MONDAY 23 MAY, 7pm
Little Dreams (15)
(Ahlam Sagira) Director: Khaled El Hagar. Cast: Mervat Amin.
Egypt 1993. 81 mins. Arabic with English subtitles.
Little Dreams is the story of Ghareeb, a 13-year-old Egyptian boy whose father died a heroic death in the 1956 Suez Canal crisis when Ghareeb was still an infant. He now lives with his mother in Suez during the period leading up to the outbreak of the 1967 Six Day War between Egypt and Israel. As he grows older, Ghareeb finds a father figure in the Egyptian president Nasser, and joins the local resistance. We hope to welcome director Khaled El Hagar to the screening.

& live inThe Ritzy Café:

Mon 23 May – Wabalozi Wa Rumba
A potent mix of acoustic guitar and congas with guest musicians joining the line-up, WWR kick off our week long African music festival in the Ritzy Café. Centred around Dutch-African guitarist Espen and a veteran of the London Congalese music scene on congas and voice (singing in lingala) Wabalozi Wa Rumba start off our week with infections guitar lines, passionate vocals and an uplifting vibe
8pm – 11pm FREE

TUESDAY 24 MAY 7pm
SHORT FILM PROGRAMME ONE (15)
Safi, La Petite Mère (Safi, the Little Mother). Director: Rasmané
Ganemtoré. Burkina Faso 2004. 26 mins. In the Samu tribe, new-borns are traditionally killed when their mothers die while giving birth, to ward off an evil fate. Safi, an eight-year-old girl, manages to rescue her newborn brother and escapes to the city. We hope to welcome director Rasmané Ganemtoré to the screening.

Be Kunko Director: Cheik Fantamady Camara. Guinea 2004. 31 mins. Following the experiences of young refugees escaping war, Be Kunko finds the young protagonists sowing their wild oats in Conakry, indulging in robbery and prostitution, and searching for meaning in their tumultuous lives.
Kare Kare Zwako – Mother's Day Director: Tsitsi Dangaremgba.
Zimbabwe 2004. 30 mins. Drought has struck. A mother is forced to prevent her husband from eating their children's dinner of termites, and he seeks an extreme revenge. Little does he comprehend the hidden forces within the woman he is so cruelly toying with.

For more information on the history and mission of the festival, please see their website: www.cambridgeafricanfilmfestival.co.uk

& live in The Ritzy Café:

Tue 24 May – Maudou N'diaye Cissokho And The Brothers Bab
World Class Senegalese kora player Maudou N'Diaye Cissokho teams up with violinist Max Baillie, percussionist Hans Sutton and cosmical mysticographer Andre Marmot for an uplifting combination of traditional Mandinka songs, European baroque music, drumming extravagance and spoken word featuring guest poets. Fresh from tours to Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso, the band are bouncing and this is a night not to be missed.
8pm – 11pm FREE

WEDNESDAY 25 MAY, 7pm
Belonging (PG)
Director: Kethiwe Ngcobo. South Africa. 2004. 52 mins. English and
Zulu with English subtitles.
Born in the UK to parents who fled apartheid South Africa, this is the story of Kethiwe Ngcobo's return to her 'homeland' where she has chosen to raise her son, and her journey through an identity crisis that disconnected her from both societies

And Ask Me I'm Positive (15)
Director: Teboho Edkins. Lesotho/South Africa 2004. 48 mins.
Thabo, Thabiso and Moalosi are young, urban Basotho men on a mission. They travel with a mobile cinema unit through the mountains of Lesotho - a country where almost a third of the people are HIV+ - screening their film to very remote communities. They are pioneers, they are also film stars, and are very attractive to women. How does one go about meeting women if you have just publicly disclosed your HIV status? The three young men open up in a way seldom seen on screen.

