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Cascade Festival of African Films hosts Family Film Day at Kennedy School

Photos and story by James Hill

The , one of the longest-running volunteer-run African Film Festival in the United States, is hosting Family Film Day on Saturday, Feb. 25 at McMenamins Kennedy School (5736 N.E. 33rd Ave.).

The day focuses on films that appeal to younger audiences (ages 5 and up). This year, the animated African folk tales to be presented include “Tinga Tinga Tales” (50 minutes) at 2 p.m. and “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears” and other short stories (30 minutes) at 3 p.m. Storyteller and host for the day, Baba Wagué Diakité of Mali, will carry on the tradition of introducing the films with traditional stories from West Africa. This event is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by the Black United Fund of Oregon and Pacific Northwest College of Art.

“Tinga Tinga Tales” is inspired by traditional animal stories from Africa and Tingatinga artwork, named for the Tanzanian artist Edward Saidi Tingatinga. From these tales, kids will learn why the frog croaks, why the crocodile has bumps, and why the woodpecker pecks.

Animations of three award-winning children’s books round out the Family Film Day program. “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears,” is a tall tale that sets off a chain of mishaps in the jungle. Other shorts to follow include “A Story, A Story,” which relates how the Sky God once kept all the stories of the world in a box, until Ananse the spider man does what he must to get those stories. In “Who’s in Rabbit’s House,” viewers meet Rabbit and his friends: Leopard, Rhino and Elephant. What will they do to help Rabbit get back into her house?