This film is a polemic against the practice of female genital mutilation (‘circumcision’) that is practiced by groups in some 28 African countries. The action is set in a small African village where four young girls facing ritual “purification” flee to the household of Collé Ardo Gallo Sy, a strong-willed woman who has managed to shield her own teenage daughter from mutilation. Collé invokes the time-honored custom of moolaadé (sanctuary) to protect the fugitives, and tensions mount as the ensuing stand-off pits Collé against village traditionalists.

This film screening is a part of the African Jubilee Film Festival curated by Lynette Jackson and Floyd Webb. The festival is produced by portoluz. The African Jubilee Film Festival runs from June 27 to December 5.

This event is co-sponsored by portoluz, The DuSable Museum of African American History, the African American Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies departments at UIC, and The Public Square. Portoluz is producer of the African Jubilee Film Festival.

Free and open to the public. For more information, call 312.413.2457.