MR. KOJO NNAMDI...here in the district. And this year's festival has an Afro-Latino flavor with six films from Latino directors, including a contemporary take on "Romeo and Juliet" set in Puerto Rico's largest slum. And beyond Latino films the festival also features a contemporary comedy about the black American dating scene as well as a drama about a daughter defending her father's radical past in court. And joining us to discuss this is Reinaldo Barroso Spech. He is the co-founder of the African Diaspora International Film Festival. His co-founder is Diarah N'Daw-Spech, both of whom I met last year. Reinaldo, good to see you again.

MR. REINALDO BARROSO-SPECHThank you. Thank you for having me here.

NNAMDIAlso joining us in studio is Antonio Morales. He is the writer and producer of the film for Love in the Caserio." Antonio Morales, thank you for joining us.

MR. ANTONIO MORALESThank you for having me here.

NNAMDIJoining us by phone from Los Angeles is Tamarat Makonnen. He is the director of the film "In Search of the Black Knight" opening night film at the African Diaspora International Film Festival. Tamarat, thank you for joining us.

MR. TAMARAT MAKONNENThank you. Thank you for having me.

NNAMDIAnd Katherine Nero is the writer and director of "For the Cause," a film premiering at this festival. Katherine Nero, good to have you aboard.

MS. KATHERINE NEROThank you. Nice to be here.

NNAMDIIf you have comments or questions about the African Diaspora International Film Festival, give us a call, 800-433-8850. Send email to kojo@wamu.org. Reinaldo, this year's festival has a number of Latino films. Can you talk a little bit about how that came about?

BARROSO-SPECHWell, that came about, as you know, festival researchers are all year watching films and doing research and reading papers and books and things like that. And I realize that I am constantly interacting with people who are dealing with the Afro-Latino experience. I am myself part of that experience. I was born in Cuba. I have Jamaican and Haiti in my veins so, I mean, I have...

NNAMDIYou're just all mixed up.

BARROSO-SPECHI have this inclination to go in that direction and get information. And I saw these films in different places, I mean, in Chicago, in Toronto. And I was like, okay, what can we do? What can we do? And then the work of the -- the shape of this festival began to materialize. Because, for example, you have -- it seemed like "For Love in the Caserio" which is Puerto Rico -- contemporary Puerto Rico, they're dealing with the specific issues that we are familiar with. Antonio will talk about it.

BARROSO-SPECHBut then we have "They Are We" which is a film about Afri-Cubans and Sierra Leoneans and how they find through this woman from Australia that they have been for years dancing and singing the same thing in different places. So this woman brings these people, I mean, together in Sierra Leon. And it's a very emotional moment because they realize that the way the Africans in the continent say, they are we.

BARROSO-SPECHSo, I mean, when you see all that, when you see all that importance of this enhancing the life of people of African descent, in and out of Africa, I said, I have to do something. And then Washington has embraced this festival. I mean, I'm very happy because in eight years -- I must tell you that the festival began in New York City, but in eight years I feel welcome every time I come here.

NNAMDII should mention that the films will be screened at the Goethe-Institut at 812 Seventh Street Northwest in what's known as Chinatown in Washington, D.C. The festival opens tomorrow and runs through Sunday. But you're so right. You can be from the Caribbean and you see a dance from West Africa and you say, I thought that was ours. But that's where it originated.

NNAMDIAntonio -- we have the writer and producer of one of the Latino films here. I introduced him earlier, Antonio Morales. Your film is set in Puerto Rico's largest housing project. It's also where you grew up. Can you talk a little bit about what it was like growing up there in El Caserio?

MORALESWell, the Caserio, which is a word in Spanish for public housing project, you're right, it's actually the largest in the entire Caribbean. I am a son of a drug dealer so growing up was actually harsh because I was surrounded by violence, also with a lot of love, of course. But my dad, he would be the main drug dealer of one of the sides of the projects. And he had an eternal war for many, many years with the other side of the projects. So it was very difficult growing up as a kid knowing that I'm the son of the most wanted, not only who was wanted by the other side, by the gang...

NNAMDIBy the authorities.

MORALES...exactly, as well. So -- and since I was a kid I was always passionate towards the arts. So I founded a theater group in the community. And one of my first plays was actually "For Love in the Caserio." So it all began as a theater play. And I used the kids from the community as actors from the play. And even though it's inspired in "Romeo and Juliet", I was also applying everything I would see from my dad's life. And I applied it to the play.

