A moving documentary about the life and untimely death of Ghanaian-German poet, academic and political personality May Ayim. Ayim was one of the founders of the Black German Movement, and her research on the history of Afro-Germans, but also her political poetry, made her known in Germany and other countries.
Ayim wrote in the tradition of oral poetry and felt a strong connection to other black poets of the diaspora. Poetry gave her an opportunity to confront the white German society with its own prejudices.
Interviews and poems reveal the search for identity, how and why the term Afro-German was introduced. An insightful look at how a young black woman experiences the German reunification.
In the foreword to Ayim's BLUES IN SWARZ WEISS (BLUES IN BLACK AND WHITE), Maryse Conde wrote "... With the unmistakable sound of her voice her poems spoke to me of her, told of others that are like her and yet so unlike her in Germany, in Africa, in America. These poems held passion and irony ... In May's voice I found the echo of other voices from the diaspora."
Click a 'Price' to add an item to your Cart.If DSL or LDF rates are not listed, or if you are interested in a public screening, please fill out this
form and we will get back to you with availability information.
Reviews
"This visual portrait offers a moving picture of Ayims eloquence in the German language, emphasizing her poetic presentation... a seamlessly edited collage of interview excerpts, poetry readings and still photography that depicts Ayim as a complicated figure whose political message resonated at multiple levels among diverse peoples."
- Tina Campt, Wise Women News
"... With the unmistakeable sound of her voice her poems spoke to me of her, told of others that are like her and yet so unlike her in Germany, in Africa, in America. These poems held passion and irony ... In May's voice I found the echo of other voices from the diaspora."
- Maryse Conde
"HOPE IN MY HEART shows the powerful and playful performance of Aim's poetry in dealing with her personal experiences in post-reunification Germany."
- NewsBytes, Sonoma State University
• 545 Eighth Avenue, Suite 550, New York, NY 10018
• Telephone 212-947-9277
TWN acknowledges that in New York we are on the unceded territory of the Lenni Lenape,
Canarsie, Shinecock, and Munsee peoples and challenges the harm that continues to
be inflicted upon Indigenous and People of Color communities here and abroad,
which is why we all need to be part of the struggle for rights, equality and justice.
TWN is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council
on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Color Congress, MOSAIC, New York Community Trust, Peace Development Fund,
Humanities NY, Ford Foundation, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and individual donors.
