Arts Access

Members of new Asian, Latin, and African immigrant populations attend films and participate in the Diaspora Project's Songs of Exile in Film Society of Minneapolis/Saint Paul’s International Film Fest, April 2013: The Songs of Exile program included sixteen films from across cultures and continents, each addressing the themes of movement and dislocation, and drew diverse new and returning groups from throughout the community into our theaters. These films attracted some 3,000 paying audience members and an estimated 1,000 non-paying attendees during the Festival and brought together people of many cultures in the discussion of their stories. Audiences came from richly varied cultural and ethnic backgrounds, including the new Asian, Latin, and African immigrant communities, many of whom were inspired to assist with the Diaspora Project's Images of Africa Project in the fall. 2: Members of first generation African immigrant communities attend films and participate in the Diaspora Project's Images of Africa film series, Fall 2013: Local African and other new immigrant communities were very involved in the planning and promotion of Images of Africa, were in attendance throughout the series in significant numbers, and greeted each film included in the series of 27 films with enthusiasm. More than 1,000 tickets were sold, and an estimated further 1,000+ people attended the numerous pay-what-you-can screenings and free screenings offered throughout Images of Africa. Audience polls showed widely positive responses to the films included in this series and many indicated a desire for further presentation of similar films.