''500 Years Later'' ( ') is a 2005 independent

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by Owen 'Alik Shahadah and written by

M. K. Asante, Jr. M. K. Asante (born November 3, 1982) is an American author, filmmaker, songwriter, recording artist, and professor. He is the author of the 2013 best-selling memoir '' Buck: A Memoir'' and the 2024 memoir '' Nephew: A Memoir in Four-Part Harmony ...

It has won five international film festival awards in the category of Best Documentary, including the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

"Breaking the Chains" award. It has won other awards including Best Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Best Documentary at the

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...

Film Festival in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, Best Film at the International Black Cinema Film Festival in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and Best International Documentary at the Harlem International Film Festival in New York. ''500 Years Later'' has received praise and controversy, both for its creative documentary genre, and its social-political impact with relation to race study. The film premiered on February 28, 2005, at the Pan-African Awards (PAFF) and won Best Documentary there. It made its American television premiere on August 23, 2008, on

TV One (Radio One) TV One is an American basic cable television channel targeting African American adults. It is owned by Urban One, and headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland. Originally launched as a joint venture with Comcast, Urban One would acquire the f ...

, and

Ethiopian Television The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporations (EBC; ), now rebranded as ETV (stylized in all uppercase), is an Ethiopian government-owned public service broadcaster. It is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and is the country's oldest and largest ...

premiere on October 27, 2007. It was shown nationally in South Africa on December 14, 2014, on

SABC 2 SABC 2 is a South African free-to-air television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The channel was createdin its current form on 4 February 1996, due to the restructuring of the three national SABC networks. As ...

. In 2010, the sequel, ''

Motherland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

'', was released.

Synopsis

''500 Years Later'' studies the

African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...

and the impact of slavery throughout history, identifying key issues facing the world's black communities, including poor education, poverty, crime, and the way that such issues dehumanize and degrade black peoples. The film also gives insight into the struggles faced by continental Africans today, for instance in terms of poverty, disease, and corrupt governments. While the continuing negative impact, influence, and effects of the

trans-Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage. Europeans est ...

are highlighted, scholars interviewed for the film express hope that "old scars can be healed" and Africans as a race will advance through education about their history.

Narrative

The film states that the lasting effects of slavery are still felt 500 years later, hence the title. This is justified and explained through a series of scholarly interviews throughout the film. The film begins with an adage that illustrates its historical theme: "Until lions tell their story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." The promotional page for the producer of the film describes it thusly: "''500 Years Later'' is a compelling journey, infused with the spirit and music of liberation, that chronicles the struggle of a people from enslavement who continue to fight for the most essential human right - freedom." The film presents the richness of African cultures and traditions and how they have evolved since slavery was abolished, emphasizing that prior to the beginning of the Atlantic Slave Trade Africans were free. The film includes testimonies, voices, and opinions gathered around five continents. Many of the people who voice their opinion are scholars or experts on the African diaspora. Those interviewed in the film criticize contemporary rap music as being particularly negative for Africans and their descendants, as they believe it reinforced racist stereotypes that were established in part because of the slave trade. A lasting example of the stereotypes referenced in the film is a study performed by

Kenneth and Mamie Clark Kenneth Bancroft Clark (July 24, 1914 – May 1, 2005) and Mamie Phipps Clark (April 18, 1917 – August 11, 1983) were American psychologists who as a married team conducted research among children and were active in the Civil Rights Movement ...

in which black children were given a variety of dolls, including black and white ones, and were told to pick the "smarter" or "better" one. A majority of the black children chose the white dolls. Many of those interviewed believe that a distinct change to the educational system is necessary to change the mindset of people of African descent. The film affirms that "the kind of education that we have is to still enslave our minds, to make us believe we are inferior." Education should be the main weapon for the new generations of Africans and African descendants, to remind the world of the richness and struggle of African history. At the end of the film, Africans are encouraged to remember their past, in order to move forward. The film promotes the idea that making it through enslavement should be a strength, not a weakness or something to be ashamed about; that the people who enslaved the Africans should be the ones that are ashamed. Essentially, the goal proposed is to teach African children a more Afrocentric history, instead of a Eurocentric one. It further argues that teaching African-descent people about a history that is not their own will not help because they cannot relate to it. It also indicates that society must establish and promote African ideas and history in order to preserve what they want for future generations. The film calls for the ideas promoted within it to become mainstream so that there can be a better Africa and a better history associated with the continent.

Cast

The cast features key figures from the

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

academic world. *

Maulana Karenga Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga (born Ronald McKinley Everett, July 14, 1941), previously known as Ron Karenga, is an American activist, author and professor of Africana studies, best known as the creator of the pan-African and African-American holid ...

Francis Cress Welsing Frances Luella Cress Welsing (March 18, 1935 – January 2, 2016) was an American psychiatrist and well-known proponent of the pseudoscientific melanin theory. Her 1970 essay, ''The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism (White Suprem ...

("Academic") * Paul Robeson, Jr. *Andrew Muhammad *Kimani Nehusi *

Hakim Adi Hakim Adi is a British historian and scholar who specializes in African affairs. He was the first African-British historian to become a professor of history in the UK when in 2015 he was appointed Professor of the History of Africa and the Afri ...

Molefi Kete Asante Molefi Kete Asante ( ; born Arthur Lee Smith Jr.; August 14, 1942) is an American philosopher who is a leading figure in the fields of African-American studies, African studies, and communication studies. He is currently a professor in the Dep ...

