FILM REVIEW: Amina, a Film About African Immigrants on AfroPop

NEW YORK — What does it mean to be black, female, and foreign in a world that doesn’t value these attributes? Television audiences will have the chance to ponder this question as season 12 of the award-winning documentary series AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange continues. Monday’s episode brings viewers the story of Amina, a young woman striving to balance her dreams of a modeling career with the struggles of life as an African immigrant in Turkey.

Helmed by Turkish director Kivilcim Akay, Amina tells the story of a young African immigrant living in Istanbul and confronting the harsh realities of life. The film airs on WORLD Channel at 8 p.m. ET (10 p.m. PT) on Monday, January 27, on AfroPoP, the public television series dedicated to bringing real stories of life, art and culture in the modern African Diaspora to public television audiences.

Amina’s dreams of a better life for herself and her young daughter take her from Senegal to Turkey, where she faces the cold facts of life as an African immigrant. Working as a model in a textiles shop, the young, single woman aspires to a modeling career in high fashion, while struggling to provide for a child back home in Senegal.

“Amina so movingly captures the often-crippling effects of intersectionality on one young woman, providing a sobering look at the trials facing immigrants in a modern world still plagued by prejudice and fear,” said Black Public Media Executive Director Leslie Fields-Cruz.

All episodes of season 12 of AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange will be available for streaming on worldchannel.org beginning on the day of their broadcast premiere.

AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange is co-executive produced by Leslie Fields-Cruz and Angela Tucker. The program is produced and directed by Duana C. Butler with the generous support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts.

This article was written by Nsenga K Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. An expert in intersectionality and media industries, Dr. Burton is also a professor of film and television at Emory University and co-editor of the book, Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual or @TheBurtonWire.

Excerpt:
Helmed by Turkish director Kivilcim Akay, Amina tells the story of a young African immigrant living in Istanbul and confronting the harsh realities of life. The film airs on WORLD Channel at 8 p.m. ET (10 p.m. PT) on Monday, January 27, on AfroPoP, the public television series dedicated to bringing real stories of life, art and culture in the modern African Diaspora to public television audiences.

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