IUPUI to Host Afro-German Filmmaker and Documentary Exploring Race in Germany

Filmmaker Mo Asumang View print-quality image

Afro-German filmmaker Monika Asumang next week will discuss her documentary addressing racism in modern Germany during screenings at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Indiana University Bloomington.

IUPUI will be the first United States campus to host Asumang during a screening of “Roots, Germania,” which both documents the filmmaker’s search for her relatives in Ghana and analyses the sources of racial hatred and xenophobia in Germany. The film is Asumang’s response to threatening lyrics in a 2001 Neo-Nazi band’s song called “This Bullet is For You.”

The free screening and discussion of “Roots, Germania” will be held at 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, in Room 152 of the ICTC Building, 535 W. Michigan St. The event is open to the general public.

Born and raised in Germany, “Mo” Asumang, the daughter of a white German mother and an African father, had a career as a television personality, actress and recording artist before embarking on the making of “Roots, Germania.” She was German television’s second Afro-German music show moderator, and was also moderator of a TV talk show on sex and marriage.

“Roots, Germania,” which has English subtitles, was nominated for Germany’s prestigious Adolf Grimme Award for television productions. Since its release in 2008, Asumang has taken the film on tour through Germany, addressing school groups, organizations and film festivals in public dialogues and awareness campaigns.

Sponsors of the IUPUI screening are the Office of International Affairs, Max Kade German-American Center, International Studies Program, African and African American Diaspora Studies Program, German Program, Department of World Languages and Cultures, with additional support from the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chicago.

IU Bloomington will host Asumang and her film during a free screening and discussion at 4 p.m., on Friday, Jan. 22, 2010, in Room 007 of Morrison Hall, 1165 E. 3rd Street.

Additional information about the film is available on the Web: http://www.roots-germania.com.