Award-winning independent filmmaker Haile Gerima will visit DePaul University February 22 to attend a reception in his honor and a screening of his film, “The Battle of Adwa.”

Gerima, originally from Ethiopia, has been making independent films for more than 25 years. One of his most widely acclaimed films, “Sankofa,” tells the story of a contemporary African-American woman whose journey to the past allows her to live a more meaningful and conscious existence in the present.

A reception for Gerima will be held from 4 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. in the Cultural Center, Stuart Center, 2311 N. Clifton Ave., in the Cultural Center, Room 304. A showing of “The Battle of Adwa” will immediately follow at 6 p.m. at the Three Penny Cinema, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave.

The reception and movie screening are free and open to the public.

Gerima’s most recent film, “The Battle of Adwa” recalls the war between Ethiopia and Italian invaders. Virtually erased from history books, the story of the battle is significant because most people know nothing of this African victory, according to Harvette Grey, director of DePaul’s Cultural Center. The filmmaker has eight other films to his credit, including “Imperfect Journey,” “After Winter,” “Ashes and Embers,” “Wilmington 10 – USA 10,000,” “Harvest 3000 Years,” “Bush Mama,” “Child of Resistance,” and “Hour Glass.”

Gerima, one of 10 children of a writer-father and teacher-mother, came to the United States from Gondor, Ethiopia, in 1967. As a youth, he performed in his father’s theater troupe, which presented historical drama immersed in Ethiopian culture. While studying at Chicago’s Goodman School of Drama, Gerima realized that “with cinema I could control many more things than in the theater.” He went on to earn a master’s of fine arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and is currently on sabbatical as a tenured professor of film at Howard University.

Gerima’s visit is co-sponsored by the center and DePaul’s Concerned Black Students organization.

For more information about this event, contact Flora Anderson, of the DePaul University Cultural Center at 773/325-7515.