NNAMDIWell, allow me to have you step back for a second because my own history of acting is that I went to an all male school. And when I was young my voice was high-pitched, so I had to play female roles so that meant a lot of fights in that school. In your community, the arts weren't really an option, not for the boys in the projects. So can you talk a little bit about that, because I suspect you had a similar experience.

MORALESCorrect. Actually, when I first told my father that I wanted to do theater, he associated it with homosexuality. So he did not allow me to be in theater. He wanted me to do some type of sports.

NNAMDIManly things, yes.

MORALESExactly. But I was really, really bad at sports. And I knew I had my talents. So I literally had to wait until he was arrested. You know, one day the FBI busted into our apartment.

NNAMDIYou were 14.

MORALESI was 14, yes. So once he was out of the picture, then my mother supported me. And this is when I actually began to found the theater group.

NNAMDIHow did Shakespeare inspire you?

MORALESWell, it's funny because when I was reading "Romeo and Juliet," I got accepted into the performing arts school. And we were studying Shakespeare. So when we were reading "Romeo and Juliet," I just couldn't avoid thinking this sounds so much like home, the war in the projects where I live. And, you know, I just felt that connection immediately. And that's when I started to write the theater play.

NNAMDIDespite that home life, you ended up applying to a prestigious performing arts high school in San Juan. Talk about that and the theater workshop that you created that you started talking about earlier when you were just a teenager.

MORALESWell, once I got into the performing arts school, everything I learned I started to teach the kids from my community. So I knew I had to be the best, not because I had a big ego or anything. It's just because I had a responsibility for the kids from my community, with those kids that, like my father, their parents also thought that theater was for girls. So, you know, we had different responsibilities and we had to make sure we were making the best play ever. And this is actually how "For Love in the Caserio" started to come out.

NNAMDIYou got a grant to continue doing what you were doing. And as a film festival director, what interested you about "Love in the Caserio," Reinaldo?

BARROSO-SPECHWell, as you hear Antonio speak, you realize that there are many common points because, I mean, we talking about Puerto Rico but that story can be brought into the United States and also can be brought to Paris, France because you have what they call a (word?) in French. And it's the same notion Caserios project, (word?) all those places. And the stories that happen there are very important. And many of the stories that happened there are stories that happened to people whose life have been conditioned by the color of the skin.

BARROSO-SPECHSo when I saw this -- I watched this film first while at the Chicago Latino Film Festival and I was impressed. And I told Diarah, you have to watch this film. And then, well, the rest is history. Here we are trying to push this film, trying to show this film to the audience here in Washington, D.C. And we have Antonio here who think is a good example of many of the things that we're talking about.

NNAMDI800-433-8850 is the number to call. Do you go to film festivals? What films about the African and African American experience have you enjoyed? Give us a call, 800-433-8850. You can send email to kojo@wamu.org. Antonio, I'm going to ask you the obvious question that is on the minds of a lot of our listeners I'm sure, and that is, adaptations of ""Romeo and Juliet"" like "West Side Story," did that inspire you also?

MORALESYes, it did, it did. When I -- that's the first time I actually learned what an adaptation was. I was a teenager and I said, well, if the people from "West Side Story" were able to adapt a story based on "Romeo and Juliet," then why can't I do the same thing? And that's how I began my play, using the plot, the love story but also using all these different issues, the social issues like the drug, the weapon awareness. So, yes.

NNAMDIThe film is called "For Love in the Caserio." We've got another filmmaker joining us today, Tamarat Makonnen is the director of "In Search of the Black Knight." That's the opening night film at the African Diaspora International Film Festival. Tamarat, your film is a documentary but it's a comedy about black relationships. Tell us a little bit about it and what caused you to get involved in launching this project.

MAKONNENWell, yeah, it kind of infuses both real life interviews and the documentary experience of us traveling across the country interviewing people from all walks of life, as well as sketch comedy. And the reason that we decided to kind of put this together and kind of make it this kind of gumbo was one, people seem to be more receptive when they're able to laugh at something. You know, when things get a little too heavy, sometimes people tend to kind of like tune out. And we wanted to, you know, make sure that, you know, that we were able to get across the information, but yet still entertain people.

