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Daquan Caliunese
Dezmiek Calimese
Aaron Witherspoon
Jessica Garzon
Zoiya Isaie
Imanni Guerrero


Filmmaker Khalo Matabane visited the East Harlem School to share his film, Story of a Beautiful Country.

Film is an incredibly powerful medum. It can inspire profound observation in young people. It can also bridge an ocean of experience when framed as a curricular environment for complex subjects such as literary technique, social justice, and empathy. When given the opportunity to express their opinions, kids can't help but exercise skills in critical thinking.

AFF is in its 6th year of the education program in cooperation with The East Harlem School at Exodus House (EHSEH), a magnet school for youngsters in one of New York City’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. AFF works with an educational consultant to develop a model curriculum built around films and media artists from the African Diaspora. Every five weeks AFF invites guest speakers from the African Diaspora to come in and share their experiences in media-making as well as other artistic expressions. Past guest have included notable artists such as Malian musician Salif Keita, African art scholar and curator, Dr. Carol Thompson, Ms. Corice Arman, filmmakers Madison Lacy, William Greaves, Andrew Dosunmu, as well as Fode Bangoura, a prominent member of Guinea’s leading ballet company. Moderated discussion during these events prompted students to articulate their curiosity about cultural and technical issues.

Students write responses after each presentation, some of which are reproduced here as a means of illustrating both the students’ insights into African film and AFF’s commitment to education. AFF hopes to integrate this program into other schools in the future. A selection of commentaries are presented here.
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