Reported by Jake Weber

ALBION, Mich. – Tanzania’s first international film, a unique story of the ancient sisterhood between an American doctor and a mentally-scarred African women, has a special screening at Albion College on Wednesday, April 5, at 7 p.m. in the College’s Bobbitt Auditorium. Co-producer of the film, University of Michigan anthropologist Kelley Askew, visits Albion to discuss the film, “Maangamizi: The Ancient One,” on Thursday, April 6, at 3 p.m. in Bobbitt Auditorium.

“Maangamizi” tells the story of Asira, an American psychiatrist, whose idealistic dreams of medical service in Africa are almost destroyed by cultural barriers and the immense scope of her patients’ needs. Asira develops a relationship with Sameha, whose psychological wounds have kept her silent for 20 years, and through this relationship, begins to confront her own traumatized past. Asira and Sameha find their connectedness through Maangamizi, the “Grandmother of All Grandmothers,” and both begin to emerge from the bonds of the past.” In addition to being the first Tanzanian film even released internationally, in 2002, “Maangamizi: The Ancient One” is also the world’s first international feature film in Swahili. “Maangamizi” has won numerous Best Film and Best Actor awards at festivals and competitions in the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The film and lecture are both free and open to the public. For more information, contact Albion College anthropology professor Shiho Satsuka at 517/629-0533 or ssatsuka@albion.edu.

 Back to Campus News

.