Harn Museum welcomes distinguished filmmaker for screening, lecture

February 5, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. –– Ethiopian-born filmmaker and producer Haile Gerima will present a lecture and screening of his film, “Adwa: An African Victory,” at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 8, during Museums Nights at the Harn Museum of Art.

“Adwa: An African Victory” (1999) traces the story of the legendary victory of Emperor Menelik over the Italians in 1896 at the Battle of Adwa. The tale comes to life through the voices of historians, poets and others familiar with this epic story.

“To understand the history, culture and art of Ethiopia it is important to grasp why Ethiopians take such tremendous pride in the victory of Emperor Menelik’s army over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa,” Harn Director Rebecca Nagy said. “It is a great honor to have him visit the Harn to speak and screen his film, which will provide that necessary insight.”

Gerima came to the U.S. in 1967 to attend the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago. While there, he received a B.A. and later an M.F.A. in film at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Gerima went on to produce several internationally acclaimed films, including “Hour Glass,” “Child of Resistance,” “Bush Mama” and “Harvest: 3000 Years,” all made during his years at UCLA. He is probably best known as the director, producer and writer of “Sankofa” (1993). Gerima’s films have been screened at the Venice Film Festival, the London Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival as well as in Chicago, New York and other cities across the U.S.

Gerima is currently a tenured professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He continues to create and distribute his films through Mypheduh Films, Inc., a distributing company he founded in 1982.

This program series is organized by the School of Art and Art History through the Harn Eminent Scholar Endowment and is co-sponsored by the Harn Museum of Art and UF International Center.

For more information on the lecture and screening, visit the Web at www.harn.ufl.edu.