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Councilmember Koretz has been a vocal leader for funding of the Los Angeles Fire Department

On May 15th, the Councils Budget Committee completed its work on the budget for the City’s new fiscal year, which begins July 1.  The full Council will consider the committees recommendations on Monday, May 21.     

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Despite the Citys budget difficulties, there is good news.  Throughout the committee process, Councilmember Koretz was, as always, a strong advocate for funding of the Los Angeles Fire Department, as well as a fighter for resources for the 5th District.  Now, following the committees deliberations, the Fire Department is slated to receive the single biggest budget increase anywhere in the City – not enough in the view of Councilmember Koretz, but an increase nonetheless, and thats a crucial accomplishment in these tough fiscal times.

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In addition, the committee was successful in its commitment to responsibly fund other public safety services, and also avoided triggering any layoffs. Plus, the Councilmember had a lead role in convincing others to agree to some modest increases in budgeting for quality of life services such as tree trimming and alley repaving, and the committee was able to find a small amount of additional funds for cleaning up our parks.

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LAs budget difficulties are hardly unique, since cities and other governmental jurisdictions across the city and around the world have faced perilous times since the national and global economies suffered deep decline several years ago, with recovery being slow and treacherous sledding. Its worth noting that here in Los Angeles, the City Council has already made some really tough choices over the past three years – choices none liked but which were required to keep the City fiscally sound.  As just a few examples, the City has eliminated thousands of positions; its employee-partners are paying more for their healthcare and more for their retirement as well as being forced to take unpaid vacation days; and even with all the budget cutting, the Council has even been able to increase the Citys reserve fund by a small amount, because it is wise to always have a rainy day fund for some new and unexpected emergency, which certainly can happen in Southern California.  Throughout this process, the Council has worked to prioritize and maintain essential city services as best as possible, with public safety and public works getting the lion’s share of attention.  Still, all of this budget cutting, while necessary, has meant less services. Times have stayed tough.  Councilmember Koretz will continue to push reforms and efficiencies and to seek to make government as accountable and as efficient as possible.

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The 5th District has been home to HOUSE

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Councilmember Koretz and HOUSE star Hugh Laurie at City Hall

The critically acclaimed television series, HOUSE, is coming to an end after eight remarkable seasons.  Because this show has been made almost entirely in Los Angeles, Councilmember Koretz wanted to thank those responsible for the benefits such business brings to our city, by honoring the HOUSE creative team — including Hugh Laurie, who has charmed and challenged countless audiences as Dr. Gregory House, the brilliant but difficult doctor and diagnostician. 

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The final episode of HOUSE will air on FOX on Monday, May 21, as part of a two-hour Series finale event that begins with a one-hour retrospective special that will look back at this groundbreaking, seminal series and feature interviews with the series stars and producers, special original content and other surprises.  The retrospective will be followed by the emotional series finale episode starring, of course, Laurie in his magnificent portrayal of House, and directed by the series creator and executive producer, David Shore.

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The entertainment industry is absolutely essential to this Citys economic well-being, cultural heritage and artistic legacy, and so Councilmember Koretz saluted HOUSE for being among our local entertainment industrys great critical and commercial success stories — and by local, let it be noted that for all eight years, principle photography took place on the Fox lot in Century City, right here in the 5th District.  HOUSE, therefore, has enriched the people of Los Angeles with jobs, commerce and revenues, while showcasing the unparalleled advantages enjoyed by television and film endeavors that utilize this Citys amazing wealth of talented people and knowledgeable businesses.

HOUSE premiered on November 16, 2004.  To date, HOUSE and those involved in its making have been honored with five Emmy Awards and twenty-five Emmy Award nominations (including four for Outstanding Drama Series and six for Hugh Laurie for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series), the 2006 Humanitas Prize, two Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Writers Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a Peabody Award and five Peoples Choice Awards, while also being named one of the TV Programs of the Year by the American Film Institute.  HOUSE, the character of Dr. House, and the tremendous assortment of dazzling actors who have played major roles on HOUSE have all gained massive global recognition.  The show was recently designated as the worlds most popular current television program, watched by a whopping 81.8 million people in 66 countries, according to the 2012 edition of the Guinness World Records (the second time the show has garnered such recognition).  In the increasingly influential world of social media, the show was recently deemed the most talked-about television show, while the character of Dr. House was named the most discussed fictional character on Facebook for 2011. 
 
