Open CallOpen Call
Reparation Blues (5:10)
Alfred Santana | Brooklyn, NY
In 2001, the United Nations held a World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerances in Durban, South Africa. Over three thousand NGO delegates, numerous government representatives, and Indigenous people of color from across the globe converged in Durban to make their struggles and injustices afflicting their countries know to the world. The question of Reparations for the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade was a key concern for Africans in Africa and throughout the Diaspora. It was a highly contentious issue that ultimately motivated a dramatic walk-out of the United Nations meeting by the U.S. delegation.
My proposed three-minute video is a performance piece that revolves around a poem, written by poet, singer and performance artist Ghail Rhodes-Benjamin titled “Reparation Blues”. The poem, performed in a black box theater, will juxtapose dynamic visual highlights from WCAR, including verite´ footage of the U.S. walk-out and the response of African-America activists. This three-minute digital video will be a nuanced, hybrid compilation that highlights the struggle of political activists to have the issues of reparation heard around the world.
Producer Biography:
Alfred J. Santana is an independent filmmaker who, over the past thirty years has directed eight independent films and photographed over twenty documentaries, public affairs promotional films and videos that have aired on both network and public television.
Al’s current works include Reparation Blues, 2008, a hybrid performance documentary short, WGBH Lab; Merchant Marine, a feature length documentary (work in progress) that looks at merchant marines of color, post WWII; One People, 2007, a hybrid narrative/documentary film about two sisters and their quest to discover a politicized Lorraine Hansberry; Military Option, 2005, a documentary short about military recruiting of our youth, Military Option screened at BAM Rose Cinemas, Anthology Film Archives, N.Y. and The Museum of Modern Art; Journey 1000, 2004, an experimental documentary which chronicles Al’s 1973 trip to The People’s Republic of China; Durban 400, 2003, a documentary about the 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism and the call for Reparations for African Slavery. Durban 400 screened at Anthology Film Archives, N.Y., The Langston Hughes Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and FESPACO film festival in Burkina Faso, WA; In The Spirit of Peace, 2002, documentary short aired on PBS Channel 13’s Reel New York and The Museum of Modern Art.
Al is the founder and executive producer of Al Santana Productions, a Brooklyn-based film and video production company. He has taught film and video production courses at The City College of New York, Pratt Institute and has lectured at Sarah Lawrence College, Pace University, The Borough of Manhattan Community College, and Adelphi University. Al is a member of the Black Documentary Collective, the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, and The Independent Feature Project.
Alfred J. Santana is an independent filmmaker who, over the past thirty years has directed eight independent films and photographed over twenty documentaries, public affairs promotional films and videos that have aired on both network and public television.
Al’s current works include Reparation Blues, 2008, a hybrid performance documentary short, WGBH Lab; Merchant Marine, a feature length documentary (work in progress) that looks at merchant marines of color, post WWII; One People, 2007, a hybrid narrative/documentary film about two sisters and their quest to discover a politicized Lorraine Hansberry; Military Option, 2005, a documentary short about military recruiting of our youth, Military Option screened at BAM Rose Cinemas, Anthology Film Archives, N.Y. and The Museum of Modern Art; Journey 1000, 2004, an experimental documentary which chronicles Al’s 1973 trip to The People’s Republic of China; Durban 400, 2003, a documentary about the 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism and the call for Reparations for African Slavery. Durban 400 screened at Anthology Film Archives, N.Y., The Langston Hughes Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and FESPACO film festival in Burkina Faso, WA; In The Spirit of Peace, 2002, documentary short aired on PBS Channel 13’s Reel New York and The Museum of Modern Art.
Al is the founder and executive producer of Al Santana Productions, a Brooklyn-based film and video production company. He has taught film and video production courses at The City College of New York, Pratt Institute and has lectured at Sarah Lawrence College, Pace University, The Borough of Manhattan Community College, and Adelphi University. Al is a member of the Black Documentary Collective, the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, and The Independent Feature Project.
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