Senegalese director Alain Gomis has delighted viewers at the Berlin Film Festival with "Felicite," a movie about the life and struggles of a singer in the Congo city of Kinshasa.
The move, shown Saturday to much applause, tells the story of Felicite, played by Véro Tshanda Beya Mputo, who is struggling to raise money for an operation for her son, who was injured in an accident.
Gomis told reporters he wanted to show that people "can fight for their dignity in all circumstances – and how good that is."
The movie is one of 18 movies competing for the festival's top Golden Bear award.
Also screened Saturday in Berlin was "Final Portrait," directed by Stanley Tucci, about the Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. It is not part of the Golden Bear competition.
Civil rights groups call on major corporations to stick with DEI programs
A broad group of civil rights organizations called on the CEOs and board members of major companies Thursday to maintain their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under attack online and in lawsuits.
An open letter signed by 19 organizations and directed at the leaders of Fortune 1000 companies said companies that abandon their DEI programs are shirking their fiduciary responsibility to employees, consumers and shareholders.
The civil rights groups included the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
"Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, policies, and practices make business-sense and they're broadly popular among the public, consumers, and employees," their statement read. "But a small, well-funded, and extreme group of right-wing activists is attempting to pressure companies into abandoning their DEI programs."
Companies such as Ford, Lowes, John Deere, Molson Coors and Harley-Davidson recently announced they would pull back on their diversity, equity and inclusion policies after facing pressure from conservative activists who were emboldened by recent victories in the courtroom.
Many major corporations have been examining their diversity programs in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last year that declared race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions unconstitutional. Dozens of cases have been filed making similar arguments about employers. Critics of DEI programs say the initiatives provide benefits to people of one race or sexual orientation while excluding others.
In their letter, the civil rights organizations, which also included... Read More