Cornell Cinema presents the Ithaca premiere of 'Lumumba'

Eriq Ebouaney plays the title role in Raoul Peck's "Lumumba," hailed by Variety as "a rare and significant biopic." The film will be introduced by Cornell Associate Professor Salah Hassan tonight, Nov. 1, at 7 in Willard Straight Theatre.

Cornell Cinema presents the Ithaca premiere of "Lumumba," Haitian director Raoul Peck's dramatic biography of the African leader. Salah Hassan, Cornell associate professor of Africana studies, will introduce a screening of the film tonight, Nov. 1, at 7.

The film also will be shown Sunday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. Both shows are in Willard Straight Theatre. Admission is $4.50 general/$4 students and seniors.

Peck traces Lumumba's career from his early activist days through his imprisonment for subversion and his sudden rise to political power and friendship with the future military strongman Joseph Mbutu, who would later turn against him.

Using recently released information to recreate the horrific end of Lumumba's life, Peck vaults us through the drama at high speed, and Eriq Ebouney brings riveting conviction to the title role. Filmed in Mozambique as war was raging in the Congo, "Lumumba" is both a tribute to the politician's vision and a reminder of colonialism's continuing legacy on the continent.

According to The New York Times, "It's a flat-out thrill to see a movie about African politics that doesn't condescend to audiences."

A panel discussion, "Lumumba: the Death of a Prophet," is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 2, at noon in the Hoyt Fuller Room of the Africana Studies and Research Center. Hassan will serve as moderator. The panelists include Cornell faculty members Biodun Jeyifo, professor of English; James Turner, professor of Africana studies; and Locksley Edmondson, professor of Africana studies, along with guest Tukumbi Kassango-Lumumba, professor of political science at Wells College.