The 35th annual Cascade Festival of African Films takes place January 31 – March 1, 2025, with all films free and open to the public. Jan Haaken interviews visiting filmmaker Moussa Sène Absa.
Moussa Sène Absa began cinema as a screenwriter for the film Les enfants de Dieu. His first short, Le prix du mensonge, received the Silver Tanit at Carthage 1988. In 1991, he directed the feature film Ken Bugul followed, in 1992, by the feature film Ça twiste à Popenguine, which won international recognition. In 1996, he directed Tableau Ferraille (Best Image at Fespaco 1997), the first part of his trilogy on women followed by Madame Brouette (Silver Bear, Berlinale 2002) and Xalé (2022). His last two feature films, Teranga Blues and Yoole were selected in competition at FESPACO in 2007 and 2013.
Centerpiece Weekend takes place February 14–15, featuring the artistry of acclaimed Senegalese filmmaker Moussa Sène Absa. On Friday, February 14, CFAF screens at the Hollywood Theatre at 6:30pm (doors 6pm), Xalé, a powerful film accompanied by an intimate Q&A with the director. The retrospective series takes place on Saturday, February 15, at PCC Cascade Moriarty Auditorium with the screenings of Tableau Ferraille at 2pm and Madame Brouette at 7pm, with a Q&A session with the director.
Fair use image: Poster for the 35th annual Cascade Festival of African Films, a Celebration of Black History Month at Portland Community College. Description: in addition to the text, the poster shows the top half of a black person's face, with eyebrows raised, looking up. Coming out of the top of their head are a reel of film, a person pointing a movie camera, a clapper slate, images framed by sprocket holes, and other film-related things.