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"STAND DOWN SOLDIER” LEADS A STRONG SELECTION OF FILMS DIRECTED BY WOMEN
IN ADIFF - CHICAGO
"STAND DOWN SOLDIER” LEADS A STRONG SELECTION OF FILMS DIRECTED BY WOMEN
IN ADIFF - CHICAGO


The Chicago African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) is back to celebrate 14 years of consecutive work in the Windy City with recent and less recent films that illustrate the richness and diversity of the lives of people of color all over the world. To be held from June 10-16, hosted by Facets Cinematheque and presented by ArtMattan Productions, the festival will showcase 20 shorts, documentaries and fiction films set in The United States, Australia, Cuba, Jamaica, Canada, Haiti, Spain, New Zealand, Belgium, France, Nigeria, The Democratic Republic of Congo, and Egypt.
 
ADIFF Chicago 2016 features a strong selection of films directed by women from different parts of the world.


Leading the selection is Jeryl Prescott Sales’ Stand Down Soldier, a poignant film which depicts a story seldom told: the particular situation of women in the military and the challenges they face to reintegrate civilian life.  

Jeryl Prescott-Sales plays the lead role of Sergeant Stacy Armstrong, an African-American female soldier back into civilian life after three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her film exposes a system that is far from being adapted to the needs of those struggling for reinsertion in civilian life. At the same time, the director is able to show the various support systems in place and the positive roles family and friends can have in the life of someone affected by the trauma of war. In the end, Stand Down Soldier is a powerful love story as it is the love Stacy receives from her husband, her children and her friends that pulls her through.
 
The women-centered award-winning drama
White Lies by Dana Rotberg is back in Chicago after a national tour that took this New Zealand film to New York City, Santa Fe, Austin, Hartford and many other cities. The film will be screened with White Like The Moon by Marina Gonzales Palmier.
 
There is a strong Caribbean flavor in the festival this year, with several films directed by women:
The First Rasta by Helene Lee about the creation of the Rasta Movement speaks to the rebellious nature of the Caribbean Experience during colonial times. Ninth Floor by Mina Shum and La Belle Vie / The Good Life by Rachelle Salnave speak about more recent moments in the history of the region in and out of the Caribbean. Both films address the presence of Caribbean people out of that region and the troubles and tribulations of their experience in Canada and the United States respectively. The screening of The Good Life is sponsored by Chicago’s DuSable Heritage Association and director Rachelle Salnave will be on hand for a reception and Q&A after the screening.
 
The Spring Revolution in several North-African countries impacted the Muslim world, and women were very much involved in that movement. Austrian filmmaker Alexandra Schneider goes to Egypt in 2012 to show in her film
Private Revolutions some of the issues women still face after revolutionary changes swept that country. Sound of Tears by Dorothy A. Atabong and Sexy Money by Karin Junger also explore the challenges faced by African women today in Canada, Europe and Nigeria. The psychological horror film Paralysis by R. Shanea Williams is featured in the African-American Shorts program.

Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For a full schedule and to order advance tickets online please call 773-281-4114 or 212-864-1760 or visit http://www.facets.org or http://www.NYADIFF.org.  Tickets are $15 for Opening Night, $12 for the Centerpiece, $10 general admission, and $8 students and seniors.  


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