A video
documentary about the people and culture Kunta Kinteh left behind in The Gambia
when he was kidnapped in 1765 and sold as a slave in America is to be premiered
on Friday, 19 May, at Coco Ocean Hotel in Bijilo.
The
documentary, ROOTS OF THE GAMBIA, is produced by WAX Media, in association with
the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of The Gambia.
The
video shows the admirable life and rich culture that Kunta Kinteh would have
followed as a young man newly initiated into manhood, if he was not ambushed on
his way to find wood to carve a drum.
Fifteen
living cultural practices across the ethnic divide in The Gambia dating back to
Kunta’s generation have been dramatised in the film and their cultural and
historical significance illustrated and explained.
Written
and produced by Gambian documentary filmmaker Ebou Waggeh and directed by
German filmmaker Bernd Ax, the film was finally completed in 2016 after more
than 10 years in production.
It
was recently nominated in the Best Documentary category at Africa’s most
prestigious film awards, the Africa Magic Film and TV Awards held in Lagos,
Nigeria, in March 2017.
As
a bonus, on the same night, WAX Media would also premiere a special documentary
on the dramatic political changes in The Gambia, titled CHEERS to TEARS to
CHEERS - 50 Rollercoaster Days in The Gambia.
The
documentary film chronicles the political drama that gripped The Gambia between
December 1, 2016 and January 21, 2017 – capturing every milestone sight and
sound bite of the traumatic 50 days.