*Muhammed Shareef *Esther Stanford *

Nelson George Nelson George (born September 1, 1957) is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Biography George attended St. John's Universit ...

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

(voice only) *

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous b ...

Awards and nominations

* 2005 Winner, Los Angeles Pan-African Film Festival, Best Documentary

PAFF Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles, California, United States, that states its goal is to promote "cultural understanding among peoples of African descent" through exhibiting art and film. It hosts a film ...

* 2005 Winner, Bridgetown Film Festival, Best Documentary * 2005 Winner, Berlin Black Film Festival, Best Film * 2005 Winner,

Harlem International Film Festival The Harlem International Film Festival (Hi) is an annual five-day film festival in Harlem, New York. The first festival took place in 2005. Michael Franti's ''I Know I'm Not Alone'' was named Best International Documentary at the festival that y ...

, Best International Documentary * 2007 Winner,

Zanzibar International Film Festival Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), also known as Festival of the Dhow Countries, is an annual film festival held in Zanzibar, Tanzania and one of the largest cultural events in East Africa. ZIFF is a non-governmental organization establis ...

, "Breaking the Chains" award * 2007 Nominated,

FESPACO The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (, or FESPACO) is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It accepts for competition only films by African filmmakers and chief ...

, Paul Robeson award "Best of the Diaspora"

UNESCO award

''500 Years Later'' is the first film to have won an UNESCO award for documenting slavery. The award was part of an UNESCO slave route project started in 1994: "The prize awarded $10,000 (~$ in ) to a film that breaks the silence and speaks to the social, historical, economic and psychological impact of the slave trade; a film that raises public awareness of slavery's historical and contemporary manifestations; a film that gives voice to the dispossessed, reflects their perspectives and articulates their resistance to this dehumanization." UNESCO launched the Slave Route Project in 1994. This project seeks to increase knowledge and understanding in terms of slavery and historical events related to it.

Reception

Kingsley Sheteh, from ''A Neo-Copernican Review'', asserts that ''500 Years Later'' is a step in the right direction in depicting the relationship between the Western world and Africa, showcasing the historically dependent and underdeveloped status of African countries. Shetah also pointed out that, although the movie does well with sensitive issues that are causes for Africa's problems, it fails to treat the issue of conflict. Shetah cites reasons that independent African state governments are heavily corrupted due to problems that can't simply be tied down to ideology, slavery, and colonialism. While not exactly presenting new information, the documentary's delivery of the material and evidence is refreshing, meant to promote discussion among groups of people. Many critics received the film as a way to explore African history like never before. The film is a compilation of interviews that offer history from the perspective of people whose knowledge has been suppressed for years. ''500 Years Later'' is applauded for its vast focus on African history, both the good and the bad. Though successful, ''500 Years Later'' received mixed reviews from critics regarding content and presentation. Dan Schindel, a documentary reviewer, calls the film "The Malcolm X to the MLK of the average doc that covers African-related material" and offers many examples of the extremity of the film. The article "Destroying the Horrors of 500 Years" by Attahiru Kawu-Bala praised the film as an "articulate multi-dimensional African world perspective" with regard to the effects of African Diaspora. Kawu-Bala argued that the techniques used in the documentary did not rely on emotion and instead used facts and truth to build a case from an African standpoint. By contrast, Curt Holman recognized the film's righteousness, but believed "a more informative film would have been more effective." He found the video to be emotionally charged and, at times, overly obvious. According to Holman, the emotional biases sometimes overshadowed the factual content.

Wanuri Kahiu Wanuri Kahiu (born 21 June 1980) is a Kenyan film director, producer, and author. She is considered to be “one of Africa's most aspiring directors, being part of a new, vibrant crop of talents representing contemporary African culture”. She ...

, a Kenyan film director, states that the film is a discussion between the "greatest and most articulate thinkers of the African global nation." In her review of ''500 Years Later'', Kahiu wrote that the documentary should not be referred to as a film but rather an "audiovisual reference book" because of how informative the documentary is. According to Kahiu, ''500 Years Later'' is a good resource to show the challenges people of African descent faced during the Diaspora and slavery and the challenges they still face today. She further states that the film is a great representation of the strength of African-American culture and citizenry, and claims that the movie is a call for African people to patiently work to rid the African world of the "defeatist nature" still subconsciously ingrained in them today.

References

The Slave Route - UNESCO project

External links

Official ''500 Years Later'' homepage

"''500 Years Later'' and the legacy of Africa's enslavement"
by

Charlie Kimber Charles Nicholas Kimber (born July 1957) was the National Secretary of the Socialist Workers Party of the United Kingdom from January 2011. Career Kimber has been politically active since the 1970s and went on his first protest march in 1975. ...

''Motherland'' film (sequel to ''500 Years Later'')

Halaqah Films
* {{IMDb title, id=0444593, title=500 Years Later
"Breaking the Chains" Unesco Prize Jury Statement – ZIFF, 5th July, 2007

Owen Alik Shahadah - Official Site
2005 films 2005 documentary films Documentary films about African Americans American independent films English-language Malian films American documentary films Documentary films about slavery African diaspora Documentary films about African politics British documentary films British independent films Films set in Africa Films shot in Senegal Films about race and ethnicity Documentary films about the civil rights movement Documentary films about slavery in the United States Films directed by Owen 'Alik Shahadah Films shot in Ghana Films shot in Egypt Films shot in Ethiopia Films shot in Barbados Films shot in Lebanon Films shot in Grenada Films shot in Mali 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s British films English-language documentary films English-language independent films Works about the Atlantic slave trade