Production and Direction / Produktion und Leitung
Prof. Donald Muldrow Griffith / Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre

in association with / in Verbindung mit
THE COLLEGIUM- Forum & Television Program Berlin
"Footprints in the Sand?" Exhibition
and Cultural Zephyr e.V.

in cooperation with / in Kooperation mit
Commissioner for Integration, District Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Berlin
der Integrationsbeauftragten des Bezirks Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Berlin

Venue / Veranstaltungsort
Rathaus Schöneberg (city hall)
John-F.-Kennedy-Platz,
10825 Berlin/Germany

Admission free / Eintritt frei

BLACK INTERNATIONAL CINEMA BERLIN

is a yearly interdisciplinary, intercultural film/video festival produced and directed by Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre / THE COLLEGIUM - Forum & Television Program Berlin in association with Cultural Zephyr e.V. and screens cinema from Africa, the African Diaspora and films from varied intercultural backgrounds or perspectives.

Black International Cinema Berlin originated from the Black Cultural Festival, which was produced and directed by Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre in 1986 for the first time in Europe, a 3-week event in Berlin, which presented the contributions of Black people to world culture through film, theater, dance, music, workshops and seminars, and was an homage to the legendary tap dancer, Carnell Lyons.

The venues were the Theatermanufaktur am Halleschen Ufer from March 3-16, music – dance – theatre; Hochschule der Künste Berlin on March 11, symposium; Kino Arsenal from March 17-23, film.

Organization and Artistic Direction: Prof. Gayle McKinney Griffith (USA/Berlin), Prof. Donald Muldrow Griffith (USA/Berlin), Donald Muldrow McKinney Griffith II (USA/Berlin), Dr. Ntongela Masilela (South Africa); in cooperation with: Prof. Dr. Abdul Alkalimat (USA), Uazuvara Ewald Katjivena (Namibia), Getinet Belay (Ethiopia), Joliba Africa Center; Organization: Erika Gregor (Arsenal Cinema, Germany); Organization Assistance: Annette Koschmieder (Germany)

Since then, Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre produces and directs the Black International Cinema Berlin each year in Berlin and additionally, in other European and US-American cities.

The festival focuses on presenting works of an artistic, cultural or political nature coinciding with the general educational, social, artistic and economic interest of people from Africa, the African Diaspora and people with an interest in participating in intercultural communication and the resultant interfacing and sharing of educational, social, artistic and economic resources.

Furthermore, Black International Cinema Berlin is open to ALL filmmakers and contributes to better understanding and increasing cooperation between people from various cultural, ethnic, national and religious backgrounds, in order to reduce prejudice and support a peaceful and respectful living together in our multi-faceted societies.  

Black International Cinema Berlin is a festival based upon our mission statement and the objectives and methods as stated within the entry form.

 

 

Ralph H. Metcalfe
May 30, 1910 - October 10, 1978

Berlin, Germany - 1936 Olympic Games - Reich Stadium

Ralph H. Metcalfe, far right: trenchcoat, photo: courtesy of Metcalfe Collection

A Man with Integrity and Vision
Ralph H. Metcalfe
Our Salute Belongs to You!

Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre

 

The Rhineland and Elsewhere?
Prof. Donald Muldrow Griffith

Can you imagine
what it was like to be Black
in the Rhineland during 1937
or in Africa, U.S.A. and South America?
Or to be a disadvantaged
Asian, Native American, indigenous person,
homosexual, Mexican, male or female...
in various countries?
Let us examine our shared experiences
which illuminate this his(her)story,
for a comprehensive addressing of issues,
leading to justice and humanity
for all concerned.

Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre
Black International Cinema Berlin
THE COLLEGIUM - Forum & Television Program Berlin
"Footprints in the Sand?" Exhibition
Cultural Zephyr e.V.

 

If We Must Die
Claude McKay, 1889–1948

If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursed lot.
If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

 

Personal Expressions

 

THE COLLEGIUM
Forum & Television Program Berlin
February 16, 2014

Production & Direction
Prof. Donald Muldrow Griffith/Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre

 

STATE OF AFFAIRS
Pan Africanism and Black History Month:
Visions of the Past, Present and Future

Conversation with
from left: Christian Jolibois, Mahgoub Eltayeb, Louis-Jean,
MFA Kera, Mike Russell, Kani Tuyala
Moderation: Prof. Donald Muldrow Griffith (center)

 

 

MOTTOES "I may not make it if I try, but I damn sure won´t if I don´t..." Oscar Brown Jr. "Mankind will either find a way or make one." C.P. Snow "Whatever you do..., be cool!" Joseph Louis Turner "Yes, I can...!" Sammy Davis Jr. "Yes, We can...!" Barack Obama

Fountainhead® Tanz Theatre

The Collegium - Forum & Television Program

Fountainhead® Distribution - Film & Anthologies

Classic In Black

Portraits and Poems