MAKONNENBecause, you know, most importantly people need to be entertained, as well as informed. So -- and in regards to this particular topic, it's just been a very hot button topic in the black community for quite a while. You know, the shortage or perceived shortage of black men to women.

NNAMDIWell, let me tell you about perception, Tamarat. When I first came to Washington, in the late '60s and early '70s, the word was that there were five times as many black women in Washington than there were men. I knew that was mathematically impossible, but nevertheless that perception held sway for a very long time.

MAKONNENYes.

NNAMDIIn this film you interview men and women around the country, including here in Washington. And you tackle a number of stereotypes and issues in black relationships. At one point you ask interviewees about black women having a "attitude problem." I'd like to play that clip.

MAKONNENDo you think there's any truth to the stereotype that black women have an attitude problem?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1If black women seem like they have an attitude problem it's because we are doing a lot on our own. So when you're doing a lot on your own, you don't have time for a lot of B.S.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2Some guys think it's cute to see you get an attitude. Some guys will do things on purpose, just to piss you off, to see you get an attitude. And then, you know, when you stab them a little bit, then they want to call the police because, you know, you went too far.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1My take on black women having -- of the stereotype of black women having an attitude problem, is that it's rooted in truth. I think that women, it's particularly black women we're talking about, but it's all women. Women have been masculinized. And black women -- when you combine that with the fact that they've had the double-edge barrel of racism and sexism, then they tend to have more an attitude when they deal with men.

NNAMDIThat's a clip from Tamarat Makonnen's film, "In Search of the Black Knight." Tamarat, one thing that impressed me about this film, you handle sensitive topics with some light-heartedness. But also seriousness. Was that your goal in this documentary?

MAKONNENYeah, absolutely. I mean, I knew that this was a topic that was raw for some people. And I wanted to approach it in a way that allowed people to accept the information, to kind of, you know, maybe look at themselves, take a look at, you know, what is it that we're doing to help to perpetuate maybe what some of these issues are or the perceived stereotypes.

MAKONNENBut, yeah, I did walk the fine line. And, you know, some of the sketch comedy I was a little bit nervous about, you know, in regards to how it would be received. But, you know, we've traveled all over the country with the film and the reception has just been amazing. And people have just been laughing and so engaged. So we were very happy with the way people have been receiving the film.

NNAMDIYeah, that's a fine line, that if you trip over it you fall a very long way. So we're glad you didn't.

MAKONNENAbsolutely. Yeah, me, too.

NNAMDIWe're going to take a short break. When you come back you'll meet all of our guests again, including our filmmaker Katherine Nero. She's the writer and director of "For the Cause," which premieres at this festival. Right now we're going to take a short break. If you have questions or comments, give us a call, 800-433-8850. What films about the African and African American experience have you enjoyed? Or send us a tweet, @kojoshow, email to kojo@wamu.org. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.

NNAMDIWelcome back. We're having a conversation about this weekend's African Diaspora Film Festival in Washington. It starts tomorrow, runs through Sunday, at the Goethe-Institut, 812 7th Street Northwest, in what's known as Chinatown in Washington, D.C. But if you have questions or comments give us a call, 800-433-8850. We're talking with Reinaldo Barroso-Spech. He is the co-founder of the film festival.

NNAMDIAntonio Morales is the writer and producer for the film, "For Love in the Caserio." Tamarat Makonnen is the director of "In Search of the Black Knight," which is the opening night film at the festival. And joining us now by phone from Chicago is Katherine Nero. She is the writer and director of "For the Cause," which premieres at the festival. Katherine, your film, "For the Cause," also touches on the relationships between men and women and trust issues. First, can you talk about the story you tell in "For the Cause?"

NEROYes, I can. In "For the Cause," you're dealing with a young lady who is -- had -- you can say reenacting her own history without knowing it. There's conflict between her parents. So she has no idea, in terms of what happened there, but she's bringing it forward into the present day with her own relationship with her boyfriend. And what I was trying to show at the film was just how important it is to know our history.

NNAMDII understand that this is your first full-length feature film. How did you get…

NEROYes.

NNAMDI…interested in this topic and decide topic and decided to turn it into a film?

NEROWell, being from Chicago -- Chicago is very political. And that's an understatement. You know, having grown up with the whole era of the machine politics, plantation politics, all that with Daly and, in particular, what influenced me was what happened with Fred Hampton, in 1969.

