Drexciya (2010 film)
Drexciya [1][2] is a Ghanaian 2010 short documentary film directed and produced by Akosua Adoma Owusu in association with California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). The film had its theatrical premiere at the 2011 International Film Festival Rotterdam and participated in Video Studio: Changing Same [3] at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York.
Drexciya | |
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Film poster | |
Directed by | Akosua Adoma Owusu |
Cinematography | Dustin Thompson Akosua Adoma Owusu |
Edited by | Dustin Thompson |
Production company | Obibini Pictures LLC |
Distributed by | Grasshopper Film LLC |
Release date |
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Running time | 12 minutes |
Country | Ghana |
Synopsis
Drexciya [4][5] portrays an abandoned public swimming facility located in Accra, Ghana set on the Riviera. The Riviera at one time was an upscale development, consisting of luxury high-rises and five star hotels. Since the 1970s, the Riviera has fallen into a disheveled state. This short documentary was inspired by afro-futurist myths propagated by the underground Detroit-based band Drexciya. They suggest that Drexciya is a mythical underwater subcontinent populated by the unborn children of African women thrown overboard during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. These children have adapted and evolved to breathe underwater.
Screenings
- 9th International Festival Signes de Nuit, Paris 2011 [6]
- IndieLisboa 2011
- Viennale 2011
- 30th Festival Internacional de Cine de Huesca 2011
- Festival del cinema africano, d'Asia e America Latina di Milano 2011
- Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid 2011 [7][8]
- Toronto International Film Festival, 2012 [9]
- OkayAfrica - The Future Weird: Black Atlantis, New York 2013, USA [10]
- Tabakalera, 2015 Spain
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, 2015 USA [11]
- Detroit Institute of Arts, 2016, USA [12]
- Posthuman Complicities at mumok, 2017 Vienna, Austria
- Labocine, 2018
- 20th FestCurtasBH, 2018 Brasil
Awards
- Best Experimental Film - Guanajuato International Film Festival 2011 [13]
- Mención Especial al Cortometraje, 8th African Film Festival, Tarifa 2011 [14]
- Top 10 African films of 2011 [15]
- Juror's Citation Prize - Black Maria Film & Video Festival 2011 [16]
- Camera in the Sun [17]
References
- Finkelstein, David. "Drexciya". Film Threat. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- "Tarifa African Film Festival". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
- "Video Studio: Changing Same". Studio Museum in Harlem. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- Rubin, Mike. "Infinite Journey to Inner Space: The Legacy of Drexciya". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
- "2011 African Film Festival of Tarifa winners announced". Bizcommunity Africa. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
- "9th International Festival Signes de Nuit". International Festival Signes de Nuit. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
- "Drexciya - Centre Pompidou". Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
- "Drexciya, selected screenings". Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW). Retrieved 2012-07-19.
- MacArthur, Julie. "Ways of Seeing (in) African Cinema" (PDF). TIFF Higher Learning. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
- "The Future Weird". OkayAfrica. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
- "She Found a Place". Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
- "Afrofuturist films". Metro Times. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
- "Guanajuato International Film Festival - Winners". GIFF. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
- "8th African Film Festival of Tarifa". FCAT Palmarés 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
- Lewandowska Cummings, Basia. "Africa is a Country". Africa is a Country. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
- "Black Maria Film & Video Festival" (PDF). Black Maria Film and Video Festival. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
- "19th New York African Film Festival". Camera in the Sun. Retrieved 2012-12-10.