Manifested Belonging:
DJ Black’s Film Worlds and the (re)circulation of Maangamizi: The Ancient One 

A low tech trek through global filmscapes. The performative screening hosted by Ajabu Ajabu will centre around subverted forms of film circulation and performative exhibition through the storytelling work of DJ Black (Rajab Magula). 

In 2001, a film was released from Tanzania titled Maangamizi: The Ancient One, directed by Martin Mhando and Ron Mulvihill, based on a story by Queenae Mulvihill. It is a film that explores the breadth of African consciousness and spiritual heritage through the story of three women: a doctor, her patient, and the ancestral spirit who unites them. 

However, despite being recognised by prestigious international awarding bodies, the film remained virtually unseen upon the continent, a fate far too common for works of African cinematic heritage. In recognition of the role that anti-formal modes of distribution have had in sustaining film communities rendered invisible by functions by profit based film frameworks, Ajabu Ajabu worked with DJ Black and the filmmakers of Maangamizi to bring the film back to audiences in Tanzania under a model of radical access and open and inclusive reinterpretation twenty years after its release. Join us for a collective reimagining of the act of preservation along modes of continuous access for global film communities.