La noire de…  & Borom Sarret 

Two shorts from Ousmane Sambène, the father of African cinema.

La noire de..  centers on Diouana who moves to Antibes to work for a rich French couple. In France, Diouana hopes to continue her former nanny job and anticipates a cosmopolitan lifestyle. But from her arrival, Diouana's experience is completely different.

Often considered the first film ever made in Africa by a black African, Borom Sarret tells the story of a cart driver in Dakar.

Sandaga Circus 

Sandaga Circus is a live performance by Senegalese artist Majaw Njaay, which aims to give a voice to the voiceless of Dakar. The performance highlights the struggle of social exclusion among young people as well as supports them in an original creative process to express their dreams and tell their stories. This film - commissioned by the Unsung programme - is a documentation of the project which took place this year during the Art Biennale in Dakar.

***

UNSUNG SHEROES & HEROES OF AFRIKAN HERITAGE

UNSUNG celebrates the lives and achievements of sheroes and heroes of Afrikan heritage by giving context and inspiration for the work of artists and activists engaged in challenging racism today, and providing role models and skills development for young people.

The first part of the programme took place at Dynamic CIC earlier in the year. Across September, the programme culminates at Star & Shadow with an exhibition, art commissions, a talks, film screenings, a celebration and further workshops, many of which will be free and open to everyone.

With this programme, we also particularly want to involve and be accessible to refugees and asylum seekers, and people of Afrikan heritage living in the area of North East England.