Well, New York, you've been asking for it, and as the saying goes, as and you shall receive (some of the time); Philippe Niang's much-anticipated 3-hour epic drama, Toussaint L'Ouverture, that got the black blogosphere uber-excited when we first wrote about it over a year ago, will finally be making its NEW YORK PREMIERE tomorrow night, December 1, as a centerpiece film at the ongoing African Diaspora International Film Festival.
The film made its USA premiere at the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles in January this year, and has been traveling the international film festival circuit since then, winning acclaim along the way, and New Yorkers will have their opportunity to see it for the first (and maybe the only) time, so you may want to clear your schedule for tomorrow evening, pre-purchase your tickets now, and go see the film that many of us have wanted to see made for a long time!
The screening starts at 5pm, at Cowin Center, Teachers College, Columbia University, between 120th and 121st street, on Broadway, in Manhattan.
It's split into two 90-minute halves, and I suspect there'll be an intermission between each.
As a recap Jimmy Jean-Louis stars as the title character, and he's joined by French actresses Aïssa Maïga (Paris, Je T'Aime, Bamako) as Toussaint's wife, Suzanne, and Sonia Rolland (Moloch Tropical, Midnight In Paris) as Marie-Eugénie Sonthonax, wife of abolitionist L.F. Sonthonax.
The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) runs through December 11.
The film will screen a second time, on Sunday, December 2, starting at 4:30pm. So you've got 2 chances to see it this weekend, so take advantage and see it!
For ticket information, as well as to check out the rest of the festival's lineup, by clicking HERE.
Watch the trailer again below:
