The 33rd African Diaspora International Film Festival is dropping over 70 movies from 30-plus countries across NYC venues like Columbia University and Cinema Village. They're running the whole thing from late November through mid-December, with both physical screenings and a virtual component for people watching from home in the States and Canada.
Director Andre Gaines is bringing his adaptation of an Amiri Baraka play called The Dutchman for the kickoff, and they're wrapping with Fanon, a biopic about the Martiniquan psychiatrist Frantz Fanon. The festival is spotlighting everything from the Siddi community's music traditions in India to banned films from the 1920s that got censored for pushing boundaries. Leslie Harris is getting...
Task Systems just grabbed Microsoft's Partner of the Year award at the Ignite Conference happening in San Francisco. The Nigerian tech company has been around since 1989, and CEO Gozy Ijogun showed up to collect the trophy for their whole squad. She gave shoutouts to basically everyone they work with, from government agencies to major banks like Access and Zenith, plus telecom giants and energy companies across West Africa.
Dr Leo Stan Ekeh started the whole operation back in 1987, and they kicked off by handling enterprise setups for oil and gas corporations. These days, they're all about cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and network management for clients scattered across Sub-Saharan Africa. Microsoft hands out these awards to...
Popcentral just launched the second version of its Nigerian music history project with a month-long showcase running through the whole of next month. The exhibition brings together around 30 artists working across painting, sculpture, digital media, and textiles to visualize how Afrobeats went from a local phenomenon to a worldwide movement.
The show breaks down into different sections that track the genre from its earliest days through protest music, genre evolution, visual design, media expansion, female contributors, and its current stadium-level status. The curator called Afrobeats the most successful authentic cultural export Nigeria has ever produced on a global level.
The whole thing happens at Popcentral Culture Space and...
Worthy Park Estate just snagged the IWSC Rum Producer of the Year award for the second time after first winning back in 2023. The Jamaican distillery also racked up a bunch of individual medals for specific bottles like the 109, Overproof, and 12-Year-Old expressions. Export Sales Manager Alex Perkins said the recognition from what most people consider the biggest spirits competition validates their whole approach to making rum the traditional way.
The estate has been making rum since 1670 and still does everything from growing cane to bottling on the same property. While the awards keep rolling in from competitions around the world, the company also gave props to the global bar community for organizing fundraisers after Hurricane...
Clarendon gets ready for sugar production to restart after years of decline because Tropical Sugar Company Limited starts building a massive factory and power plant. Owner Noel McLean says the facility will pump out multiple grades of sugar and renewable energy while making various products that support eco-friendly industrial expansion. The company wants Jamaica to compete globally through high-tech manufacturing methods instead of the old-school approaches that tanked the industry.
The project should generate hundreds of jobs across Clarendon and neighboring parishes while boosting national sugar output and clean electricity through cogeneration systems. Local stakeholders are hyped about economic ripple effects hitting transport...
The opposition New Democratic Party just ended 24 years of Unity Labour Party rule after grabbing 11 seats and kicking Ralph Gonsalves out of the top job. Godwin Friday becomes the seventh prime minister since independence and takes over from one of the longest serving Caribbean leaders, who tried getting a sixth term at 79 years old. Over 103,000 people voted across the islands with observers watching the whole process.
The race was tight as hell with both major parties fighting over all 15 districts while hitting themes about governance failures and bills being too expensive for regular people. Friday campaigned hard on bringing fresh blood into government after voters got tired of the same faces running things for decades.
Jamaica pulled in over 65 million bucks from a telethon and virtual concert that had reggae stars, dancehall artists and gospel singers performing to help people wrecked by Hurricane Melissa. The broadcast hit national TV and social media worldwide with corporate backers Red Stripe and Digicel putting the whole thing together. Culture minister Olivia Grange said about 46 million has already landed in the Support Jamaica account while another 20 million in pledges should drop soon.
Grange thanked everyone who threw money at the cause, from regular people on the island to diaspora communities and international supporters. She gave props to entertainers who performed for free and sometimes kicked in their personal cash to boost relief...
The Trinidad and Tobago parliament started fighting over new legislation that lets property owners blast intruders with lethal force if they feel threatened during break-ins. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the bill delivers on campaign promises to tackle home invasions that previous administrations ignored for years. Attorney General John Jeremie backed the stand your ground approach by claiming the crime situation got completely out of hand after a decade of neglect.
Opposition politician Keith Scotland ripped the whole thing apart and called it lazy populist garbage from an incompetent government. The criminal defense lawyer brought up a woman who got shot dead after knocking on the wrong door for a cleaning gig and said...
Over 103,000 voters in St. Vincent and the Grenadines showed up to decide if Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves gets another term after running things since 2001. The 79-year-old is trying to lock down a sixth straight win for his Unity Labour Party against the opposition New Democratic Party, led by attorney Godwin Friday. Polls are all over the place with one firm giving ULP an eight-seat edge and a 64 percent chance, while another survey puts NDP ahead at 49 percent versus 44 percent support.
Both major parties are running candidates across all 15 constituencies with turnout from younger voters expected to swing tight races. ULP grabbed nine seats last election but this round looks way closer with the opposition hammering cost-of-living...