& live in The Ritzy Café:

Wed 25 May - DJ Eric Soul Presents Afrogroov feat. Special Guest tbc
Afrogroov continues in its tradition of providing a forum for semi-acoustic up and coming talent, crews and collectives from the African diaspora. On a fortnightly basis DJ Eric Soul spins us a mix that takes in Dakar, Rio, London, Paris and many more ports of call. Following in the footsteps of Khethi, Sanchita Furruque and D'Banj, each night includes a guest performer adding the vital live ingredient for the evening's proceedings.
8pm – 11pm FREE

THURSDAY 26 MAY, 7pm
Hollow City (15)
(Na Cidade Vazia) Director: Maria Joao Ganga. Cast: Roldan Joao, Domingos Fernandes Fonseca, Raúl Rosário. Angola. 2004. 91 mins. In Portuguese with English subtitles.
UK PREMIERE.
Twelve year old N'dala is brought to the capital, Luanda, by well-meaning nuns. The boy is the sole survivor of a family senselessly slaughtered in the country's civil war and, wanting to discover the big city, N'Dala ventures through the dusty, battered streets where he meets a host of fascinating individuals. Hollow City is a hauntingly powerful sketch of the forgotten casualties of Angola's po litical landscape.

& live in The Ritzy Café:

Thu 26 May – Mahjoon
Mahjoon play original music drawing on middle eastern, gypsy and indian influences. The latest addition to London´s thriving global-electro scene, they combine oud / clarinet / bass clarinet / flute with percussion, samples and loops. Thievery Corporation with more roots, Anouar Brahem with more beats...souk sounds with soul.Tight interlocking melodies, fiery rhythmic interplay and floating improvisations combine to form a hypnotic musical experience.
8pm – 11pm FREE

FRIDAY 27 MAY, 7pm
Tasuma (PG)
Director: Daniel Kolo Sanou. Cast: Mamadou Zerbo, Aï Keïta, Bésani Raoul Khalil. Burkina Faso 2004. 85 mins. In Moré with English subtitles.
A hilarious but also moving film that was a major popular success at FESPACO 2005. The story follows the character Sogo Sanon, a Senegalese veteran of the French Army who served in the Indochina and Algerian wars. Demobilized in 1962, he became a farmer – but a farmer who decides to wage another war to acquire his military pension. A masterpiece of writing and acting.

& live in The Ritzy Café:

Fri 27 May – Imzad
Anyone familiar with the rhythms, sounds and traditions of North African music will not want to miss this one. In the right hands, the sheer exuberance and potency of percussion instruments such as the darbucka, the floating yet in-your-face vocals and thehop-and-skip of the handclapsmake for a heady mix. Imzad feature some of London's finest purveyors of North African music and will not disappoint...
8pm - 11pmFREE

SATURDAY 28 MAY, 7pm
Forgiveness (15)
Director: Ian Gabriel. Cast: Arnold Vosloo, Quanita Adams. South Africa 2004. 118 mins.
A n ex-cop granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission seeks out the family of one of his apartheid-era victims to ask them for forgiveness. "With extraordinary direction and innovative cinematography, Ian Gabriel forces us to confront the complications of forgiveness", says one commentator. "He demands that we never forget the past, in South Africa or anywhere, and inspires us to hope and live together, continuing to fight for human rights and justice."
With the kind participation of the Commonwealth Film Festival.

& live in The Ritzy Café:

Sat 28 May
DJ Eric Soul Presents Afrogroov feat. Special Guests tbc
See above

SUNDAY 29 MAY, 7pm
Keltoum's Daughter (15)
(Bent Keltoum) Director: Mehdi Charefl. Cast: Cylia Malki, Baya Belal, Jean-Roger Milo, Fatma Ben Saidene, Deborah Lamy. Algeria 2005. 106 mins. In French and Arabic with English subtitles.
A young beautiful woman, Rallia, returns to a rural, desert area of Algeria to try to find her family. A profound film, imbued with questions of identity and nationhood.

& live in The Ritzy Café:

Sun 29 May
DJ Eric Soul Presents Afrogroov feat. Special Guests tbc
See above

REFLECTING AFRICA
23 May – 30 May 2005

The Ritzy Cinema
Brixton Oval SW2 1JG
3 min walk from Brixton tube

Info 020 7733 2229
Bookings 08707 55 00 62
Online bookings via The Ritzy website at www.picturehouses.co.uk

CAFF AT THE RITZY WEB PAGE
www.picturehouses.co.uk/site/cinemas/ritzy/caff.htm