It takes a while to set up its centerpiece, a joyous transcontinental reunion of Afro-Cubans and Sierra Leone villagers. But the 77-minute running time of “They Are We,” making its U.S. theatrical premiere this weekend at Facets with filmmaker Emma Christopher in attendance, is nothing compared to the estimated 170 years that passed before the film’s far-flung subjects found each other again.
Christopher’s story is an academic and musicological detective story. Several years ago the University of Sydney professor traveled to Perico, Cuba, where she filmed the Ganga-Longoba community. The Ganga’s traditional chants, she discovered, originated in the isolated Sierra Leone village of Mokpangumba, ravaged by civil war in the 1990s. Christopher describes herself as a slave trade historian; her research indicates the Mokpangumba people were sold into slavery in the mid-1800s, to Cuban traders.
For a half-hour or so, “They Are We” shuttles back and forth from Cuba to Sierra Leone as the two communities, who first come to know of each other’s existence through viewing Christopher’s footage, prepare for the Afro-Cubans’ life-altering trip across the ocean. Christopher allows her camera subjects to reiterate their anticipation once too often. (When one woman says, “I want the moment we will meet to arrive,” you know what she means.) Then the film grows into itself, and lovingly chronicles the celebratory meeting of these very different but ancestrally connected groups.
The Ganga are given African names; woodcarver Alfredo Duquesne, for example, becomes “Uncle Sinava.” In one scene he learns the art of scaling a palm tree from his new brothers. The Mokpangumba boys in turn learn baseball. “It’s been more than 20 years since we last saw this man dancing,” one villager remarks, admiring an elder’s response to the presence of his distant relatives, home at last.
Parts of “They Are We” feel like a first draft. But once the party starts, all is well.
Christopher will introduce the 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday screenings.
Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
Twitter @phillipstribune
“They Are We” — Three stars
MPAA rating: Not rated
Running time: 1:17
Opens: Friday and continues through July 2 at Facets Cinematheque, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave.; facets.org
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