Event Type: Special Event 

Title: AN AFRICAN ELECTION

Screening of An African Election courtesy of 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards New York Screening Series 

Date: Friday, February 03, 2012 

Time: 7:00pm (Check-in starts 6:15) 

Location: NYIT Auditorium on Broadway

1871 Broadway (Between 61st and 62nd Streets)

New York City

 

** Screenings are free and open to all NYIT community members. Please email aob@nyit.edu to R.S.V.P for the screenings you’d like to attend.

 

SAG Foundation & NYIT Auditorium on Broadway, official co-hosts of the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards New York Screenings, invite you to this very special event.  Please join us, along with voting Film Independent and Independent Filmmaker Project members, for a celebration of independent film.

 

SYNOPSIS

 

The 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, West Africa, serve as a backdrop for this feature documentary that looks behind-the-scenes at the complex, political machinery of a third world democracy struggling to legitimize itself to its first world contemporaries. At stake in this race are the fates of two political parties that will do almost anything to win. Director Jarreth Merz follows the key players for almost three months to provide an unprecedented insider’s view of the political, economic and social forces at work in Ghana. He builds suspense by taking the viewer down the back roads of the nation to capture each unexpected twist and turn in a contest that is always exciting and never predictable. Throughout the film, Merz depicts the pride and humanity of the larger-than-life politicians, party operatives and citizens who battle for the soul of their country.

 

DIRECTOR  Jarreth Merz

 

PRODUCERS Jarreth Merz

 

ABOUT THE FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS

 

Now in its 27th year, the Film Independent Spirit Awards is an annual celebration honoring artist-driven films made with an economy of means by filmmakers who embody independence and originality. The Spirit Awards recognizes the achievements of American independent filmmakers and promotes the finest independent films of the year to a wider audience.  

 

Awards are given in the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, Best Screenplay, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best International Film, Best Documentary, and the Robert Altman Award.  The Filmmaker Grants include the Piaget Producers Award, Audi Someone to Watch Award, Nokia Truer Than Fiction Award and Jameson FIND Your Audience Award.

 

This year’s ceremony is sponsored by Premier Sponsors ELLE, Piaget, Jameson Irish Whiskey®, and Principal Sponsor Nokia.  WireImage is the Official Photographer of Film Independent, and PR Newswire is the Official Breaking News Service of Film Independent. www.filmindependent.org

 

ABOUT INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER PROJECT

 

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) is the nation’s oldest and largest not-for-profit advocacy organization for independent filmmakers. Since its debut at the 1979 New York Film Festival, IFP has supported the production of over 7,000 films and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, providing an opportunity for many diverse voices to be heard. IFP believes that independent films enrich the universal language of cinema, seeding the global culture with new ideas, kindling awareness, and fostering activism. The organization championed the early work of pioneering independent filmmakers Charles Burnett, Todd Haynes, Mira Nair, Michael Moore, Joel and Ethan Coen, Kevin Smith, and Todd Solondz. IFP continues to play a vital role in launching first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Debra Granik (“Down to the Bone”), Miranda July (“Me, You and Everyone We Know”), and Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden (“Half Nelson”).

 

IFP represents a network of 10,000 filmmakers in New York City and around the world and fosters the development of 350 feature and documentary films each year. Through its workshops, seminars, conferences, mentorships, and Filmmaker Magazine, IFP schools its members in the art, technology, and business of independent filmmaking. The year-round program includes Independent Film Week, Envision, The Cross-Media Forum, The Gotham Awards, and the Independent Filmmaker Labs. IFP’s programs promote diverse voices in independent film by working to include racial, ethnic, religious, ideological, gender and sexual diversity. IFP, often in collaboration with other cultural institutions, builds audiences by hosting premieres and special screenings. For more information: www.ifp.org

 

ABOUT NYIT AUDITORIUM ON BROADWAY

 

A state-of-the-art event space just off Columbus Circle, the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway can accommodate a range of events, from conferences to film screenings, executive meetings to classy cocktail parties. A versatile, bi-level layout boasts a 262-seat auditorium and two reception areas including a glass-façade atrium and a lower-level concourse. For more information visit www.nyit.edu/aob.

 

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) is a non-profit independent, private institution of higher education with more than 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. For more information, visit www.nyit.edu.