Sankofa

Join the People's Cinema Club for a screening of Sankofa directed by Haile Gerima. Hosted by BlackStar Projects.

About the Film Sankofa SANKOFA follows Mona (Oyafunmike Ogunlano), a Black American fashion model on a photo shoot in Cape Coast, Ghana. Through Mr. Gerima’s imaginative storytelling, she undergoes a journey back in time to a plantation in North America. There she becomes Shola, an enslaved African woman who labors in the master’s house and experiences the horrors of slavery firsthand. In becoming Shola, Mona recovers and confronts her ancestral identity and experience. While enduring monstrous trauma at the hands of white men who owned people for profit, Shola’s interactions with her fellow enslaved Africans are rich with humanity, respect and dignity for one another. Most notably, she connects with Shango (Mutabaruka), a rebellious African man who toils in the fields, and Nunu (Alexandra Duah), one of the few of the enslaved to remember her life in Africa before being stolen and terrorized by European traders.

Narrative Feature (1993)

Runtime: 125 min

Language: English, Akan

Dir. Haile Gerima

Note: The film has English subtitles for the Akan language parts.

People’s Cinema Club is a new microcinema powered by BlackStar at the Village of Industry and Art.

The cinema club hosts intimate screenings for local audiences right in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. People’s Cinema Club is a collaboration between BlackStar Projects, cinéSPEAK, Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival, and Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation.

The People’s Cinema Club is made possible through support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Village of Industry & Art is a center for creativity, craft, and community in the heart of Philadelphia.

Learn more about BlackStar Projects here: https://blackstarprojects.org/

Visiting Us Accessibility

The Village of Industry & Art is a historic building with inherited facilities. For ADA access, please enter at the Pine Street Entrance (1431 Pine Street), where a staff member will guide you to the screening room.

If you require accessible entrance, please contact us at [email protected]

Film Captions: The film has English subtitles for the Akan language parts.

Parking

The Village of Industry & Art is located in Center City. There is no on-site parking available. It is suggested that visitors use SEPTA or rideshare when possible. Uber and Lyfts’ VIA pin will drop you off at 320 S. Broad Street (VIA's main entrance).

More accessibility information can be found here .

Photography & Videography

Photographs and/or film footage might be taken at People’s Cinema Club. Images from this event may be used for marketing/promotional purposes. If you prefer not to be photographed, please speak to a staff member at the check-in desk.