Councilmember Koretz praised HOUSE, Fox and all involved for choosing Los Angeles to be the home for production, and announced that Monday, May 21st, the day of the shows finale, would also be HOUSE Day in the City of Los Angeles.

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Adult Education

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One of the most important programs provided by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is adult education, which delivers basic education and career training services to over 250,000 adults in the greater Los Angeles area.  These programs have a significant impact on the economic and social structures of Los Angeles, which is already burdened with the most under-educated and under-employed population of any metropolitan region in the United States.

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As the Los Angeles Board of Education continues to grapple with yet another year of inadequate funding from the state, it is understandable how difficult it must be to determine which programs are worthy of funding and which ones should be eliminated.  Unfortunately, the Adult Education program is currently on the chopping block.  Depending on management’s negotiations with their employee representatives, it will be partially funded or completely eviscerated. 

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Councilmember Koretz wrote to each Board Member, asking that they very carefully consider any possible way to maintain funding for these adult education programs.  Given the fragile nature of the state’s efforts at economic recovery, it is likely that elimination of the District’s Adult Education’s programming could result in an extension of the current recession. According to Councilmember Koretz, “Adult education provides under-employed adults the continued opportunity to pursue educational and career training, allowing them to contribute to our economic recovery, maintain opportunities for all communities and families to achieve economic self-sufficiency, increase the likelihood that they will be able to keep their kids in school, and help close the skills gap between a 20th and 21st century workforce.”

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 Welcoming Trader Joes to 3rd and Fairfax

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Trader Joes opens its new location on the Northwest corner of 3rd and Fairfax

Who doesnt love Trader Joes? A sparkling, inviting, stocked full of organic earthy yummyness, store is opening at the new Gilmore Station project on the Northwest corner of 3rd and Fairfax – across from the historic Farmers Market. With wider aisles and extra space overall this latest Trader Joes should relieve congestion at other CD5 locations and provide a convenient neighborhood market for the Fairfax District. The store is pedestrian friendly with public plazas, bike racks and inviting landscaping.

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The overall Gilmore Station project also includes a Mendocino Farms with its famous fresh salads and sandwiches, as well as more retailers to come ranging from beauty supplies to stationary. The project is the result of months of work and partnership between the developer, the Mid City West Community Council, other area residents and stakeholders and Councilman Paul Koretz.

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Liza Braude

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Councilmember Koretz and Councilmember Bill Rosendahl welcome Liza Braude of Beanfields Chips to City Council

Councilmember Koretz was pleased to see Liza Braude, daughter of the late, legendary Councilmember Marvin Braude, when she was honored recently by Councilmember Bill Rosendahl at City Hall. Liza Braude is the founder and owner of Beanfields Chips and she recently won Best in Show at the Natural Products Expo West 2012. More than a quarter of a century ago, Koretz was an aide for Councilmember Braude, who set a grand example of civic involvement by courageously championing many historic causes.

The state has restored funds for a program that helps low-income, working parents pay for day care.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed the emergency funding measure Friday after the Senate voted 46-0 in favor of it. The House approved the funding earlier in the week.

Advocates of the program said some parents would have to quit work because they could not afford day care without the assistance. And some day care providers said they would close without the children in their programs.

“Members of the Senate understand the importance of day care for working parents,” said state Sen. Pat McGuire, D-Joliet.

This is the second straight year that funding for the Child Care Assistance program has been stalled because the state moved money to other programs to meet funding levels mandated by the federal government.

The Child Care Assistance program faces more funding problems next year if proposed cuts go through, said Amy Emerson, assistant director at Joliet-based Child Care Resource and Referral. The agency manages the program in Will County, where about 6,600 children receive assistance, and three other counties.

Emerson said the program would lose $85 million in the governor’s proposed budget.

She credited the restoration of funding this week to the efforts of day-care providers and parents who raised the issue with legislators.

“I think it’s due to all the calls to elected officials about the importance of the program,” Emerson said.

The presence of rugby in Bahrain dates back to the arrival of the British forces in the 1950s and there were regular fixtures between the servicemen and a British Club team throughout the 60s.

It took the withdrawal of the Forces and a decline in interest in the sport, however, for Bahrain RFC to be formed by a group of passionate stalwarts as a section of the British Club in 1971. As part of the British Club, Bahrain RFC played matches on the Royal Air Force land on the south east side of the airport and later on the old ammunition storage grounds, south-east of the main runway.

