ADIFF CHICAGO
Opening Night – Siddis: African Diaspora in India (Double Feature)
Friday, June 13
Showtimes
Friday, June 13
6:00pm
Ticketing
$25 /Opening Night Double Bill
Includes 2 films + Q&A + Reception
$65 /All-Access Pass
Join us for a special double feature for ADIFF Chicago’s Opening Night, with Nirmal Chander’s All the World’s a Stage (2008) and Jayan Cherian’s Rhythm of Dammam (2024), with a Q&A with director Jayan Cherian after the screening.
The ancestral roots of the SIDDIS can be traced back to the Bantu peoples from Southeast Africa who were forcibly brought to the Indian subcontinent as slaves by Portuguese traders. Centuries of discrimination have pushed them down the socio-economic ladder, but their unique devotional music has given them a strong sense of identity.
All the World’s a Stage – Chicago Premiere
“We are often called ‘Negroes’…. People shout, ‘Hey, darkie! Come here.’”
All the World’s A Stage (2008) weaves together the lives and aspirations of a motley group of men who form an internationally successful performance group called SIDI GOMA. The film celebrates the joyous energy of their songs and dances, while tracing their struggle to survive in a world that threatens to marginalize them even further.
Screened in Konkani with English Subtitles
Nirmal Chander, 2008, 60 minutes, India, Documentary
Rhythm of Dammam – US Premiere
Twelve-year-old Jayaram Siddi is haunted by his late grandfather’s spirit. He loses touch with reality. His family embraces tribal rituals and Dammam music to restore his balance and address intergenerational trauma.
Screened in Konkani (Siddi Dialect) and Kannada
Jayan Cherian, 2024, 92 minutes, USA/India, Drama
ABOUT ADIFF
Founded in 1993 and based in Harlem, the African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) is a minority-led nonprofit that brings global Black experiences to the forefront through transformative cinema. Tickets can be purchased from ADIFF here.
