Quilombo Films is the award-winning feature documentary about Brazilian villages founded by escaped and rebel slaves. The event will include a question-and-answer session and a discussion by director/producer Leonard Abrams about ethnographic filmmaking and the independent filmmaking process. The screening and discussion will be followed by a cocktail reception.
Brazil, once the world's largest slave colony, was brutal and deadly for millions of Africans. But many thousands escaped and rebelled, creating settlements in Brazil's untamed hinterland. Largely unknown to the outside world, these communities struggle today to preserve a rich heritage born of resistance to oppression.
"Quilombo Country" includes rare footage of festivals and ceremonies that blend Catholic, African and native Amazonian rituals and customs, and examines issues of political identity, land rights, and racial and socioeconomic discrimination. The film is narrated by Chuck D, the legendary poet, media commentator and leader of the iconic hip hop band Public Enemy.
"Quilombo Country" has played at more than 20 film festivals worldwide, winning Best Documentary at Black International Cinema Berlin, and has been acquired by more than 300 universities, museums and other cultural organizations.
"An up-close-and-personal look at the state of these villages today, featuring surprisingly articulate accounts from residents lacking in formal education." - The New York Times
"Turns a sensitive ethnographic eye to the racial issues facing quilombolas." - Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology
"A wonderfully rich picture of everyday life and festival culture in quilombos." - Black Camera
