When China Met Africa & The Colony

Columbia University will hold a screening and discussion of the films "When China Met Africa" and "The Colony".

When China Met Africa (2010)

A historic gathering of over 50 African heads of states in Beijing reverberates in Zambia where the lives of three characters unfold. Mr. Liu is about to buy his fourth farm; Manager Liis uprading one of Zambia's longest roads and the Zambian trade minister is on route to China to secure millions of dollars of investment. Through the intimate portrayal of these characters, a global shift in power from west to east is laid bare.

The Colony (2010)

The Colony examines China's aggressive new economic role in Africa. The film shows how Chinese working inside the African country of Senegal are changing the economic landscape of the continent. Senegal, where many believe China first began its economic expansion, will be looked at like a microcosm reflecting the wider trend affecting the entire continent. The documentary also looks at the myriad of ways Africans are affected by these endeavors.

Brent E. Huffman is an award-winning director, writer, and cinematographer of documentaries and television programs. His work ranges from documentaries aired on The Discovery Channel and The National Geographic Channel, to Sundance Film Festival winners, to films made for FRONTLINE/World on PBS. He is also an assistant professor at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University where he teaches documentary and broadcast production and theory.

Daniel Large is Research Director of the Africa Asia Centre, School of Oriental and African Studies, London. He is editing, with Luke Patey, Sudan Looks East: China, India and the politics of ‘Asian’ engagement (forthcoming, James Currey), and co-edited, with Chris Alden and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, China Returns to Africa: A Rising Power and a Continent Embrace (Hurst, 2008). He is also a Research Associate with the South African Institute of International Affairs’ China in Africa programme, and founding Director of the Rift Valley Institute’s Sudan Open Archive (www.sudanarchive.net).

This event is part of the 2010-2011 World and Africa Series.