During the 1976/77 season, the major decision to sever ties with the British Club was taken and Bahrain RFC became an independent club with its own premises just off Saar Road.

The club was the dominant force in the early years of the Gulf Leagues in the 1980s and they continued to reign supreme through most of the next decade as well, winning 12 titles.

During the same period, Bahrain RFC was busy building its now legendary hospitable reputation, with the British Airways Invitational Fixture becoming the highlight of the rugby season throughout the region.

The BA International event continued successfully as it was for over a decade but the advent of professional rugby in 1995 changed the landscape of the sport in its entirety and meant that the availability of international stars was dramatically reduced. However, the club has continued to organise an international fixture in some form as their unofficial sign-off to the rugby season, with this years being combined with the 40th anniversary celebrations and the DHL Memorial Fixture.

The year 1995 was a hugely significant year for Bahrain Rugby as the club also moved premises from the site off the Saar Road, to its existing location on the border of Saar and Janabiya. That move brought with it the opening of the clubs first grass pitch, a purpose-built clubhouse and since then, the site has developed to include a bistro-style restaurant, a 25-metre swimming pool, cricket nets, netball courts, a childrens playground, a gym, a third grass training pitch and a state-of-the-art all-weather facility. At the same time, the number of sporting activities offered at the club has also developed dramatically and now includes regular football, Gaelic football, netball, cricket, Aussie Rules and other events.

The growth of the professional game also coincided with a barren spell for Bahrain in terms of success on the field. After their league win in 1997, the power shifted significantly to the quickly expanding band of UAE sides and Bahrain struggled to compete.

The arrival of a crop of young and highly-talented players as well as former Hong Kong national coach Jim Rowark to the island through 2007/2008 though finally saw the club return to the big time and, after capturing the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2009, the first XV stormed to a record 13th league title in 2010.

The main aim of this weeks anniversary party is to bring former members, existing members and friends of Bahrain RFC together to celebrate the clubs successes, achievements and overall contribution to the development of the game and the local community through the years.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend the events throughout the week, including many of the 1,950 current members as well as former members and long-time friends from the UK, Ireland and around the Gulf.

The celebrations kick off on Monday night with a welcome reception and curry supper at the clubhouse. The event will also see the unveiling of a special honours board, recognising more than 120 international players who have visited Bahrain RFC over the years.

Wednesday will see Bahrains legendary Golden Oldies side take to the field for an inter-club match, to be followed by the BMMI Schutzenfest and live music from Dubai-based Declan OSullivan. Around 450 people will then step out in style at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Thursday night for the annual Bahrain RFC End-of-season Ball, before the annual DHL Memorial Match between Bahrain RFC and DHL Barbarians at the club on Friday afternoon.

The week will conclude with a Caribbean pool party on Saturday, taking place alongside live coverage of both the Heineken Cup and Champions League finals.
thanratty@gdn.com.bh

Hear great ideas for vacationing in your own hometown at the free program Stay-cations in the Brookfield Area. Presented by the Brookfield Convention amp; Visitors Bureau, this program will be held in the Brookfield Public Librarys Community Room. Feel free to attend either session: Tuesday June 12th at 10 am or Wednesday June 20th at 7 pm. Registration is requested but not required. Contact the Adult Reference Desk at 262-782-4140, opt 1, with questions or to register. Be a tourist in your own backyard!

(PRWEB) May 04, 2012

IRVINE, Calif. – May 3, 2012 – The Irvine Chamber of Commerce (ICC) held its annual Ethics Forum at Venado Middle School on April 27, 2012. The Irvine Business Ethics Forum is an annual program aimed at teaching middle school and high school students ethical practices in the workplace and society.

The event is held at a different Irvine school every year, and media representatives are invited to join the ICC as it teams up in full support with volunteer business facilitators, Irvine Chamber members, the school administration, teachers and students.

This years Ethics Forum was expanded and brought to middle schools. We feel ethical decision making is important throughout life and the lessons learned during these forums would be valuable starting earlier in a students life, said Tallia Hart, President and CEO of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce.

The students at the event had this to say:

• I hope you bring this program to schools throughout the IUSD.
• I hope you continue to spread this program throughout the states.
• Having an adult to talk to and speak about problems is a great and valuable experience.

The event was set-up in a round-table format and students were encouraged to participate in discussions and work through an ethical dilemma packet designed specifically for the middle school level. Each table was facilitated by a local businessperson. Over 100 students participated in the Ethics Forum and over 15 business leaders, industry professionals, and chamber members assisted in facilitating the event.

