Created by the independent distributor ArtMattan Productions, the African Diaspora Film Festival premiered in New York in 1993 and arrived in Chicago as a touring festival ten years later, thanks mainly to the efforts of Facets Cinematheque programmer Charles Coleman. Like the social migration it’s named after, the fest has always been hard to pin down, and the 12th local edition is no different: the subject matter of the ten features and two shorts screening this week range from the U.S. civil rights movement (Freedom Summer) to the persecution of Egyptian Jews (Jews in Egypt) to an 18th-century slave revolt in Curaçao (Tula, the Revolt) to an Islamist kidnapping plot in Morocco (The Miscreants). Truth be told, the festival is less about the dispersal of Africans around the globe than about the spread of freedom—which seems to be taking a hell of a lot longer. —J.R. Jones
Love Triangle Laurie (Cynthia Housel) and Quinton (Byron Smith) are young lovers engaged to be married, but his sexual infidelity has created unspoken resentment between them; shortly after he pops the question, she has an affair with her lifelong friend, Justice (Markiss McFadden). This sultry, slow-burning melodrama (2013) generates a palpable suspense, though the low-budget production values, mannered performances, and hokey dialogue often result in unintended laughs. McFadden directed his own script, displaying some visual chops (there are more than a few inspired compositions) and considerable thematic ambition. The metaphorical, pseudo-Shakespearean climax includes a Mexican standoff among the three characters and a sequence that may or not be fantasy; it’s completely ridiculous, but McFadden’s conviction is impressive. —Drew Hunt 112 min. Thu 6/19, 8 PM.
Fri 6/13-Thu 6/19 Facets Cinematheque 1517 W. Fullertonfacets.org $9
