screening. ABA members Lethabo Mokgatle and Thembelihle Nkosi provided a presentation about South Africa and some of the things that make their home country special to them. They screened Sarafina!, the 1992 South African musical film about the 1976 Soweto uprising against apartheid that stars Whoopi Goldberg.
Before the screening, all the attendees got into an engaging discussion about both South African and African American history, violence, injustice, and how there are so many similarities between the two. At the end of the screening, not only were people exposed to a new movie they’d never seen before, but had learned from each other’s experiences.
Though the attendees came from different geographical locations around the world, this did not limit the ABA meeting as everyone was able to connect, respect, listen and engage with others’ points of view and grow our overall understanding.
Written by ABA members Thembelihle Nkosi and Rhema Boston
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