For more information on the program, please contact: Victor DiCarlo Tel: 949.502.4128 or email, icc (at) irvinechamber (dot) com.

About The Irvine Chamber of Commerce

The Irvine Chamber of Commerce represents just under 1,000 local companies and is a premier business member organization dedicated to serving as advocates for pertinent issues affecting the local business community, while serving as a vehicle to promote business and community development in Irvine. For more information about the Irvine Chamber of Commerce, please call 949-660-9112, or visit www.irvinechamber.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/5/prweb9473655.htm

Nakationing is the clever name given to going on a nudist-type vacation. And where better to have the Nudist Clubhouse Nudist Expo 2012 than in Las Vegas on June 1-2.

It’s just $20 for a one-day pass, which can be purchased at the door, or $25 for both days. The two- day pass must be purchased in advance online.

Exhibitors from nudist resorts across the country, travel agents specializing in nakation travel and nude cruises, the American Association for Nude Recreation and numerous other affiliated groups will have materials and resources, whether you are a nakation veteran or just curious (and aren’t we all a little curious?).

Other events in addition to the expo include a nude barbecue and pool party ($65) and KISS themed glow-in-the-dark mini-golf ($28).

For more info: Nudistexpo.com

In modern culture, games are everywhere we look; not just video games. Recently. the top movie in the theatre was the The Hunger Games. The most popular TV show is Game of Thrones and the most watched entertainment on television on an annual basis is the Super Bowl game and skill-based game shows like American Idol. Games are everywhere. So its no wonder the concept of gamification has really taken off over the last few years.

[Editors note: Nathan Lands will be speaking at Vator Spark Get Game conference on May 1, at the new incubator at Berkeley Skydeck. Register here.Use #vatorspark when referring to the event.)

Its a pretty easy phenomenon to understand because games are essentially about creating fun playful experiences — whether that means creating excitement, intrigue, a smile, a laugh or even fear. We as humans all want to feel something.

Games and play are something we are naturally compelled to since birth. The excitement, mystery, challenge and the big high of a victory all compel us towards gameplay and playfulness. For proof of this, look at how a baby responds to any form of game, or how animals, such as dogs and cats, naturally play with one another. Its a basic essential part of life and its becoming a huge part of culture world-wide which has led to the desire for things outside of typical games to be turned into games or have game-like experiences built into them.

Work sucks? DUDE, gamify it!

One of the common hypothesis of gamification is that by generating some form of a game-like experience for your business, service or product you will associate your business with the positive feelings that result from it and/or be able to use the rules of the game to influence your players, turning your product into something that people dont just use, but love and are compelled to use. In theory this can work for almost any use case, like making losing weight fun, turning learning into a game and anything else you can imagine.

Researching the trend

Since we first started Gamify(before there were even any google results for the word) and Gamification.org, we realized that there were going to be a plethora of gamification projects and implementations that would fail and several that would do awesome so we started a wiki to document the trend for our own internal research and for the use and benefit of others around the world.

Gamification.org has now become the most visited gamification related website on the Web and is currently being translated into over 22 languages and expanding into new verticals such as Education and Enterprise thanks to our community of over 40 content partners and translators. Interest in gamification continues to grow steadily world-wide, which can be seen by looking at Google Trends for gamification.

A few of the insights weve gleaned from building Gamify amp; Gamification.org.

• Gamification is not a magic bullet that can solve everything. You cant just easily gamify something to reach a goal like increased engagement without really thinking of how it fits with your product or service.
• The types of gamification that have worked really well have been the ones that are actually fun to use and treat gamification in a playful way.
• Despite everyone thinking gamification is just a Silicon Valley thing, it seems to be even more popular in other countries, with the largest language searching for gamification being in Korean. Which makes sense considering gaming is even a bigger part of the culture in Korea. Starcraft is like a national sport there that is played on television and even hotel lobbies have it installed. I believe America and other countries are on a similar path, just behind a few years.

A few key examples of industries and companies that weve seen do well with gamification:

• Education amp; Learning: Khan Academy, Codecademy
• Health amp; Fitness: Fitbit, Nike+, RunKeeper, Fitocracy
• Entertainment: Turntable.fm
• Enterprise: Badgeville, iActionable
• Marketing amp; Rewards: Kiip

So those are great examples of companies that have done reasonably well, but what is the main reason that gamification has failed for many other companies? Here is my theory.

