is a 2-DVD set featuring Tango Negro: The African Roots of Tango (Argentina and Uruguay) a revealing documentary that traces the origins of tango back to the slave trade between Africa and South America and explains how the music and dance evolved into a Latin American form with myriad styles and La Playa D.C. from Colombia (Official Selection, Cannes 2012 and 2013 Colombia Oscar submission), about an Afro-Colombian teenager who fled the country's Pacific coast pushed out by the war, and faces the difficulties of growing up in the city of Bogota.

 

TANGO NEGRO, THE AFRICAN ROOTS OF TANGO

Tango Negro, The African Roots of Tango by Angolan filmmaker Dom Pedro explores the expression of Tango’s Africanness and the contribution of African cultures in the creation of the tango. Tango was a reflection of the social life of the enslaved Africans that were taken to South America - including Argentina and Uruguay - mostly from central Africa, particularly from the former Kongo Kingdom. Director Dom Pedro reveals the depth of the footprints of the African music on the tango, through this rich movie combining musical performances and interviews from many tango fans and historians in Latin America and Europe, including the renowned Argentinean pianist Juan Carlos Caceres. Directed by Dom Pedro, 2013, 93 min., France, Documentary, French/Spanish/ English subt.

 

LA PLAYA D.C.

Tomas, a young black boy driven from Colombia’s Pacific coast by the war, tries to get by in Bogota, a city of exclusion and racism. Looking for Jairo, his younger brother and closest friend lost in the streets, Tomas sets out on an initiatory journey that will test his courage, nostalgia and the wounds of the past.  Directed by Juan Andres Arango, 2013, Colombia, Drama, 90 min, Spanish, English subt