Augen Blicke Afrika 2014

Welcome to our African film festival „Augen Blicke Afrika“ which we are able to run for the third consecutive year. We are very glad that African films draw such great interest and that our filmgoers are so open to looking at the continent in a different light.

The activities of the Lampedusa-group in Hamburg have recently put Africa still further into the forefront of the minds of the people of Hamburg thus leading to German solidarity and keen interest.

This year we would like to give our festival “Augen Blicke Afrika“ the topic “Africa’s colonial heritage – historical and present day“. We shall present films by African and some European filmmakers who look at the repercussions of colonial rule from different angles. We start out with a film classic by Ousmane Sembène, which can be seen as a stepping stone in African filmmaking history. We also selected films that highlight the difficult political and social conflicts in the African states in the aftermath of their formal independence. This transformation is by no means complete today and still affects everyday life for people there. Recent political and economic developments and the complexity of present day African politics combined with the interests of former colonial powers demonstrate how far the colonial past still influences Africa today. But also new players like the USA and China have come along making demands on the continent.

As in the past years the festival will be opened with a festive reception and African nibbles. In the middle of the festival we shall offer a symposium in which we’ll discuss “The difficult heritage of Africa’s colonial past“. For this we have invited several African filmmakers.To celebrate the end of the event we are holding an African dance night with a lively musical programme.

We wish all our visitors many inspiring and enlightening film experiences as well as lively discussions with each other and the filmmakers who will be present.