Gamification should be fun

Fun and gamification are two words that should naturally go together — however, most of the time the innocent simplicity that can create fun is lost in the fog of business objectives led by well meaning but misguided executives and hype surrounding gamification when companies are thinking they can magically gamify their product or service.

Farmville for my website? Yes, PLEASE!

A lot of gamification promoters and solution providers to date have focused on gamification that is what I call light-gamification, meaning that it applies very light game mechanics like points and badges to a product and doesnt do much else in terms of generating a game-like experience. There is nothing inherently wrong with this approach, however I do feel strongly that we need to expand what we think of as gamification and remember that in a lot of cases, fun is a necessary component. I believe that consumers expectations are growing higher by the day for fun experiences with products they use and that is where the big opportunity for gamification is.

I believe we should define gamification more broadly as the presence or addition of game-like characteristics in anything that has not been traditionally considered a game. So the more game-like characteristics and mechanics are present, the more gamified something is. Keep in mind, there are many kinds of games. Games of skill, luck, video games, sports and gambling are all games.

So, it could be said that gamification has a kind of spectrum that ranges from gamification that has many game characteristics, to gamification with few game characteristics. A lot of the ones on the side of few game characteristics focus on reward structures that they believe will influence users.

Both sides of the spectrum can in theory be effective, but primarily companies have stayed on the light side because it feels safe. That is why I believe that the majority of companies that will become wildly successful with gamification will be startups that are willing to take risks to innovate, try new things in a simple and playful manner, and rapidly experiment, a la the Lean Startup methodology. Also, startups dont take themselves nearly as serious as big corporations and thus are more easily able to actually connect with users on a more personal and fun level.

So if youre a start-up or an existing company, how can you gamify your business?

Well, everyone asks me this all the time. How to gamify their business and what game mechanic would I suggest they use, as if we have some secret recipe book that need just be followed to be successful at gamifying. Let me say now, there is no magical answer! You really should start simple, think at a basic level of how to craft a fun game-like experience into your product — and of course before that really think over if it makes sense for your business in the first place.

Before you design for business objectives, think about what kind of experience youd like for your users to have. If you make an experience that makes a product better or creates an entirely new product that is fun to use — you will most likely exceed any business goals and can tweak to improve those things later. Dont over think things, fun can be created in the most simple ways sometimes.

The future

Will the future be like countless movies that depict a dystopian and dreary future? Or some marketing-ran nightmare where you get points for everything you do and the Government or Mega-corps have control over you using these systems to manipulate your actions? I think those concepts are both equally unlikely and really just make for good stories or movies.

Based on current trends and changes happening in the world I see a future where life is simplified by our gadgets, and we demand more things that make us smile, laugh and allow us to enjoy most things we do because we only have one life. Technology becomes an enabler of a more fun and happy life — catered towards whatever that means for you as an individual.

Time will tell if Gamification is a long-term trend that will be widely accepted and integrated into our daily lives, but I think betting against people expecting experiences and the world around them to be more pleasurable and fun in the future would be a really bad bet, like shorting Apple stock or trading in time travel futures. Gamification that is truly fun and keeps the spirit of games has a future.

(Image source: Businessweek)

They do not say Cutting bacon out of my diet, said Tanya Abreu, a motivational speaker and a leader of a healthy heart initiative in which St. Joseph Medical Center participates.

While speaking at a recent Women2Women event sponsored by the hospital, Abreu was illustrating how unconventional methods have been proven to improve health.

The HeartCaring initiative is run by Abreus company, Spirit Health Group, Boca Raton, Fla., and is used by St. Joseph and 39 other hospitals across the country to educate women about heart health.

Abreus talk at the Inn at Reading, Wyomissing, was titled 10 exercises guaranteed to lighten up your heart, health and life (in order of difficulty).

While I do manage to go to the gym once per year, Abreu joked, I do these exercises daily.

1. Practice Namaste hands. Abreu said its been shown that this gesture, which is when someone presses hands together as if praying, can lower blood pressure and reduce stress.

2. Rock yourself to calm. When people think of adults rocking back and forth, many people think of mental patients, Abreu said. But rocking a baby is one of the most natural ways to soothe an infant, she said, and adults can benefit from it, too, by rocking from side to side or back and forth to reduce stress.

3. Love yourself to lightness. If people accept themselves for who they are, they will feel better mentally and physically, she said.

