Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 13th! Come join Doc Watchers and the African Film Festival at Maysles Cinema Institute as we present two important documentaries "Joy, It's Nina" and "Menstrual Man", in honor of Women's History Month!

Joy, It’s Nina Jane Thorburn, 2012, 34 min Shot in England and Nigeria and performed and written by Joy Elias-Riwan, this evocative and original film builds on the experiences and emotional lives of West African women living in the UK separated from their families. The stories are based on news and court reports and Joy Elias-Rilwan's own life, including voicemails left on her answer-machine by the legendary singer Nina Simone, her friend and self-proclaimed 'Spiritual Mother'.

Menstrual Man Amit Virmani, 2013, 63 min There are men who squirm at the mention of a woman’s period, and then there’s Arunachalam Muruganantham. Considered a madman and pervert by his community, he ignored his detractors and made his dream—low-cost sanitary pads made by and for rural Indian women—a reality. Menstrual Man is the inspiring story of a hero who rises above poverty and a lack of education to become a superstar social entrepreneur in the business of breaking cultural taboos and re-inventing the economic pyramid. Muruganantham is leading a movement, not a company. And it’s spreading.

Special programming

Q&A (via Skype) with director Amit Virmani following the screening.

About our Year-Round Community Engagement

Community engagement is essential to the AFF mission. We partner with a broad spectrum of arts and social justice organizations to spark discussion and activate the public around African cinema and culture. Learn More