About Us

In 1993, ArtMattan Productions launched the first African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF). One of the purposes of the festival was that of presenting to New Yorkers a more varied choice of films depicting the human experience of people of color in a context different from the usual museums, cultural centers and universities to which these films have been relegated in the past years.

 

Today, some of the films featured in ADIFF are available on DVD on this website and to watch on VOD on ArtMattan Films Virtual Cinema website and on Amazon.

 

We conceived the ADIFF as an open event which would be a way to encourage a critical analysis of people's lives here in the United States as well as being an open window to other people's lives all over the world. . The producers of the ADIFF wanted to contribute to a more sophisticated analysis of the interaction between art and entertainment.

The African Diaspora International Film Festival was from the start a cultural event aimed at refusing the marginal status that some narrow minded people have tried to impose on Black art and culture in this country.

We understand that in a democratic society, information is a valuable tool. Therefore, the need for Blacks in the US to know about Black people in other parts of the world as a way to reflect upon and reconnect with the Blacks of the universe no matter how diverse they might be. The Black experience is global. So we have remained committed to our mission.

The ADIFF is today an internationally known film festival that has gained the respect of those interested in Black films in particular and good films in general. In the past thirty years ADIFF has presented thousands of films focusing on the richness and diversity of the life of people of color. Some of those films are now distributed in the United States and Canada by ArtMattan Productions.

With no intention of defining a canon, the films in the catalog are as diverse in genres and styles as any contemporary artistic expression can be. From the strong "Faraw!, mother of the dunes" by Malian filmmaker Abdoulaye Ascofare to the joyous "Journey of the Lion" by Fritz Bauman these films are snapshots to the incredible range of the lives of people of color whose life and place in history have been marked by a distinctive sign: the color of the skin.

These films have enjoyed acclaim in different festivals all over the world including the African Diaspora Film Festival. They are components of a movement that has created a strong and diverse cinematic body of work.

Our aim is that of having as many of these films enjoy a theatrical release, be available on streaming and be supported by the respectable purchasing power of people of color in the United States of America so we can have a more regular viewing of those stories that enrich our human experience and enhance our vision of the world.


GIVE!

Give me your hands to lift us up!
Give me your eyes to see us grow!
Give me your soul and we'll have inspiration
To go forward and get out of this hole
Out of ignorance!
Out of disbelief!
Out of those evils that don't let us
live and be free