A SHORT RECEPTION - 5:30 - 6:30 PM - will be catered by trendy Moroccan Restaurant CHAMEAU, INC. Hors d'oeuvres and hot mint tea will be served.

	The first documentary we will show is "The Amazigh Revival" by Dounia Productions, Casablanca, Morocco. (2006) Producer: Dounia Benjelloun Director: Jacques Renoir, son of famous Film Director Jean Renoir, and grandson of famous artist Auguste Renoir. The Amazigh Revival illustrates the teaching of Berber in remote rural schools of Morocco, through the means of the revised Tifinagh alphabet, which has been preserved in our culture for some ten thousand years.   This symbol, selected to index this elegant documentary, is the AZA (Zed) letter of the Tifinagh Alphabet, which represents the ancient culture and modern international Amazigh Cultural Movement. The symbol is found in millenia old petroglyphs and rock art; today, it is representative of the Amazigh culture of North Africa.

Tuareg women, Niger

	The second documentary on the program is a 2007 production by a new Kabyle (Algerian Amazigh) artist, Hacene Zennia, of 30 minutes, with English sub-titles: "The Berbers of Djurdjura." The videographer takes us back to Algeria for a visit with the family he left behind when he came to the United States, including his own mother whose knowledge of the ancient ways the producer attempts to capture. The Kabyle people inhabit mountainous regions of Algeria. Despite repeated invasions of their land, and the successive rules of Romans, Turks, and Arabs, the Kabyle have maintained a distinct way of life and speak in Tamazight; they observe a number of rituals that date from pre-Islamic times, even beyond Christianity and Judaism. There are many famous heroes and heroines in Berber history, including the legendary figure of THE KAHINA, a member of the Djewara people of the Aures mountains of Algeria. The Berbers of the Aures are yet a different group of Berbers in Algeria. Bust of The Kahina, by K. Bendib, Sculptor, Berkley, Ca.

Chawia woman, Aures Mtns, Eastern Algeria

The feature film is Adrar n Baya (BAYA'S MOUNTAIN), an independent Algerian film entirely created, produced, directed and acted by Kabyle artists, over a period of ten years marked by numerous obstacles to its production. (1997, 107 minutes)

In 2000, it was obtained by A.C.A.A., The Amazigh Cultural Association in America, which obtained the right to add English sub-titles for American viewers. It has been screened at several festivals in Europe and in some small venues and academic circles in the US.

A synopsis of the story and full credits can be viewed by clicking on the image below.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR STORY AND CREDITS

BAYA'S MOUNTAIN - THE FILM

ENTERTAINMENT

Tidawt musicians - Photo by Nomad Foundation, Ojai

CLICK ON IMAGE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BOOK

Live Berber music will be provided by Los Angeles entertainer FELLA OUDANE, Algerian Kabyle percussionist and vocalist, (2006 CD, Title Achatek Ana - I loved you - will be available) Fella will be accompanied on the keyboard by another local North African artist, Lilo Fadidas, of

Morocco.



*****LATEST ADDITION!!!!! Tuareg musician Alhassane Foungounou, lead guitarist and singer of the dynamic Tidawt Band of Northern Niger will be among us and will play solo between 8:15 and 8:30 pm. Photo furnished by Leslie Clark and Nomad Foundation of Ojai, Ca.



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YOU ARE HEARING THE CD RIGHT NOW. YOU CAN BUY IT FOR $15.00
to raise funds for the 2009 Amazigh Film Festival Fund : TAFAT CDs DONATED by Amazigh Poet Ali Akkache - poems of Ali Akkache set to the music of Fatah Kaci. ALI AKKACHE has volunteered for the 2009 film Festival Committee.



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HELP DESERT SCHOOLS....



Sale of the Book "TUAREG JEWELRY: Traditional Patterns and Symbols" (2006) by Helene E. HAGAN. Softcover:$40.00/Hard cover: $50.00 and of a few pieces of Tuareg Jewelry made in Niger will raise money for the Tuareg Desert Schools of northern Niger.