American Film Opens Eyes and Warms Hearts at FESPACO Film Festival in Burkina Faso
One thousand festival participants from all over the world attended the FESPACO premiere of Sony Pictures "The Pursuit of Happyness" March 2 at the Pan African Film Festival in Ouagadougou. The appreciative audience cheered the film and said it presented a side of American society they didn't know existed. The Will Smith film tells the true story of Chris Gardner, a struggling San Francisco salesman who overcomes many obstacles to pursue his dream of a better life for himself and his young son. The film was the U.S. Embassy's out-of-competition entry in FESPACO, the biggest film gathering in Africa and the world's largest African film market. The Embassy also screened the film for Burkinabe guests at the American Cultural Center March 6 and again audience members were moved to cheers and tears. Some said the Embassy should show the film throughout Burkina Faso because it shows that even in the United States you have to struggle to succeed at the true American dream.

The Cultural Programs Division obtained a French-subtitled print of "The Pursuit of Happyness" for screening at FESPACO courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

American Film Institute's SILVERDOCS Documentary Festival
AFI SILVERDOCS festival director Patricia Finneran and festival representatives Grace Guggenhiem and Diana Ingraham hosted screenings and workshops in Capetown and Johannesburg focusing on documentaries that promote social discourse and civic engagement. They also held workshops and seminars on film marketing and distribution. The film program launched a dialogue between SILVERDOCS and professional and emerging filmmakers in South Africa. As a result, the 2006 SILVERDOCS Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland featured new South African documentaries in a special festival program "Celebrate South Africa." The program commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Soweto uprisings and included screenings and discussions with young South African filmmakers whose visit to the U.S. was funded by ECA.

American Film Festival, Almaty, Kazakhstan -November, 2005
A special screening of Cannes award winner The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada, introduced by Cultural Envoy Michael Fitzgerald, kicked off the first American Film Festival sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan last November. Mr. Fitzgerald introduced a retrospective of his films, conducted master classes for film students, and met with Kazakh filmmakers. The festival was organized to support Kazakhstan's efforts to revitalize its film industry and give Kazakhstani audiences a view of contemporary American independent filmmaking. As a follow-up to Fitzgerald's visit to Almaty, four young Kazakhstani filmmakers will travel to the U.S. for two weeks in September to participate in ECA's Cultural Visitors program under a grant to the Kennedy Center. They will take part in workshops and training sessions in Washington and New York on producing, directing and the business of film.

The Muscat Film Festival in Oman
Richard Pena, Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and film professor at Columbia University, introduced Academy Award nominees Good Night and Good Luck and Capote and led discussions with festival audiences. Mr. Pena also met with Omani festival organizers, members of the Omani Film Society, and young audiences interested in film. Pena's visit to Oman was part of continuing ECA efforts to support Omani film festivals and help develop Oman's film industry.

My Architect screened in Bangladesh
Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Behr - director and producer of the award-winning documentary My Architect about his father Louis Kahn, screened the film in Bangladesh and India, home of two famous Kahn buildings. They include the Bangladesh Parliament in Dhaka, considered his masterpiece, and the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. A special screening was held inside the Parliament building for more than 50 members of Parliament and for some of the architects who had worked with Louis Kahn on the original project. In addition to introducing the film in Bangladesh and India, Kahn and Behr also conducted workshops and seminars on independent filmmaking and the creative process, and the preservation of historical monuments, buildings and heritage sites.

U.S. Embassy and La Strada Belarus Anti-Trafficking Program-February, 2006
The U.S. Embassy co-sponsored a public program February 21-23, 2006 with the women's organization La Strada Belarus to focus attention on the crime of human trafficking. La Strada Belarus is part of an international NGO network in Central and Eastern Europe that works to raise public awareness about trafficking and educate young women about its dangers. The Minsk event was held at a local movie theater and included screenings of Last Resort and Dirty Pretty Things from the U.K. as well as Maria Full of Grace from the U.S. Nearly 500 people - most of them ages 19-25 attended each screening. Maria Full of Grace was selected to show the full scope of activities that could tie into human trafficking, such as drug dealers who take advantage of young, unemployed, uneducated women and use them as human "mules" to transport drugs. The U.S. Embassy said the screening allowed La Strada to reach its prime target audience of Belarusian youth with valuable information about an important human rights concern.