“Matière Grise”/”Grey Matter”

Diana Kakoma — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 05:45:52 +0000

Matière Grise/Grey Matter (2011, 100 min.) – Rwanda, by Kivu Ruhorahoza.

Festival du Film Francophone 2013

Summer’s End and Fall’s Rebirth

Diana Kakoma — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:47:11 +0000

The long days of summer may be gone but the beaches are still open, and what’s not to love about fall colors.

Chicago Marathon

The Chicago marathon is just 2 days away and with temperatures in the 50s it might be one for record books. With athletes representing 50 U.S. states, 100 countries and dozens of charities, you have plenty of reasons to get out there and cheer someone on. If you are running this year; we’ll see you at the finish line. Go Africa (and everyone else)!

Movies, music & manuscripts. Oh my!

If you’d rather stay indoors this weekend, you can go to the movies at the Chicago International Social Film Festival (with movies from and about Kenya, Sudan, Malawi and The Congo), you can attend UIC’s international symposium on Slavery and its Aftermath in the Atlantic World or you can celebrate local artists, because October is Chicago Artists Month.

World Music Festival 2012, Chicago

However, if passionate discussion, cinema and galleries don’t move you then surely music, dance and celebration must be your thing. Tonight you can celebrate the independence days of Guinea, Lesotho, Nigeria and Uganda under one incredible roof.

Africa and Chicago fuse, co-mingle and blend on so many levels this weekend that it is a great reminder of what AfricanChicago is all about. Visit us, like us, share us, and find out more about these events and others at AfricanChicago.com.

African Diaspora International Film Festival-Chicago

Diana Kakoma — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 06:14:53 +0000

The 10th Annual Chicago African Diaspora International Film Festival starts tomorrow (Thursday, June 14th) and runs until Thursday, June 21st, 2012.

Happy New Year

Diana Kakoma — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:22:54 +0000

2012 written in colored rice at the Indian Garden restaurant

2011…it started with enough snow to strand people on Chicago’s Lakeshore Drive for days followed by a completely dry and sunny Christmas.
We were reminded that the courage and commitment of a few can spark revolution in countries as old as history itself.
“Tablets ” have taken on new meaning – no longer just pharmaceuticals.
And Whitney Houston has yet to make her comeback.
But 2012 is still fresh; a blank canvas waiting to be filled with our thoughts and deeds, and a future waiting to be created. Of course we will hold onto 2011 and all its predecessors but we can move beyond the pull of the past and walk into the light, power, and mystery of all that drives us.

Enjoy your new year!
Diana

Opening night for Chicago’s “African Diaspora Marketplace II Roadshow”

Diana Kakoma — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 07:13:06 +0000

Opening night for Chicago's "African Diaspora Marketplace II Roadshow"

Are you looking for grant money to launch that great business idea in Africa? Attend the African Diaspora Marketplace II Roadshow (“ADM II”) in Chicago (Dec. 8th), or in New York, Philadelphia or Washington, DC to find out more about grant opportunities for your business.

Picture: Romi Bhatia (USAID), Diana Kakoma, James C. Nicholas & David J. Saunders (African Diaspora Marketplace) and Margaret King (Metrocon).
Opening night for Chicago’s “ADM II Roadshow”

Thanksgivging

Diana Kakoma — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:48:31 +0000

Everything was as fantastic as it looks.

If you can’t think of a 100 reasons to be thankful – rest assured that there is an app for that.
My family tops my list for reasons I cannot even begin to enumerate but I am also grateful for my old friends whose generosity never ceases to amaze me, and that I have a home to hang my hat as well as a home where my heart is.
Speaking of where my heart is – when I sit down this Thanksgiving day to eat as though it’s my last meal, I’ll have the Thanksgiving staples like turkey, cranberry sauce and stuffing before me, but being who we are I might also have ebinyobwa (groundnut sauce), daudipati (my brother’s spiced bread), and nshima.

Eat well, travel safely & “Happy Thanksgiving” my friend.

October

Diana Kakoma — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:50:34 +0000

October is Chicago’s month to celebrate artists and runners. If you missed cheering on the marathoners earlier this month or going to the beach this Summer, you still have time to attend the Chicago International Film Festival, see “more more more…future” at the MCA and get ready for the next season with Fashion Focus Chicago.