NYAFF 2016: Oya

Friday, May 13th-Sunday, May 15th
The 2016 New York African Film Festival

Saturday, May 14th, 2:00pm
Oya: Something Happened On The Way To West Africa!

Oluseyi Adebanjo, Nigeria/USA, 2015, 30 min
Oya: Something Happened On The Way To West Africa! follows my journey as a Queer Gender Non-Conforming Nigerian returning home to connect with Òrìṣà (African God/dess) tradition, and follow a trail back to the powerful legacy of my great grandmother, Chief Moloran Ìyá Ọlọ́ya. This personal and political story vibrantly investigates the heritage of command, mythology, gender fluidity, womyn’s power and the hidden truth behind the power of indigenous Yorùbá spirituality. As I encounter obstacles of a national strike and anti-gay marriage legislation to find the roots of the practice, will I be able to find affirmation for myself as a person between genders/worlds and take on this inheritance?The documentary illuminates the lives of Òrìṣà Ọya (Warrior Goddess), Chief Moloran Ìyá Ọlọ́ya and Seyi Adebanjo while interweaving Yorùbá mythology, poetry, performance, and expert interviews.

In Search of Finah Misa Kule (U.S. Premiere)
Kewulay Kamara, Sierra Leone, 2015, 42 min
In Search of Finah Misa Kule chronicles the quest of poet Kewulay Kamara to reconstitute an ancient epic handed down in his family. Kamara takes us back to his native Village of Dankawali in northeast Sierra Leone where the epic was written out by his father in the 1960s only to be destroyed when the village was razed during the recent Civil War in Sierra Leone.

Screening will be followed by a performance of music and/or poetry reading.