Barack & Michelle Obama Makes Surprise Appearance in Support for ‘Descendant’ Documentary at MVAAFF

Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival kicks off Friday night with a documentary decreasingBarack and Michelle Obama from Netflix and Higher Ground Productions and the former president and first lady were surprise guests at opening night.

directed by Margaret Brown decreasingPremiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the film follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community histories as descendants of Clotilda, the last known slave ship to trade cargo from Africa to Africa. . America.

When the film was first presented by festival founders Stephanie and Floyd Rance, they brought in a director introducing Oscar winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. He spoke briefly before inviting his “friends” to the stage. These friends were the Obamas, who had a house on Martha’s Vineyard.

Michelle Obama spoke for the first time about the importance of using our heritage.

We should encourage our young people to mingle with our elders who are already there.” “Instead of taking pictures of the food, how about talking to grandma or great-grandmother and asking them these questions?”

He talked about the documentary and the messages it gave. “decreasingIt reminds us of the power of the stories we have.”

President Obama then told the crowd why it is important to hear from Clotilda’s grandchildren and their stories.

“This documentary captures an important chapter in our history that is too often distorted, forgotten, or buried.” Then he talked about the subject of the Africatown documentary and why they wanted to connect with the past.

For the people of Africatown, it was a story of extraordinary pain and hardship, but also a story of strength, resilience and overcoming.”

Stacey Abrams, Reverend Al Sharpton, and former Atlanta Mayor Kesha Lance Bottoms also appeared on the show.

downhillAnt explores the implications of Clotilda’s discovery for his descendants, who struggle with Clotilda’s legacy and reclaim the power to shape their own destinies, and won the American Special Jury Prize for Creative Vision at Sundance.