Friday, January 13 at 8 pm
Film Society Presents
Elza (Dramatic Feature)
Discussion to follow with Director Mariette Monpierre
In French with English subtitles
Elza's lifelong desire to reunite with a father who abandoned her is widespread. An estimated 50% of African-American and Caribbean children are estranged from their fathers -- a shocking number, given that in many cases these fathers are alive and have simply neglected their responsibility to their children. Is it a coincidence that in most cases these communities have a history of slavery wherein the father was forcibly taken from his family unit? Questions of skin color and ethnic appearance within the black culture are dramatically raised as the story of Elza, her father and his family unfolds with dazzling cinematography on the lush tropical island of Guadeloupe.
Filmed on location in Paris and the French West Indies, ELZA explores the emotional journey of a young Parisian woman who returns to her native island of Guadeloupe in search of the father she has never known.