The fourth annual Chicago African Diaspora Film Festival runs June 16 through 22 at Facets Cinematheque. Tickets are $9, $7 for students and seniors; for more information call 773-281-9075 or visit www.facets.org.
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The festival opens with Boy Called Twist (2004, 110 min.), in which writer-director Tim Greene convincingly transposes Oliver Twist to contemporary South Africa. A resourceful orphan (Jarrid Geduld) escapes from cruel rural taskmasters and hitches to Cape Town, where he falls in with the Rastafarian Fagin (Lesley Fong) and his light-fingered youths. Social commentary often takes a backseat to action, but this is still a good yarn. a Fri 6/16 and Wed 6/21, 7 PM
Sex, race, and politics intersect in the work of Haitian-Canadian writer Dany Lafarriere, whose nostalgic script for On the Verge of a Fever (2004, 81 min.) details a teen’s coming-of-age following the 1971 death of Haitian dictator Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier. John L’Ecuyer directed. In French with subtitles. a Sat 6/17, 9 PM; Wed 6/21, 9 PM
Faces of Change a Sun 6/18, 3 PM; Thu 6/22, 9 PM
