Black Diaspora Film Festival

Black Diaspora Film Festival

February

The St. Joseph's Historic Foundation, Inc. (SJHF), was founded in 1975 to advance "cultural understanding through diverse programs that examine the experiences of Americans of African descent—locally, nationally, and globally." It is an African- American cultural and educational institution deeply rooted in the historic Hayti community of Durham, N.C.
African Americans started to settle on the southwest edge of Durham shortly after the Civil War. During the slavery era, the term "Hayti" was used by white people when referring to black settlements. This area originally provided a labor pool for Durham's tobacco warehouses, but it soon began to prosper. When Booker T. Washington visited Hayti in 1911, he described it as "a city of Negro enterprises" whose citizens were "shining examples of what a colored man may become."
The Hayti Heritage Center, which is the former St. Joseph's African Methodist Episcopal Church, sponsors the annual Black Diaspora Film Festival. The festival celebrates African-American cinema by highlighting established and emerging filmmakers and films while showcasing the contributions and uniqueness of the black artistic tradition in film. The films that are selected embody the richness of black culture and recognize universal themes that exist among all cultures.

CONTACTS:
Hayti Heritage Center
804 Old Fayetteville St.
Durham, NC 27707
919-683-1709; fax: 919-682-5869
www.hayti.org/14th-annual-black-diaspora-film-festival/#more-102