Film Production
Bigger Than Africa
Shot in 6 countries: the United States, Nigeria, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, the Republic of Benin and Brazil, it depicts the JOURNEY OF AFRICANS THROUGH THE LENS OF YORUBA CULTURE, a culture said to have survived slavery and plantations.
Director: Toyin I. Adekeye
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: 2018
Producer: Yasmina F. Edwards
Born in NY, Raised in Paris
In a country that insists there is no race, Hip Hop gave racial minorities in France an outlet to protest their exclusion from the values of 'egalite, fraternite, liberte' that the country guarantees all its citizens.
The film blends archival footage, music videos and interviews featuring influencers across the Paris hip hop scene, hip hop pioneers from New York, and political activists to create a tapestry of otherness and the fragile relationship that often exists between former colonial powers and their citizens of African descent.
Director: Victoria Thomas
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: Coming Soon
Producer: Yasmina F. Edwards
Event Productions
Afro! Book Launch
(Paris)
Afro! was released in France in November 2015.
Afro! is a photobook about Paris and the Parisians of diverse origins – women and men – residents and tourists –who have chosen to wear their hair au Naturel, featuring such French celebrities Aïssa Maïga, Inna Modja, Youssoupha, Princess Erika, Casey, Amelle Chahbi, Mouloud Achour, Claudia Tagbo, Imany and Christiane Taubira, among others.
At a time when the dominant canon of beauty is straight hair, who are the people who are choosing not to change the texture of their hair? What does this choice mean? Does it signal a new esthetic? Is it a political statement? Answers will be given on Afro! in the book by its author, Rokhaya Diallo and photographer, Brigitte Sombié.
Date: Nov. 2015
Place: Paris, France
See: Click Here
Not Yo Mama's Movement
(Screening, NY Public Library)
Not Yo Mama’s Movement explores the similarities and differences between the racial situations in the U.S. and France and how today’s activists navigate building movements for change. A discussion with the filmmaker Rokhaya Diallo, Shaun King, and Amal Bentounsi will follow the screening. The conversation will be moderated by Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele, Senior Community Organizer at the NAACP-LDF and educator from Central Brooklyn.
Date: Oct. 26, 2016
Place: NY Public Library / Films at The Schomburg
See the post-screening discussion: Here
The NeueHouse
(Talk Aissa Maiga)
French cinema darling Aïssa Maïga shared some of her most personal moments as an artist working on three continents - and the struggles one must face when working in a new, foreign country.
As one of her first appearances on US soil, the talk covered Maïga’s career, as well as the ideals and realities of being a foreign artist in America.
Noire n’est pas mon métier
(Cannes)
On May 16, 2018, 16 French actresses of African descent stood for diversity and inclusion on the red carpet during the Cannes Film Festival.
Directed and curated by actress Aïssa Maïga and edited journalist Charlotte Rotman, 16 actresses come together to share their journeys as both black and female in the French film industry. Sometimes funny, often poignant, ever authentic, their individual experiences form a fascinating collective project. To speak of all women through the singular path of black women.
To name a specific discrimination, that encompasses all other types of discrimination; To unveil the murky part of French cinema that, perhaps, questions France itself.
#MyProfessionIsNotBlack/#NoireNestPasMonMetier is a movement that invites debate; an inclusive debate which concerns all of us.
Date: May 16, 2016
Place: Cannes Festival, France
Brand Collaborations
High Touch Investor Relations
High Touch Investor Relations (HTIR) is a boutique investor relations and banking firm based in New York. Our team ensures our clients get the most accurate, complete, and actionable strategies backed up by real-time analytics to reach their goals - whether seeking IR Services to raise capital or in need of marketing and IR strategies to increase a public company's visibility.
