05 June 2014

Dialemi, de/by Nadine Otsobogo - une analyse du film | an analysis of the film par/by Mohamed Dagnoko

Dialemi, de/by Nadine Otsobogo - une analyse du film | an analysis of the film par/by Mohamed Dagnoko 

Synopsis :

A house overlooking the sea.
A man, a sculptor, lives there alone.
He needs inspiration.
One afternoon, SHE, a mysterious woman appears.
He was waiting for her.
It is a film about creativity and about love. About the inspiration that one enjoys.
Dialemi means "my love"

Une maison en bordure de mer.
Un Homme, un sculpteur y habite seul.
Il est en manque d'inspiration.
Une après-midi, ELLE, une femme mystérieuse, apparaît.
Il l'attendait.
C'est un film sur la création et sur l'amour. Sur l'inspiration qui s'amuse.
Dialemi veut dire "mon amour"

SOURCE : AFRICINE.ORG. Dialemi (Elle s'amuse) de Nadine Otsobogo, Au delà de l'amour charnel | Dialemi (She's having fun) by Nadine Otsobogo, Beyond carnal desire, par/by Mohamed Dagnoko (CESTI).  Translation from French by Beti Ellerson.

LIRE L’ARTICLE EN FRANÇAIS :  africine.org

DIALEMI, by director Nadine Otsobogo, is one of those films that draws the audience into the reality of its actors. The choice of the angles and framing of the life of the main character plunges us into the melancholy and solitude of his universe. As if a lifeline, he clutches to Elle, the abstract woman interpreted by Prudence Maïdou.

Shrouded in a deafening silence, worth more than words, the character closes within, refusing to open. Played by Laurent Owondo, a professor of literature at the University of Libreville and former Director of the National Theatre of Gabon. Alone in his seaside home he attempts to shape a human face into the stone that he chips away with his chisel. This is the face of ELLE, that through the ages has no wrinkles. She remains the beautiful young woman with a radiant smile at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in the photo that adorns his wall. With her many appearances and disappearances, she gives as well as takes away his inspiration.

In part, Dialemi (She's having fun) reflects its director. Founder of the Masuku Environmental Festival of Gabon, Nadine brings into this short film a greenery that frames this life of solitude. From nature, the abstract shadow of the actress arises to make His (the sculptor) nights sweeter. The director's attraction for the abstract is already visible in her film, Songe au rêve (2006), set in Senegal, in which Prudence Maïdou also acts with the late Oumar Seck.

From the abstract image in the suggestively-titled films, one notices the place that Nadine accords dreams in her work. She blends into the soul of her actor the strong bond that he maintains with his sculpture, which represents his dream, and for which there is no price.

Like this sculpture, female beauty is priceless in the eyes of Nadine, who does not hesitate to present it in its rawest splendour.

HIS sensitivity and fragility, passing through HER nudity, Nadine reveals the hidden parts of humanity.

Although African cinema has undergone some changes over the years, it must be noted that this way of presenting (nude) female beauty has not always been welcomed by everyone. Although taboos are being discarded one after the other, this one remains tenacious. How many actresses on the continent refuse a role that requires nudity? Many no doubt. A free spirited actress, and in addition to her enormous talent, Prudence Maïdou (Elle) knows how to act with her body. She is the muse that inspires the sculptor, giving him the smile during those rare moments of joy when he teaches his passion to the children. Similarly, in the feature film Dakar trottoirs (2013) by Senegalese director Hubert Laba Ndao, one finds this aspect in Prudence's acting. No, Prudence, is not imprudent, but rather she lives her art. And finally Prudence dances, having fun with her sculptor, who, as if by magic completes the sculpture, working wholeheartedly to sculpt her face in the famous Mbigou stone found in Gabon.

Recognised by Africiné and an award winner at many festivals, notably for the Bronze Stallion at FESPACO in 2013, and the 2014 Award for Best Short African Film (AMAA - African Movies Academy Awards, Nigeria), DIALEMI is a perfect illustration of love; love beyond carnal desire.

According to Nadine Otsobogo, the theme of the work is not necessarily love, it is the inspiration that touches us throughout the process: during the directing or scriptwriting or the production. Actually, it is what is within us, I wanted to talk about the inner love that inspires us every day, she said in an interview with Roderick Dèdègnonhou (Africiné).

The relationship to art, the dream, nature's beauty, emotions, all of this, Nadine shows us and makes us live it, throughout the 20-minute film.


Lien | Link

Nadine Otsobogo @ Fespaco 2013:

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