NNAMDIFred Hampton and Mark Clark, yes.

NEROYes. And that was an incident that really, you know, in Chicago, I would say that that had a lot to do with what happened…

NNAMDIFor listeners who don't know what you're talking about, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were members of the Black Panther Party who were shot to death by Chicago Policy while sleeping in their apartment. There were about 69 or 70 bullet holes that were found in that apartment.

NEROYes. All going -- I think, with the exception of maybe two or three. All were going in one direction, which was towards them. So they were basically defenseless and I --if I'm not mistaken, Fred Hampton was probably drugged by a police informant and never gained consciousness during that whole thing. He was asleep.

NNAMDIAnd he was a significant, young leader of the Black Panther Party at this time. You discovered, also, something about your father that may have sparked your interest in stories from the past. Can you talk about that?

NEROYeah, well, what happened was I guess the whole thing about just knowing what happened in the past, because I'm very close to my father, but I did not know that, you know, what had happened to him as a little boy, at the time the Emmett Till documentary came out, produced by Stanley Nelson, we were offered tickets to a screening in Chicago. So I'm trying to get my parents to go.

NEROAnd I noticed that he was very reluctant. And when I talked to my sister about it, that's when she told me, she said, "Well, you know, you understand that he grew up in Money, Miss., which I did not know because I always associate the family with being from Greenwood. But Money, Miss., is literally around the corner from Greenwood. And during that time, they were burned out of their house in the middle of the night.

NEROMy father was three years old at the time. And he had a baby sister. My father and his baby sister caught pneumonia, as a result of that, from being out in the middle of the night and his sister eventually passed. So once I found out about that particular incident, I understood why he was so reluctant to want to see the documentary about Emmett Till. And it also just kind of brought home, like, wow, you know, that's something I didn't know about my family history. And, you know, how much more is there that I don't know. And how much is that affecting what I do today?

NNAMDIKatherine Nero, she is the writer and director of "For the Cause," a film premiering at the African Diaspora International Film Festival. The co-founder joins us in studio, Reinaldo Barroso-Spech. I wanted to get back to this issue of relationships for a second, Reinaldo. There's a lot about relationships in this film festival and in the films that we are discussing today. Was that something you were looking for in this year's festival?

BARROSO-SPECHYes. I mean, I won't deny that we are always looking for the connections that these films bring to the forefront. Because, as maybe I said it here last year, all this work is part of a doctoral dissertation that I wrote at Columbia University Teacher College, how to use films as a way to educate people at the same time you entertain them.

BARROSO-SPECHAnd one of the things that I wanted to do -- we have been doing this very frequently -- bringing into the imagination of people, the narrative of the Afro-Latino. But it has been -- it has increased exponentially from 1993, when we began in New York City, until now, that we are now here in Washington, D.C. And all these films -- when we saw it, I mean, Diarah and myself and other members of the team, I said, "I mean, maybe these are films that would help people change their narrative about the Afro-Latino experience."

BARROSO-SPECHBecause when you go from Venezuela to Argentina and Uruguay, from Uruguay and Argentina to Puerto Rico and then you go down there again to South America and Brazil, and you see the magic of all that, the richness of all that and the commonalities that you find in many of the films because of the stories, because of the characters, then you realize that this concept of African diaspora, this concept of global black experience, I mean, all fall into one piece.

NNAMDIAnd, Antonio, you're talking about relationships in the context of the Latino environment. Relationships are at the heart of so much great art. Romeo and Juliet is the core of the story you tell. What comes out about the relationships between men and women in your film?

MORALESWell, even though, you know, mainly it's a romantic love story, but it also shows that these stories, I mean, it's based on Romeo and Juliet. That means that they're practically universal, you know, love. This love happens in our projects, but it can also happen anywhere in the world. So that's one of the beauties. Any one from any culture will fall in love all over again.

NNAMDIAnd when we're talking about relationships in your film, Tamarat Makonnen, a lot of stereotypes are based in real numbers. We mentioned some of the perceptions of those numbers earlier, the number of eligible black women compared to black men, attitudes toward interracial dating, the comparative numbers of black women and men in college. Tamarat, did anything surprise you in the interviews that you did?

