The Sun Rises In The East Fall 2022 New Jersey Film Festival Q+A with Director Tayo Giwa and Producer Cynthia Gordy Giwa, Festival Juror Yazmin Omana, and Festival Director Al Nigrin.

The Sun Rises in the East – Tayo Giwa (Brooklyn, New York)  The Sun Rises in The East chronicles the birth, rise and legacy of The East, a pan-African cultural organization founded in 1969 by teens and young adults in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Led by educator and activist Jitu Weusi, The East embodied Black self-determination, building more than a dozen institutions, including its own African-centered school, food co-op, newsmagazine, publisher, record label, restaurant, clothing shop and bookstore. The organization hosted world-famous jazz musicians and poets at its highly sought-after performance venue, and it served as an epicenter for political contemporaries such as the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords and the Congress of Afrikan People, as well as comrades across Africa and the Caribbean. In effect, The East built an independent Black nation in the heart of Central Brooklyn. The Sun Rises in The East is the first feature-length documentary to explore this inspiring story. The film also examines challenges that led to the organization’s eventual dissolution, including its gender politics, financial struggles and government surveillance. Featuring interviews with leaders of The East, historians and people who grew up in the organization as children, The Sun Rises in The East delivers an exhilarating and compelling vision, showing just how much is possible. 2022; 58 min. 

The Sun Rises in The East screens at the New Jersey Film Festival on Friday, September 9th. The film will be Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM! Director Tayo Giwa and Producer Cynthia Gordy Giwa will do an in-person Q+A after the screening. Go here for tickets to this screening. For general info on the Film Festival go here: https://watch.eventive.org/newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2022