Mamá África

Mamá África centers on Yoruba religious and cultural expressions in Bobures (Maracaibo Lake), Venezuela and Oyo, Nigeria. While set along the historic “Slave Route,” Mamá África inserts itself into present-day conversations advanced by UNESCO’s decade commemorating African Diasporic rights. Principally, the film narrates the ancestral relationship between the African continent, Latin America, and the Caribbean by tracing Yoruba philosophical tenets, as well as, religious, cultural, social, and political systems. Among these principles, Mamá África highlights communalism, pan-Africanism, and anti-colonial struggle through the daily lives and practices of Yoruba and Afro-Venezuelan spiritualities. African traditionalism as well as transformations in political, economic, and religious conditions are key to overcoming the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, human exploitation, and racism’s oppressive legacies. An unprecedented dialogue between two continents still struggling against 500 years of colonialism is showcased by the complex realities of African spiritual traditions. (Pan African Film Festival)