MAKONNENYeah, I think one of the things that surprised me was the optimism that, you know, that I actually heard in a lot of people. And the humor in which they addressed some of these, you know, topics that can feel a little bit jarring and a little sad, you know. When you think of the shortages, when you think of, you know, all the women out there who, you know, who, you know, are looking for potential, you know, relationships that may not be able to find their "peers" or matches.

MAKONNENBut most people, most people interviewed really kind of carried themselves in a way that was, you know, dignified and were able to kind of see the humor in some of the circumstances and most importantly, not give up hope. And I think it kind of radiates throughout the film.

NNAMDII'd like to hear your comment on this email we got from Moe, Tamarat. Moe writes, "As a black man I do think black women have an attitude. And with good reason. They've borne the brunt of a lot, sexism, racism, and in this country many cases of poverty and single motherhood." Does that come up?

MAKONNENWell, we talk about the issue of the attitude. We don't really dive into the idea of the single mother. But I total agree with her that, you know, when you are carrying, you know, the weight of the family alone, without the assistance of, you know, of a male figure, a father figure, a husband, you tend to build an exterior, you know, of armor to protect yourself. And in the process, a lot of times, that armor can be perceived as like a masculine trait.

MAKONNENAnd that's something that I think has been an issue in the black community. And I think that's part of where the stereotype comes from. And, I mean, is it a masculine trait? Well, I think that just depends on the person. But I do think that a lot of times it's a misconception. It's really just a defense mechanism.

NNAMDIWe got a tweet from Sabrina on favorite films about the black experience. She says her all-time favorite is "To Sleep with Anger," with Danny Glover. Indeed, a great film that I remember. Which brings me to this, Reinaldo. Tell us about some of the other highlights of the festival.

BARROSO-SPECHWell, I mean, there is "Tango Negro, The African Roots of Tango." This is Dom Pedro. Dom Pedro is an Angolan filmmaker based in Paris. And his film deals with what is known as the music of el Rio de la Plata. I'm talking about Argentina and Uruguay. So he moves back and forth. And he exposes us not only to tango, which is maybe the most popular genre, he exposes us to tango, milonga and other rhythms.

BARROSO-SPECHAnd what is revealing in his film is that he traces back the rhythm that the Africans put into that music and how systematically it has been denied. And he also exposes us to this -- to the history of black people in Argentina and Uruguay. He moves between history and contemporary moments. I mean, we can see that in Uruguay, for example, there a black minister, I mean, an Afro-Uruguayan minister and how they are working on issues pertaining to the Afro-Uruguayan population.

BARROSO-SPECHAnd there's a lot of music in the film. The film is based on the book of a writer, an Argentina writer, a musician who lives in Paris, as well. And he is in the film. Casserus (sp?) is his last name. And Casserus is very entertaining and didactic. So when you finish the film, it's like you have learned so many things. And you feel like dancing because tango is a new -- a musically expression for you. And I want to talk about the Brazilian program because it also has a strong music component.

BARROSO-SPECHThere are two parts in that program. There's a short film, a little story about this 11-year-old ogre who goes to see his grandmother and she is exposed to Candomble, the religion in Brazil. The African retention in religion that we see in Brazil through Candomble. And then we have "Maria Bethania: Music is Perfume." This is a woman who is a monument -- a musical monument in Brazil. And she's universally well respected and known.

BARROSO-SPECHThe way she sings, she writes, and the film is narrated by her. So we goes to Bahia, we goes back to -- I mean, we go back to Rio. We move back and forth with Maria Bethania telling those things and introducing us to the magic of her music. And that also is an example of the great diversity and richness that Brazil happens to be.

NNAMDIAnd I'm afraid that's all the time we have. It's a tough job, Reinaldo, but somebody has to do it. I'm glad you and Diarah are doing it. Reinaldo Barroso-Spech is the co-founder of the African Diaspora International Film Festival. His co-founder and wife and partner is Diarah N'Daw-Spech. Good to see you again. Thank you for joining us.

BARROSO-SPECHThank you.

NNAMDIAntonio Morales is the writer and producer of the film, "For Love in the Caserio." Thank you for joining us. Good luck to you.

MORALESThank you for having me.

NNAMDITamarat Makonnen is the director of "In Search of the Black Knight," opening-night film. Tamarat, thank you for joining us. Good luck to you.

MAKONNENThank you, sir. I appreciate…

NNAMDIKatherine Nero is the writer and director of "For the Cause." Katherine, thank you for joining us. And thank you all for listening. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.