4. Look inside yourself and others. Take a moment to look in a mirror and see the beauty in you, she said. Also, when speaking with a spouse, child or loved one, really look at the person, she said. Thats been shown to release oxytocin, a hormone associated with sexual arousal and bonding, she said.

5. Touch someone in need. We all know about the power of touch to heal, Abreu said. Some hospitals now employ massage therapists, she said. Touch releases endorphins, which are associated with a sense of well-being, she said. Abreu said when she sees someone who is upset, she will often gently touch the persons forearm and say, I know youre hurting but I hope you get the help you need. She said it makes her feel better and that she hopes it can slightly improve the other persons mood. Also, she said, hold – not just hug – your children and loved ones no matter what their age.

6. Be sassy and stylin. When a person smiles, the body believes the person is happy whether they really are or not, Abreu said. In response, the body releases hormones that make a person feel good.

7. Be bold. At this point in her presentation, Abreu made all of the 50 or so women in the audience stand, stick out a hip and slap it with their hands. They all laughed. It makes you feel good and it makes you laugh, she said. Be bold. Fake it till you make it.

8. Practice grace and balance. Once when in China, Abreu saw a group of elderly people in a park moving slowly about in a synchronized manner. She asked a translator if the people were performing Tai Chi, which is a martial art that many perform for health benefits. The translator replied: Thats an exercise that slows down time and makes you live longer.

9. Stub your way to living in the moment. Abreu said when someone is in pain, that is the one and only thing he or she can think about. Your life and health will improve, she said, if you can stub your toe mentally and concentrate on only one thing instead of worrying about several things at once.

10. Approve of yourself unconditionally. That can be done by literally patting yourself on the back, which Abreu said has been shown to make people feel better.

If you choose to practice just one of these a day, it will improve your life, Abreu promised.

Contact Jason Brudereck: 610-371-5044 or jbrudereck@readingeagle.com.

Nollywood, the digital film industry of Nigeria, is not just about new technology in filmmaking — it is about documenting and preserving the country’s culture, said filmmaker Tunde Kelani in a discussion panel Friday as part of this year’s Africana Film Festival, entitled “Nollywood and Beyond.” Kelani was joined by filmmaker Andy Amadi Okoroafor and Africana film scholars Jonathan Haynes, professor at Long Island University, and postdoctoral fellow Nduka Otiono.

The discussion, hosted by the Africana Studies department and the Department of Modern Culture and Media, answered questions about defining Nollywood and its impact on the broader cinematic scene in Nigeria and the world.

Nollywood was chosen as this year’s topic for the festival because it marks a break from traditional Nigerian filmmaking, said Karen Baxter, managing director of the Africana studies department’s Rites and Reason Theatre. The industry is “ground-breaking” not only because of its revolutionary use of technology but also for its response to political and cultural issues that Africans face every day, she added.

Nollywood provides an answer to the traditional distribution problems in African cinema, Haynes said. Filmmaking began in the 1960s in Africa, but it was difficult to reach the domestic audience because of financial cost and censorship issues in the distribution process, he added. But Haynes said Nollywood films “changed everything” for the Nigerian film industry, giving rise to a new commercial culture for a popular audience, both domestically and internationally. Nigeria became the “Mecca of successful industry,” he added.

The two films shown on Thursday and Friday — “Maami” and “Relentless” — portray some of these issues on screen.

“Maami” traces Nigeria’s soccer player Kashimawo’s trip to his hometown after gaining international success. In the film, he recounts his childhood of poverty and his parents’ death, but the dark themes are accompanied by humor, warmth and love, especially in the relationship between Kashimawo and his mother. “Maami,” which means “mother,” is a “very specific, yet universal character,” with values of love and parenthood that anyone can relate to, one audience member said during a question-and-answer session after the screening.

Another audience member commented on the portrayal of poverty from the “inside” perspective and how the film’s approach differs from the image portrayed by films outside of Africa.

“Relentless” also raises issues about war, child soldiers and prostitution, but the main character’s love and loneliness extend beyond Nigeria.

The Africana Film Festival started as a collaboration between MCM studies and Africana studies. This year’s goal was to bring important films, filmmakers and scholars to Brown and provide a space for a discussion about their work and the changes in African cinema, said Philip Rosen, professor of modern culture and media. African artists have fought since the time of colonialism to develop African culture, and film has been central in that effort, he added.