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Brian Bovell, Queen Latifah, Denise Newman, Muhindua Kaura, Sophie David ... see more see more... , Brian Biragi , Rehane Abrahams , Ayesha Meer Krige

Mama Africa, hosted by rapper/actress Queen Latifah, combines three short films, directed by African women, telling tales of misguided youth in contemporary Africa. In Uno's World, from Namibia and di... read more read more...rected by Bridget Pickering, Uno (Sophie David), a sexually inexperienced young woman, gets involved with a womanizer, Kaura (Muhindua Kaura), which leads to an unplanned pregnancy. When Kaura refuses to take responsibility for their child, and starts avoiding Uno, she leaves the baby in the care of her mother and goes to dangerous lengths to track Kaura down. In Hang Time, from Nigerian filmmaker Ngozi Onwurah (Welcome II the Terrordome), Kwame (Brian Biragi), a talented basketball player, in desperate need of a new pair of sneakers, and nervous about the imminent arrival of a basketball scout from America, decides to do a job for a slick-talking local gangster, Olu (Brian Bovell), to make some quick cash. The last film of the trilogy, Raya, comes from South Africa and was directed by Zulfah Otto-Sallies. The title character (Rehane Abrahams) is a smart but troubled young woman who has just been released from prison after several years. Raya goes to the home of her mother, Salaama (Denise Newman), a devout Muslim, who has been taking care of Raya's daughter, Madeegah (Ayesha Meer Krige). An independent modern woman unable to live by her mother's rules, Raya takes Madeegah away, telling Salaama, "You're not going to keep her under a veil all her life." But when Raya finds herself unable to get a job because of her criminal record, she's tempted to return to crime to provide for her daughter. These three 26-minute films were selected from a longer program of six such films produced by the African companies Zimmedia and M-Net. All three films are in English. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

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67% liked it

907 ratings

Critics

44% liked it

9 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 18 min.

Directed by: Fanta Régina Nacro, Zulfah Otto Sallies

Release Date: June 7, 2002

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DVD Release Date: December 17, 2002

Stats: 27 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (27)

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Critic Reviews

Owen Gleiberman
October 26, 2002
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

It understands, in a way that speaks forcefully enough about the mechanisms of poverty to transcend the rather simplistic filmmaking. Full Review

Gene Seymour
June 7, 2002
Gene Seymour, Newsday

Mama Africa pretty much delivers on that promise. It does give you a peek. The main problem being that it's only a peek. Full Review

V.A. Musetto
June 7, 2002
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

A worthy idea, but the uninspired scripts, acting and direction never rise above the level of an after-school TV special.

Stephen Holden
June 6, 2002
Stephen Holden, New York Times

The warnings to resist temptation in this film ... are blunt and challenging and offer no easy rewards for staying clean. Full Review

David Noh
October 26, 2002
David Noh, Film Journal International

Otto-Sallies has a real filmmaker's eye. Full Review

Marshall Fine
October 26, 2002
Marshall Fine, Journal News (Westchester, NY)

Well-intentioned though it may be, its soap-opera morality tales have the antiseptic, preprogrammed feel of an after-school special. Full Review

Justin Hartung
June 10, 2002
Justin Hartung, Citysearch

Each story is built on a potentially interesting idea, but the first two are ruined by amateurish writing and acting, while the third feels limited by its short running time. Full Review

Maitland McDonagh
June 6, 2002
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide

The impulses that produced this project ... are commendable, but the results are uneven. Full Review

Alissa Simon
February 23, 2012
Alissa Simon, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
September 4, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

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