Wanda's Picks: Judy Lieff DEAFJAM; MariaLuisaGabaleSARABAH

We will speak to the directors of Sarabah, Maria Luisa Gambale; and Judy Lieff, dir. Deaf Jam. In Lieff's Deaf Jam, Aneta Brodski seizes the day. She is a deaf teen introduced to American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry, who then boldly enters the spoken word slam scene. In a wondrous twist, Aneta, an Israeli immigrant living in the Queens section of New York City, eventually meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet. The two women embark on a collaboration-performance duet - creating a new form of slam poetry that speaks to both the hearing and the Deaf.  Hip Hop in West Africa? A woman DJ? Muslim? Sister Fa? This wonderful film takes its audience on a whirlwind tour as we get trapped in the vortex of Sister Fa's life. We enter the theatre thinking we're here for a concert--the story of the first African woman DJ is pretty hot, then without missing a beat once we pass go,  Sister Fa falls in love, gets married, moves to Germany, has a daugher--we then find out that she is a victim of genital cutting (FGM). Her art becomes a tool for the movement she joins to address and stop this practice which is dangerous and harmful. Fa finds her voice once again in a foreign country as she prepares for a tour to change the world for her child and other children like her. The wonderful footage and deeply personal tale takes one completely by surprise. When one thinks the film is over, she rounds yet another thematic corner: orphaned daughter, absent father, extended family, harmful traditions. "Sarabah," is a daydream, it is the mythical place that Fatou visited as a child when she missed her mother and father and wanted a safe place to retreat.  Sister Fa takes her “Education Without Excision,” which uses her music and persuasive powers to end the practice to her own village of Thionck Essyl in 2010 where she receives a wonderful surprise, so will you. http://www.sisterfa.com/