GAAMAA. 2027

GAAMAA follows Gloria Simms, aka Mama G, an enigmatic artist and maroon woman in Jamaica, who on visiting Suriname was bestowed with the title of Gaamang (or Paramount Chief) by the Saramaka Maroons of Suriname. Her title is both spiritual and community leader. The film is a poetic journey exploring maroon identity and intergenerational healing.
Directed & Produced by Karen Marks.

Growing Together

As he turns 40, Mike Africa, Jr. experiences life with his parents for the first time after their release from prison. All his adult life, Mike Africa, Jr. fought for the release of his parents and other imprisoned members of MOVE, a Black revolutionary group in Philadelphia. Nine members of MOVE were convicted of murder and sentenced to between 30 and 100 years for the death of a police officer in 1978 when a standoff turned into a shootout. The so-called MOVE 9 always maintained their innocence. Mike Jr’s parents, Mike and Debbie Davis, are released on parole with a love for each other that survived four decades of separation. Mike Jr, who was born in prison and raised by extended family, is planning his parents’ wedding.

The Price of Memory

Queen Elizabeth II visits Jamaica for her Golden Jubilee Celebrations. While there she is petitioned by a small group of Rastafari for slavery reparations. For Rastafari, reparations is linked to a desire to move back to Africa, the homeland of their African ancestors who were brought to Jamaica and enslaved. The film traces this petition, as well as a reparations lawsuit filed against the Queen. We follow Ras Lion a mystic Rasta farmer who petitioned the Queen, and Michael Lorne; the attorney who brought the lawsuit. In the background are the stories of earlier Rastas who pursued reparations in the 1960s. The film follows the filmmaker on a journey into the past, during which the question of reparations reaches Parliament in both Jamaica and the UK.  

SHUNGU: The Resilience of a People

Shungu follows ordinary people in Zimbabwe over the course of two years, during a time of profound change. The country is experiencing the highest inflation in history and there is a political stalemate between President Robert Mugabe and Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai.