Regards au féminin - CANAL+ AFRIQUE : Le film africain a travers l'oeil de ses femmes

Regards au féminin - CANAL+ AFRIQUE

Le film africain a travers l'oeil de ses femmes 

Regards au féminin - CANAL+ AFRIQUE

https://www.canalplus-afrique.com/regards-au-feminin

N'EST PLUS DISPONIBLE

L’œil porté sur l’écran d’un poste de télévision n’a pas forcément la même appréciation que le regard qui capte l’essentiel du sujet filmé.

Aussi, un même sujet donné à filmer à plusieurs sensibilités occasionne toujours plusieurs regards différents sur le matériau traité.

REGARDS AU FÉMININ encourage et soutient la puissance du film, documentaire comme fictionnel. Dans cette nouvelle saison, notre caméra aura la chance de témoigner de la vie professionnelle et privée de quinze femmes d’Afrique subsaharienne et du Maghreb. Nous allons ainsi migrer entre le Burkina Faso, la République Démocratique du Congo, le Mali, le Cameroun, la Tunisie, le Gabon et la Guinée Bissau.

Car en Afrique, le cinéma n’est plus réservé aux hommes. Les femmes émergent de plus en plus, occupant tous les métiers du domaine, apportant ainsi une balance nécessaire et salvatrice. Le réalisateur Issaka Compaoré est parti à la rencontre de femmes de l’image et du son au service du développement en Afrique.

De cette aventure sont nés plusieurs courts métrages d’une vingtaine de minutes qui seront diffusés sur CANAL+ .

REGARDS AU FÉMININ encourage et soutient la puissance du film, documentaire comme fictionnel. Dans cette nouvelle saison, notre caméra aura la chance de témoigner de la vie professionnelle et privée de quinze femmes d’Afrique subsaharienne et du Maghreb. Nous allons ainsi migrer entre le Burkina Faso, la République Démocratique du Congo, le Mali, le Cameroun, la Tunisie, le Gabon et la Guinée Bissau.

Car en Afrique, le cinéma n’est plus réservé aux hommes. Les femmes émergent de plus en plus, occupant tous les métiers du domaine, apportant ainsi une balance nécessaire et salvatrice. Le réalisateur Issaka Compaoré est parti à la rencontre de femmes de l’image et du son au service du développement en Afrique. De cette aventure sont nés plusieurs courts métrages d’une vingtaine de minutes qui seront diffusés sur CANAL+ .

Apolline TRAORÉ Réalisatrice – Burkina Faso

Apolline Traoré est née à Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) en 1976. Durant son enfance, elle a voyagé à travers le monde avec son père qui travaillait pour les Nations Unis. A 17 ans, elle s'inscrit à Emerson College à Boston (USA), et décroche sa Licence en Art Média en 1998. De 1998 à 2001, elle travaille à Los Angeles dans des petits films indépendants. Elle décide alors de rentrer au pays pour faire des films sur son continent, l'Afrique.

Filmographie sélective : MOI ZAPHIRA – SOUS LA CLARTÉ DE LA LUNE – KOUNANDI PARCE QU’ELLE EST NAINE – LE TESTAMENT

Aminata DIALLO-GLEZ Réalisatrice – Burkina Faso

Née en 1972 à Dori (Burkina Faso) Aminata Diallo-Glez est de nationalité franco-burkinabé. C'est au théâtre qu'elle fait ses armes de comédienne. Au cinéma, elle joue dans PUK NINI de Fanta Regina Nacro, et dans LE PARDON d'Antoine Yougbaré. Mais c'est à la télévision qu'elle devient célèbre, avec le sitcom A NOUS LA VIE ! réalisé par Dani Kouyaté et surtout KADI JOLIE que réalise Idrissa Ouedraogo. Soucieuse de se donner les moyens de ses ambitions, elle co-crée en 99 la société de production Jovial' Productions dont elle est la directrice et qui coproduit KADI JOLIE.

Filmographie sélective : L’ANNIVERSAIRE – SUPER FLIC – FEMMES EN PEINE – KADI JOLIE

Claude HAFFNER

Réalisatrice – République Démocratique du Congo

Après des Etudes d'Histoire et un Diplôme Universitaire de Cinéma et d'Audiovisuel à l'Université de Strasbourg (1994-1999), Claude Haffner effectue une Maîtrise de Cinéma à la Sorbonne (2000- 2001).

En même temps que son apprentissage théorique du cinéma, elle apprend le métier de scripte en travaillant sur de nombreux courts métrages. Elle souhaite ainsi observer et maîtriser les techniques de réalisation de films. Elle parfait ses connaissances audiovisuelles au poste d'assistante de production à CANAL+. Elle quitte par la suite l'entreprise pour travailler auprès de son "mentor" Agnès Varda sur le montage du film LES GLANEURS ET LA GLANEUSE.

Filmographie sélective : KO BONGISA MUTU – REMUE-MENAGE DANS LE TERTIAIRE – LA PAROLE EST UNE FENETRE – LA CANNE MUSICALE – DEFILE CELIANTHE – D'UNE FLEUR DOUBLE ET DE QUATRE MILLE AUTRES

Isabelle BONI-CLAVERIE Réalisatrice – Côte d’Ivoire

Isabelle Boni-Claverie est scénariste (diplômée de La Fémis) et réalisatrice. En tant que scénariste, elle collabore à l'écriture de séries télévisées populaires comme PLUS BELLE LA VIE (France 3) et SECONDE CHANCE (TF1). Elle a également travaillé avec des réalisateurs tels que : Haroun Mahamat Saleh, Jean-Marie Téno ou Idrissou Mora Kpai. Elle a réalisé deux courts métrages primés au niveau international. Auteure d’un roman dès l’âge de 17 ans ("La Grande Dévoreuse"), Isabelle Boni-Claverie a ensuite choisi d'écrire dans la presse.

Filmographie sélective : LE GÉNIE D'ABOU – LA COIFFEUSE DE LA RUE PETION – L'IMAGE, LE VENT ET GARY COOPER – POUR LA NUIT

Osvalde LEWAT Réalisatrice et photographe – Cameroun

Osvalde Lewat est une réalisatrice originaire du Cameroun plusieurs fois primée à travers le monde pour son travail. Son premier documentaire LE CALUMET DE L'ESPOIR a été tourné au Canada avec des amérindiens qui se battent pour changer les préjugés de la société américaine sur leur communauté. Osvalde Lewat est diplômée de Sciences Po Paris et de l'école de journalisme de Yaoundé. Elle a également suivi des formations à l'Institut National du Son de Montréal et à La Fémis.

Filmographie sélective : LAND RUSH – SDEROT, SECONDE CLASSE – UNE AFFAIRE DE NÈGRES – LES DISPARUS DE DOUALA – UN AMOUR PENDANT LA GUERRE – AU-DELÀ DE LA PEINE

Nadia EL-FANI Réalisatrice – Tunisie

Née en 1960 à Paris (France), Nadia El Fani commence dans le cinéma en tant qu'assistante à la réalisation. D'origine tunisienne, elle côtoie des réalisateurs européens tels que Roman Polanski, Alexandre Arcady, ou encore Romain Goupil. En tant que réalisatrice, c'est néanmoins dans les court- métrages et les films institutionnels que Nadia El Fani semble s'épanouir. En 2011, Nadia El Fani s'attaque à un sujet épineux, celui de la l'activisme laïque en Tunisie, dans son nouveau long-métrage, Laïcité Inch'a Allah, peu avant et peu après la chute de Ben Ali.

Filmographie sélective : OULED LENINE – UNISSEZ-VOUS, IL N'EST JAMAIS TROP TARD – BEDWIN HACKER – TANT QU'IL Y AURA DE LA PELLOCHE – TANITEZ MOI – FIFTY-FIFTY, MON AMOUR – POUR LE PLAISIR

Nadine O. BOUCHER

Réalisatrice, productrice et chef Maquilleuse – Gabon

Nadine O. Boucher a été maquilleuse sur plusieurs longs métrages prestigieux dont LE MARSUPILAMI (Alain Chabat), LE COLLIER DU MAKOBO (Henri-Joseph Koumba), UN HOMME QUI CRIE (Mahamat Saleh Haroun), DEMAIN DÈS L'AUBE (Denis Dercourt), RAMATA (Léandre-Alain Baker) ou encore L'ABSENCE (Mama Keita). Elle a écrit, réalisé et produit plusieurs courts métrages, documentaires et fictions dont DIALEMI (2013), primé Poulain d'or de Yennenga au Fespaco 2013 et Meilleur Court Métrage au Festival International du Film PanAfricain de Cannes - FIFP 2013.

Filmographie sélective : DIALEMI (ELLE S'AMUSE) – LE COLLIER DU MAKOKO – IL EST UNE FOIS... NANETH – MAADY KAAN – SONGE AU RÊVE

Pascale OBOLO Réalisatrice – Cameroun

Née le 7 janvier 1967 à Yaoundé, Pascale Obolo est originaire du Cameroun et vit à Paris. Elle travaille sur de nombreux vidéo-clips de musiques du monde pour Virgin France (Music). En 1998, elle réalise son premier film documentaire, XULUV BËT THE CREATOR. Parallèlement, elle découvre Trinidad, cette île qui lui rappelle l'Afrique, à travers son carnaval. Attirée par l'héritage culturel et historique de l'île, elle s'y rend à de nombreuses reprises et c'est lors de son dernier voyage en août 2002 qu'un vieux pêcheur lui donne l'envie de conter, à la manière d'un griot, l'histoire de ces vieux calypsoniens.

Filmographie sélective :CALYPSO @ DIRTY JIM’S – ROOTS DE GUYANE – LA RUE PLUTÔT QU’UN TAUDIS – 3 CANAL – MUNGAL – LES NUBIENNES – XULY BËT LE CREATEUR

Maïmouna Hélène DIARRA Comédienne – Mali

Maïmouna Hélène Diarra est comédienne de formation : après son Diplôme d'Etudes Fondamentales (DEF), elle entre à l'INA (Institut National des Arts, section art dramatique) dont elle sort diplômée.

Active au cinéma et au théâtre (elle passe dix ans au Koteba, le théâtre national du Mali), elle demande une mutation en 1991 pour la radio où, assistante de presse et de réalisation à l'ORTM (Office de Radio Télévision Malienne), elle lit les avis et communiqués en bamanan et en français. Elle y traite de l'environnement à la télévision. Elle a joué dans plusieurs films, parmi lesquels on compte des œuvres de Cheick Omar Sissoko, Salif Traoré et Saouleymane Cissé.

Filmographie sélective :FARO REINE DES EAUX - BAMAKO - GUIMBA UN TYRAN UNE EPOQUE – MOOLAADE – KABALA - GENESSE (LA) – TAAFE FANGA POUVOIR DE PAGNE - MACADAM TRIBU – FINZAN – FINYE (LE VENT)

Babetida SADJO Comédienne – Guinée-Bissau

Babetida Sadjo est né le 19 septembre 1983, à Bafata en Guinée Bissau. Elle est l'aînée d'une famille de cinq enfants. Mais, farouche gardienne de sa vie privée, elle ne distille aucune information sur son enfance, si ce ne sont des bribes. Tout au plus devine-t-on une petite fille timide qui, le soir venu, aimait chanter et danser avec ses amies. Bebetida va connaitre l’exil en septembre 1983 à Hanoï. Elle y fourbit ses première armes pour le théâtre en jouant sa première pièce intitulée "La soupe aux olives". Quelques années plus tard, elle rejoint la Belgique où elle intègre le conservatoire de Bruxelles. Très douée, Babetida va rapidement rejoindre la cour des grands. Aujourd’hui, elle est la comédienne noire de référence en Belgique, aussi bien au théâtre qu'au cinéma.

Filmographie sélective : WAST AND LAND – OMBLINE – NEUF MOIS FERME

OPEN CALL for Women International Cinemakers and Videoartists 2018

OPEN CALL 

for Women International

Cinemakers and Videoartists

PRESS RELEASE

Deadline : 28 February 2018

WomenCinemakers is now accepting submissions from female filmmakers, directors and producers for its biennial edition (shorts, documentaries and features written, directed or produced by women).

There are four (4) categories that films can be entered: Independent Cinema, Documentary, Dance Video, Experimental cinema and Video art.  In order to submit a film to the WomenCinemakers you have to send the film and the completed film entry form before February 28th, 2018. You can fill out our submission form or email us your proposal including a link to your video and a short description of your film.

More details : http://womencinemakers.com/

For any further information, contact womencinemakers@berlin.com

Mzansi Women’s Film Festival MWFF 2018 Call for films submission (South Africa)

Mzansi Women’s Film Festival MWFF

2018

Call for films submission

PRESS RELEASE

Mzansi Women’s Film Festival 5th edition call for submission is opened. Calling films of all genres by and about Women only. Submission will close on 30 April 2018, entries can be made via FilmFreeway.com

Rules:

Films must be directed by a woman, or featuring a woman in a significant creative role (only films with a female director/producer are eligible for awards).

Though we EMPHASIZE FILMS DIRECTED BY WOMEN or PRODUCED BY WOMEN, we will consider all films about women's stories and issues affecting women. We will not exclude films directed by men if the topic is one of significance to women.

Only films produced after 15 August 2016 will be considered AND films produced before 31 December 1999 as Classic films category.

Foreign language films will only be accepted if they are subtitled in English.

We do not accept works-in-progress and will not update a submission with a more recent cut. Please do not submit your film until it is complete.

Festival times are subject to delay or change.

If submitting more than one film, a separate completed entry is required for each title.

By submitting a film, the Submitter agrees to abide by these terms, rules, and guidelines.

NB: Accepted films by the festival will also be subject to the approval of the South African Film and Publication Board ( fpb.org.za ), The Film & Publication Board regulates the media environment through the classification of content by:
* The FPB classifies all film material distributed in South Africa (except that shown on TV as broadcasters have their own regulatory body).
* Maintaining relevance to the values and norms of South African society through scientific research
* Balancing the right to freedom of expression with an obligation to protect children from exposure to potentially disturbing, harmful and inappropriate materials.
*Protecting children from sexual exploitation in media content in order to educate the broader South African society to make informed choices.

Awards 

Best Feature Film
Best Documentary Film
Best Short Film
Emerging Filmmaker
Audience Choice 

Further Information please contact:

Ntokozo Mahlalela

Festival Director

+27 726350622

ntokozo2020@gmail.com

 or

Mpho Ramathuthu

Festival Manager

+27 734049464
ramathuthum@gmail.com 

Rama Thiaw’s Revolution: The Camera as a Weapon

Rama Thiaw’s Revolution:

The Camera as a Weapon

“I wanted the camera to replace the adversary, to face it head on.”

Already as a student of economics Rama Thiaw was an idealist, wanting to understand the capitalist system in order to know how to dismantle it, and the world economic structure in order to change it. But soon she realised that it would not be as an economist that she could make change, but rather, through the image: “Even if one does not understand the language, one understands the image. Hence the image is a means that can be used to change attitudes.”

Yet, the idealism of Rama Thiaw was nurtured by the “boulfalléism” of her youth. “You make your own way and don’t give a damn about anything,” loosely translates the Wolof expression Boul Fallé. For Rama Thiaw, a child of the Boul Fallé generation, this motto was in many ways her own story growing up. Even as a young child coming from Mauritania, she had to make her own way and not succumb to the insults that were hurled at her once in Senegal. Coming from Pikine, in the outskirts of Dakar she has always had to assert herself. Again in France she continued to find her own path as an outsider. And this attitude has stayed with her as a filmmaker. As a role model the Senegalese wrestling star Mohamed Ndao Tyson was her inspiration someone “who came from nothing, bringing hope and showing the way forward. By dint of determination and hard work he became a success.” Therefore, the attitude of finding one’s own way and not expecting anything from others was a motto that she adopted as her own. In many ways it was a natural continuation of ideas that the focus of her first feature documentary was about wrestling, as sport and metaphor for fighting in the struggle. The title, Boul Fallé, la voie de la lutte, the latter phrase, that translates from French to “the path of struggle”, derives from the French homonym “lutte”, which means both the sport of wrestling and struggle—especially in the sense of engagement.

Hip hop was another role model that she embraced while growing up, as she was also influenced by the social movement brought about by the Senegalese activist hip hop group Positive Black Soul (aka PBS) who popularized the expression Boul Fallé, the name of their 1994 song. Hence, it is also not a coincidence that her second feature documentary incorporates the elements of hip hop as a conceptual framework and symbol for change. Her film, The Revolution won’t be televised shows her direct influence by Gil Scott Heron, the godfather of social and political hip hop activism. Rama Thiaw describes Senegal as an oral society, and hence, music is a way to convey information traditionally, for instance the griots recount history orally, which include music and singing. Even politically, music is integrated into the introduction of politicians, for example. She further explains the significance of hip hop, which is very wide-spread among young people in Senegal. And hence, it had a significant role to play during the “constitutional coup” of Abdoulaye Wade: “although 54% of the population cannot read, thanks to the lyrics, people throughout Senegal, including in the rural areas, were able to know what was going." In Revolution Rama Thiaw’s camera goes behind the scenes of the political revolution Y’en a Marre (translated from French, “we’re fed up”), ignited by the hip hop group Keur Gui and journalists Cheikh Fadel Barro and Aliou Sané in Senegal in 2011. In the film she shows “how one lives a revolution from day to day, with all the dangers, uncertainties and joys that it brings."

In so doing she also questions the notion of being committed, of what it means to be a socially committed artist: “It is easy to do so when you have money and live in a villa somewhere, but when you have nothing, that is when the act of commitment takes on all of its meaning.”

References

Boul Fallé (2009) - Interview de la réalisatrice Rama Thiaw - YouTube

Interview mit Rama Thiat und Cheick Oumar Touré (In French)

Rama Thiaw- L'Afrique a tendance à se sous-estimer - Ciné droit libre - Droit de vivre

Rama Thiaw, jeune réalisatrice en lutte - Slate Afrique

Rama Thiaw/ On Filmmaking in Post-Colonial Senegal and "Televising the Revolution" - Hot Docs

Rama Thiaw talks about the “Making of” The Revolution will not be Televised - African Women in Cinema Blog

The Revolution Won’t Be Televised with Director Rama Thiaw - HotDocs16

REPORT BY BETI ELLERSON

Films Femmes Afrique Festival – Dakar (Films Women Africa) 2018

Films Femmes Afrique Festival – Dakar (Films Women Africa) 2018

PRESS RELEASE | COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE

Presentation (In French, see translation below)

Communiqué de presse (In French, see translation below)

Dossier de presse (In French)

Programme (In French)

Catalogue (In French)

LIRE EN FRANÇAIS CI-APRÈS

Presentation

The first Senegalese film festival dedicated to women, free and open to all!

Created in 2003, the FILMS FEMMES AFRIQUE festival returns for a third edition full of promises and beautiful cinematographic gatherings.

This important cultural event proposes the screening of fifty films—short and feature—as well as documentaries made about Africans and for Africans.

Organised around the theme "Women and Education" the FILMS FEMMES AFRIQUE festival aims to emphasise the importance of educating girls and women throughout their lives, to highlight those who resist social oppression.

With free screenings and organised debates and meetings throughout the city of Dakar and its outlying areas, the FILMS FEMMES AFRIQUE festival aims to inform and sensitise the Senegalese population to current social realities. Kaolack, Rufisque, Thiès and Louga will also host screenings!

This beautiful initiative, supported since its first edition by major institutions such as the Ministry of Culture of Senegal, the Embassy of France in Senegal and many others, aims above all to promote but also to bring African cinema a step closer to its Senegalese audience.

Présentation

Le premier festival cinématographique sénégalais, consacré aux femmes, gratuit et ouvert à toutes et tous !

Créé en 2003, le festival FILMS FEMMES AFRIQUE revient pour une troisième édition pleine de promesses et de belles rencontres cinématographiques.

Ce rendez-vous culturel incontournable propose la projection d’une cinquantaine de films, court et long métrage ainsi que des documentaires réalisés sur des africaines et pour des africains.

Organisé autour du thème « Femmes et Education » le festival FILMS FEMMES AFRIQUE a tenu à mettre en lumière l'importance de l'éducation des filles et des femmes tout au long de leur vie, à mettre en avant celles qui résistent à l'oppression sociale . 

Grâce à des projections gratuites à travers la ville de Dakar et sa banlieue, des débats et conférences organisés, le festival FILMS FEMMES AFRIQUE a pour vocation d'informer et de sensibiliser la population sénégalaise aux réalités sociales actuelles. Kaolack, Rufisque, Thiès et Louga accueilleront également des projections!

Cette belle initiative, soutenue depuis sa première édition par de grandes institutions telles que le Ministère de la Culture du Sénégal, l’Ambassade de France au Sénégal et bien d’autres, vise avant tout à valoriser mais aussi à aider le cinéma africain à faire un pas de plus en direction de son public sénégalais. 

Press release | Communiqué de presse (Lire en français ci-après)

Women and Education is the theme of the 3rd edition of the Films Women Africa Festival from 16 to 24 February 2018 in Dakar and from 26 February to 4 March 2018 in 7 regional cities. Its goal is to revitalize African cinema by being a screening space for filmmakers of the continent, at a time when there have been very few movie theatres.

The Film Women Africa Festival offers films ABOUT and FOR people of African descent. Films that tell stories of African women.

The aim is to give as many people as possible the opportunity to experience African socially-committed cinema. Thus, the festival reaches out to the public through free screenings not only in Dakar and its suburbs but also in other major cities of Senegal. All screenings are followed by Q&As.

This third edition of the festival has an especially social impact in Senegal and beyond its borders. It will be an opportunity to lead an awareness building campaign on the education of girls. Even if there is an increase in school attendance by girls, one observes nonetheless a departure at the secondary level, which is due to various causes: domestic and agricultural work, early pregnancies, early marriages. The festival wants to show the importance for a woman to have financial autonomy. Educational success has the power to foster the development of empowered, self-reliant citizens. Education does not stop at school, it is multiple and is experienced throughout life. Education is at the heart of sustainable development.

The 2018 Films Women Africa Festival will feature 50 films, fiction and documentary, short and feature, with Q&As and discussions following the screenings. There will be several screenings in different venues to facilitate access to all. All the sessions will be free of charge in order to prevent any form of social discrimination. A lunch-meeting reserved for African cinema professionals. A gala evening.

The Films Women Africa Festival is an initiative of the association Trait d'Union.

About Trait d'Union: Founded in 1990, Trait d'Union is a Franco-Senegalese association that has at present nearly four generations of women. In existence for more than twenty years, Trait d'Union continues to participate as an important player in helping the social integration of these women, of various origins, who have chosen Senegal as home. The association thus offers its members a friendly and supportive environment, open to Senegalese culture as a whole. It encourages a family and personal integration, while promoting cross-cultural and intercultural exchange. The activities of the association revolve around social action, self-help, leisure and cultural activities, integration and development:

- assistance with job search, legal and social information,

- organisation of conferences, exhibitions, International Women's Day, 

- alternative trips to discover the cultures of Senegal, dancing party, Christmas tree,

- organisation of the Films Women Africa Festival.

Press contact:

Amayel Ndiaye

Email :presse.filmsfemmesafrique@gmail.com

Téléphone : 00-221-76-836-64-52

www.filmsfemmesafrique.com

[Français]

Femmes et éducation, c’est le thème de la 3e édition du Festival Film Femme Afrique du 16 au 24 février 2018 à Dakar et du 26 février au 4 mars 2018 dans 7 villes de région. Son objectif est de relancer le cinéma africain en étant un espace de diffusion pour la production des cinéastes du continent, à un moment où il n’y avait que très peu de salles de cinéma.

Le Festival Films Femmes Afrique propose des films SUR et POUR des personnes d'origine africaine. Des films qui racontent des histoires de Femmes Africaines.

La vocation est de permettre au plus grand nombre de rencontrer le cinéma africain engagé. Ainsi, le festival va vers le public grâce à des projections gratuites non seulement à Dakar et sa banlieue mais aussi dans d'autres grandes villes du Sénégal. Toutes les projections sont suivies de débats.

Cette troisième édition du festival a une portée sociale au Sénégal et audelà de ses frontières. Elle sera l’occasion de mener une campagne de sensibilisation sur la scolarisation des filles. Même si elles vont de plus en plus à l’école, il est noté un abandon dans le secondaire lié à différentes causes : travaux ménagers et agricoles, grossesses précoces, mariages précoces. Le festival veut montrer l’importance pour une femme d’avoir son autonomie financière. L’éducation réussie a le pouvoir de favoriser le développement de citoyens et citoyennes autonomes capables de réflexion. L’Education ne s’arrête pas à l’école, elle est multiple et se vit tout au long de la vie. L’Education est au cœur du développement durable.

Le Festival Films Femmes Afrique de 2018, ce sera 50 films, fictions et documentaires, courts et longs métrages, débats et rencontres à la suite des projections. Plusieurs diffusions dans des salles différentes afin de faciliter l’accès à tous. Toutes les séances gratuites afin d’éviter toute forme de discrimination sociale. Un repas-rencontre réservé aux professionnels du cinéma africain. Une soirée de gala.

Le Festival Films Femmes Afrique est une initiative de l’association Trait d’Union.

A propos de Trait d’Union : Fondée en 1990, Trait d’Union est une association franco-sénégalaise qui compte aujourd’hui près de quatre générations de femmes. Depuis plus de vingt années d’existence, Trait d’Union continue à s’engager en tant qu’acteur majeur dans l’aide à l’insertion sociale de ces femmes, d’origines diverses, qui ont choisi le Sénégal comme terre d’accueil. L’association offre ainsi à ses membres, un cadre convivial et solidaire, ouvert à la culture sénégalaise. Elle favorise une insertion familiale et personnelle, tout en valorisant le métissage et les échanges interculturels. Les activités de l’association s’articulent autour d’actions sociales, d’entraide, de loisirs et des activités culturelles, d’intégration et de développement :

- aide à la recherche d’emploi, informations juridiques et sociales,

- organisation de conférences, expositions, journée de la femme,

- voyages alternatifs à la découverte des cultures du Sénégal, soirée dansante, arbre de Noël,

- organisation du festival de films Films Femmes Afrique

Contact Presse :

Amayel Ndiaye

Email :presse.filmsfemmesafrique@gmail.com

Téléphone : 00-221-76-836-64-52

www.filmsfemmesafrique.com

Zimbabwean Women in Cinema, Visual Media and Screen Culture

Zimbabwean Women

in Cinema, Visual Media and Screen Culture

“Film is one of the arts disciplines that women use as a way of communicating their artistic expressions and also as a tool for change.” (1)

Joyce Jenje Makwenda’s assertion above introduces her presentation on the history of women in film and television in Zimbabwe. In the article, "History of Women in film and TV in Zim" she gives a survey of Zimbabwean women in media, highlighting its significance before and after independence in 1980.

Miriam Patsanza set up the video production company Talent Consortium in Zimbabwe in 1984. The company, which is also a school, moved in Johannesburg in the 1990s to take a more active part in "redefining the media" in South Africa: "Whilst there are specific gender related obstacles for the majority of us in Southern Africa, the problems endured by most women in TV and film are the same as those experienced by males who have also been excluded because of their race. The strategy for change, therefore, is to address the issues of media ownership and cultural representation as a joint force whilst at the same time insisting on bringing about respect and acknowledgment of other sexes, different languages, and the culture and style of indigenous peoples".(2)

Chido Matewa’s doctoral thesis (2002) on the Africa Women Filmmakers Trust (AWFT) offers further research on the important role that media women have played in the use of communication technologies as a tool for empowerment. She highlights the pioneering work of Mavis Moyo of the Federation of Africa Media Women-Zimbabwe Chapter, who was among the Zimbabwean women who attended the World Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985, with a draft of the FAMWZ constitution. The organisation endeavoured for the development of media women in the urban and rural areas of Zimbabwe and has a primary goal to advance the cause of women media practitioners and to empower women through the media. Currently known as Gender and Media Connect (GMC), the name changed in 2015 in order to reflect the organisation’s belief that achieving gender justice requires the combined efforts of both men and women in the media. The Africa Women Filmmakers Trust, created in 1992 by founding members Tendai Munawa, Rebecca Kapenzi and Chido Matewa, works to advance gender equality and justice through the use of information and communication technologies by facilitating content production and dissemination that supports girls, women and disadvantaged communities to take informed choices. 

Other initiatives quickly followed, such as Nyerai Films, founded by Tsitsi Dangarembga in 1992. The Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe (WFOZ) created in 1996 by Joyce Jenje Makwenda and first chaired by the late Petronilla Munongoro, has as its mission, to strengthen the gender perspective in Zimbabwean society by narrating women’s stories and experiences, whether told by women or men, or any other gender, powerfully through the medium of film. In 1997, the Zimbabwe International Film Festival was formed. The International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF) was launched in 2002, and in 2007 established the Distinguished Woman of African Cinema Award, which is presented to a woman of African descent anywhere in the world who has made and continues to make a significant contribution to the African film industry within any of its areas. The Wild Track Newsletter, created in 2010 is an influential online publication featuring the myriad initiatives and activities of Zimbabwean women in visual media, art and beyond. Also in 2010, Priscilla Sithole introduced the Ibhayisikopo Film Project, an academy for women filmmakers aiming to increase the number of female audio-visual producers in Bulawayo. The Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa (ICAPA) formed in 2011 by Tsitsi Dangarembga, features an important online portal. In 2016, the African Women Filmmakers Hub was launched by ICAPA and the following year the African Women Filmmakers Hub Scriptwriting Residency.

The history of Zimbabwean women in cinema, visual media and screen culture, is the story of the extraordinary resourcefulness of women producers, directors, organisers, journalists, writers, storytellers, and all the others who work to empower each other, locally, nationally and beyond.

A list of Zimbabwe women in cinema, visual media and screen culture, which is not exhaustive, includes: Jackie Cahi, Francisca Sibanda Chamunokara, Dorothy Chidzawo, Tapiwa Chipfupa, Lydia Sue-Ellen Chitunya, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Angeline Domingo, Agnes Gwatiringa, Annie Holmes, Rebecca Kapenzi, Marian Kunonga, Bella Matambanadzo, Tawanda Gunda Munpengo, Dorcas Hove, Kubi Chaza Indi, Joyce Jenje-Makwenda, Tsitsi Ella Jaji, Yvonne Jila, Rumbi Katedza, Marian Kunonga, Susan Makore, Maryann Mandishona, Nakai Matema, Chido Matewa, Dorothy Meck, Karen Mukwasi, Tendai Munawa, Linda Mvusi, Yeukai Ndarimani, Miriam Patzanza, Emma Shamuyarira, the late Jennifer Makunike Sibanda, British-born Ingrid Sinclair, Priscilla Sithole Ncube, Patience Tawengwa, Beauty Naikai Tsuro, Prudence Uriri. (2)

Articles on Zimbabwean Women in Cinema Visual Media and Screen Culture from African Women in Cinema Blog

Joyce Jenje-Makwenda - Women in Film and Television in Zimbabwe: Modern Storytellers

The first two of Zimbabwean #MeToo stories produced by WFOZ: "Picture My Life Story" 1 and 2 from ICAPA on Vimeo - 25 April 2019

Nnenna, the film: Crowdfunding of African Women Filmmakers' Hub first feature film - 04 April 2019

IIFF 2018 – International Images Film Festival for Women (Harare) : Mukanya, Siza Mukwedini, Zimbabwe - 20 August 2018

International Images Film Festival for Women - Harare, Zimbabwe - 18 August 2018

Wild Track Newsletter 27 – March-April 2018 about African women in cinema in Zimbabwe - 14 May 2018

Report on the Launch of African Women Filmmakers Hub (Harare, Zimbabwe) 2016 - 11 Oct 2016

Women Movement Building: Film Dialogue Series - Zimbabwe - 24 Feb 2016

It’s Time For Zimbabwean Women to Claim Space in the Film Industry by Karen Mukwasi - 16 Dec 2015

IIFF presents a short film of moments at the International Images Film Festival for Women 2015 (Zimbabwe) - 21 Oct 2015

Shorts by Rumbi Katedza. Highlighting African women during the Directed by Women - 11 Sep 2015

International Images International Film Festival for Women (IIFF) 2014 report by Oshosheni Hiveluah - 27 Sep 2014

The Distinguished Woman of African Cinema Award presented by Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe (WFOZ) - 30 Aug 2014

Aljazeera - Witness - The Bag on my Back, a documentary film by Tapiwa Chipfupa (Zimbabwe) - 30 Aug 2013

Labouring Women by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa) - 26 Aug 2013

FESPACO 2013 - Rumbi Katedza: The Team | l'Équipe - 14 Feb 2013

FESPACO 2013 - Rumbi Katedza : Playing Warriors | Jeux de guerrières - 31 Jan 2013

A Conversation with Rumbi Katedza - 17 Feb 2012

The International Images Film Festival for women (IIFF) 2011 in Binga (Zimbabwe) - 16 Dec 2011

Towards a Critical Debate: Nyaminyami Amaji Abulozi (Nyaminyami and the Evil Eggs), a film by Tsitsi Dangarembga - 03 Dec 2011

Tsitsi Dangarembga Reflects on the First Decade of the International Images Film Festival for Women - 01 Dec 2011

Report on the International Images Film Festival for Women 2011 (Harare, Zimbabwe) - 30 Nov 2011

Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe Community Outreach - 05 Nov 2011

Yvonne Jila takes the torch as director of International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF) - 04 Nov 2011

Tsitsi Dangarembga: Filmmaker, Writer, Cultural Activist - 28 Jul 2011

Tsitsi Dangarembga: I Want a Wedding Dress - 23 Feb 2011

International Images Film Festival for Women presented by Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe - 15 Nov 2010

NOTES

(1) Joyce Jenje-Makwenda. History of Women in film and TV in Zimbabwe.

(2) Miriam Patsanza: From Zimbabwe to South Africa: starting all over again | Du Zimbabwe à l’Afrique du Sud: on recommence tout by/par Julia Landau. Ecrans d’Afrique/African Screen N° 8 - 1994. p. 30

(3) Several of the women from the list are drawn from the Joyce Jenje-Makwenda Collection Archives.

REPORT BY BETI ELLERSON

Lucy Gebre-Egziabher: A Woman on a Mission

Lucy Gebre-Egziabher: A Woman on a Mission

U.S.-based Ethiopian filmmaker-professor Lucy Gebre-Egziabher is a woman on a mission to empower as many women as possible to take leadership roles in cinema. While planning for the curriculum for her seminar, “From Script to Screen” as a Fulbright Scholar in Addis Ababa in the fall of 2016, she put into practice what she already understood about the importance of having gender parity in her classroom. She asked the admissions representative to actively encourage women to enroll. Women answered the call. Her empowerment strategy had proven successful: the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa invited her to lead a screenwriting workshop for Ethiopian women journalists and filmmakers in conjunction with its consciousness raising campaign on gender-based violence (GBV). The women responded again energetically: these women were on a mission! She developed the screenwriting workshop, entitled “Telling Herstory”, around the theme of gender-based violence. Each of the three scriptwriting finalists produced a five-minute film, funded by the U.S. Embassy, which was screened at the launching of its GBV campaign. 

The “Telling Herstory” initiative was the beginning of what Lucy hopes to be an ongoing collaboration between her home institution, NOVA, Northern Virginia Community College where she teaches filmmaking, and Ethiopia.

I recently asked Lucy about their current activities and, yes, she and the women are still on a mission! 

What have you been working on since your “Telling Herstory” workshop in Addis?

I am happy to report that two years after the meeting in Addis with the Women on a Mission team I am still in touch with them and am continuing to mentor some of these talented sisters! When we left off, we had agreed that the first project to tackle would be the documentary on the Yellow Movement, about the Ethiopian women lawyers/activists for women’s rights.

I am blessed to say that I am still working with three of the Women on a Mission team. The rest are there in spirit, but since some of them come from print media, broadcast, etc., their involvement is less.

Talk a bit about the three Women on a Mission who you are mentoring.

Serkadis Megabiyaw is the filmmaker whose short won the Dean's Award for cinematic distinction at the 2017 NOVA Student Film Festival. She also has a TV show in Addis called Endewaza. Meaza Hadera is a journalist for EBS (Ethiopian Broadcasting Service) and has made a short that is timely and on point after our training; it addressed the issue of child marriage in Ethiopia. Redeat Abate is an architect by training but has a passion for filmmaking; she is a screenwriter and a set designer, and in my opinion would make a great producer! I have been mentoring these talented women as well as giving moral support, or helping them network with industry people. 

Just to give context, the Film Collaborative International is a forum that you created, bringing together the works of the film students at NOVA and in Ethiopia to be presented at the NOVA Student Film Festival. And Serkadis Megabiyaw, who you mentored during your Fulbright stay in Addis Ababa, won the Dean’s Award! Bravo!

To return to your Women on a Mission projects, there are a few in the works?

Yes, one is a documentary on the Yellow Movement that I will be executive producing. It was a very high-profile case due to local lobbying. The movement was also the first to blog and post about the case of Hanna, a young girl who was gang raped and left to die, a few years ago. The Yellow Movement established its niche as a nucleus serving to mobilize, influence, lobby and advocate with and for women of Ethiopia, including combating gender-based violence. This project is in pre-production stage. [Follow link for more information about the Aberash Case].

The second is a short narrative on climate change, which is part of the Films Without Walls series. These women are representing Ethiopia in this international film initiative and will make a short film that will be screened at the 2018 NOVA Student Film Festival – Films Without Walls Series. As of today, we have several countries from around the world participating.

I just want to recall that there was post on the African Women in Cinema Blog announcing the call for collaborations for the Films Without Walls Series and you talk about how it came about.

What is the other project that is in the works?

Finally, the formation of the Ethiopian Women Filmmakers Association (EWFA) is still a goal and a dream.  I believe it can serve as the entity needed through which to provide support and training opportunities to young and upcoming Ethiopian women filmmakers in Ethiopia. The idea was to have the EWFA produce the documentary on the Yellow Movement and in turn have the women lawyers from the Yellow Movement help with the legal work to establish EWFA. Sisters supporting and helping to uplift each other is the motto! Amen!

And there is a more expansive project to get other women on a mission involved! 

Yes, I am working as we speak to develop "Telling Herstory" screenwriting workshops for young women filmmakers to be delivered in various countries in Africa. That is also a dream! Anyway, will keep you posted. Until the next one! 

Conversation with Lucy Gebre-Egziabher and Beti Ellerson, February 2018.

Images courtesy of Lucy Gebre-Egziabher

Berlinale (Forum) 2018: Maki'la by/de Machérie Ekwa Bahango

Berlinale (Forum) 2018:

Maki'la by/de Machérie Ekwa Bahango

Maki’la - DRC Congo / France 2018, 78 min

Berlinale.de

Synopsis:

[English]

Maki observes the sapeurs with a mixture of amusement and scorn. They’re all the family she has, this group of young men who use the streets of Kinshasa as their stage, showing off their wild mix of street chic and stolen designer fashions. Maki has been on the streets a long time and is married to Mbingazor, the gang’s boss. But at some point, the 19-year-old has had enough of this gang of boys, who are too busy getting high and drunk to do anything with themselves. Survival must be secured. The next time money for food runs out, Maki crosses paths with the much younger Acha. This newcomer is a fresh arrival in Kinshasa, and doesn’t yet know the rules. Spurred on by Acha’s beginner’s luck as a thief, the pair set off on an adventure together, which soon arouses Mbingazor’s jealousy.

This debut packs in a whole lot: The drama of the story, the raw opulence of the setting and street cred of the actors are all striking cinematic statements. Machérie Ekwa Bahango is part of a group of young filmmakers in Kinshasa working to revitalise Congolese cinema and create works that equally appeal to their own home audiences.

[Français]

Makila est une jeune fille de 19 ans qui vit dans la rue depuis l'âge de 13 ans. A son arrivée, elle a été accueillie par le caïd Mbingazor, un délinquant albinos, qui l'a initiée à la façon de vivre, ou plutôt de survivre, dans la rue : drogue, prostitution, vol… Les deux finissent par se marier. Devenue femme de caïd, Makila engage à son service des enfants qui volent pour elle, en échange d'une protection et de quelques miettes. Elle arrête ainsi de se prostituer. Makila et Mbingazor forment le couple le plus respecté de la rue, mais très vite, leur relation basée sur l'exploitation et la violence, commence à ennuyer la jeune fille qui se sent prisonnière. Elle décide de quitter Mbingazor…

Biography | Biographie

[English]

Born in Kisagani, Democratic Republic of Congo in 1993. She took screenwriting and film directing workshops while studying Law. In 2016, she wrote six episodes of the series Nakisa: Lobi mokola ya sika, which was financed by the American NGO Search for Common Ground. Maki’la is her debut film.

[Français]

Titulaire d'une licence en droit et passionnée de cinéma, elle a traduit en lingala des dialogues du film d'Alain Gomis, "Félicité", avant d'écrire et de réaliser "Maki'la", long-métrage mettant en scène des enfants de la rue qui lui a valu d'être repérée par DIFFA, puis Orange Studio. Produit par Emmanuel Lupia, ce film a bénéficié de l'aide à la finition du Fonds Image de la Francophonie en mai 2017.

Film extracts | Extraits du film:

http://cineuropa.org/vd.aspx?t=video&l=fr&rdID=346910

Also read Interview with Machérie Ekwa Bahango by Dorthee Wenner: http://www.arsenal-berlin.de/en/berlinale-forum/program-forum/main-program/makila.html

Images and English text: Berlinale 

Source en français: Spla et Africine.org

Cascade Festival of African Films (Portland, Oregon USA) 2018 - Women Filmmakers Week

28th Annual Cascade Festival of African Films

In Celebration of Black History Month

At Portland Community College

February 2-March 3, 2018

The Cascade Festival of African Films (Portland, Oregon USA),  is held during the months of February and March, thus commemorating the U.S. celebration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, respectively. The closing week of the festival features Women Filmmakers Week, which includes retrospectives, tributes and recently released short and feature film.

The Cascade Festival of African Films shows us Africa through the eyes of Africans, rather than a vision of Africa packaged for Western viewers. The films celebrate Africa’s achievements, expose its failures, and reveal possibilities for a hopeful future. Although the films cannot represent an entire continent, we hope to encourage American viewers to become interested in and study African cultures.

Source: (Texts and Images): Cascade Festival of African Films

2018 Films

• ’76, Izu Ojukwu (Nigeria)
• A Season In France, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (France, Chad)
• A Stray, Musa Sayed (USA/Somalia)
• Anger In The Wind, Amina Weira (Niger)
• Borders/Frontières, Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso)
• Coz Ov Moni 1 & 2, King Luu (Ghana)
• Foreign Body, Raja Amari (Tunisia)
• Kalushi: The Story Of Solomon Mahlangu, Mandla Walter Dube (South Africa)
• Kemtiyu, Cheikh Anta, Ousmane William Mbaye (Senegal, France)
• Kindil El Bahr, Damien Ounouri (Algeria)
• Mawlana/The Preacher, Magdi Ahmed Ali (Egypt)
• Queen Of Katwe, Mira Nair (Uganda, USA)
• The African Who Wanted To Fly, Samantha Biffot (Gabon, China)
• The Wedding Ring, Rahmatou Keïta (Niger)
• Tickling Giants, Sara Taksler (USA, Egypt)
• Vaya, Akin Amotoso (South Africa)
• Wùlu, Daouda Coulibaly (Mali)
• Zaineb Hates The Snow, Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia, Canada)

The 2018 lineup of films for Women Filmmakers Week:

Zaineb Hates The Snow (Tunisia, Canada) Kaouther Ben Hania

Kaouther Ben Hania documents, over a period of six years, the changes and full range of human emotions that await nine-year-old Zaineb when her widowed mother remarries and moves Zaineb and her brother Haythem from Tunisia to Canada to live with her new husband and his daughter Wijdene. Given extraordinary access to the family, who are her relatives, Kaouther Ben Hania presents us with a case study of two families attempting to blend into a single family, while also dealing with displacement, change, growth and the meaning of family.

Borders/Frontières (Burkina Faso) Apolline Traoré

In this gritty West African road trip movie, four women from different regions develop friendships during a bus journey across West Africa. The film portrays the reality of the problems women face crossing the borders in Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, and Nigeria, where customs officials regularly harass and sexually abuse women who travel alone. By bonding together, Adja, Emma, Sali, and Vishaa learn to trust and help protect each other.

Foreign Body (Tunisia) Raja Amari

Following Tunisia’s 2011 political uprising, Samia flees to France to escape the brutality and control of her radicalized brother. Fearing his pursuit and retribution, Samia finds refuge with Imed, a former acquaintance from her village in Tunisia, and then with Leila, a rich widow who hires Samia to work for her. Samia soon discovers she has a strong sensual connection with Leila, which leaves Imed, in this blossoming ménage à trois, torn between his religious beliefs and his sexual desires. This film is another tale of women’s empowerment.

The Wedding Ring (Niger) Rahmatou Keïta

Tiyaa is a student, member of a prestigious aristocratic family. She is back home to sultanate of Damagaran, in Niger Republic, for the Winter holidays. As planned, she is expecting the young man she met in the university she is studying, in France, to make a formal proposal of marriage. He too comes from a prestigious family, not far from Damagaran, in the Emirate of Maïduguri and her parents cannot reject such an eligible fiancé.

Tiyaa is overwhelmed… While expecting him, she has time to inform her friends of this secret Parisian love. Life is pleasant and peaceful but time passes and the handsome suitor is slow to come. Tiyaa has the opportunity to discover in her surroundings other women whose love stories, marriage, desertion or divorce tell of the relationship between men and women in the Sahelian society.

Films also by women featured in the 2018 Festival:

Anger In The Wind, Amina Weira (Niger)

Filmmaker Amina Weira travels to her hometown of Arlit in northern Niger, where she interviews the town’s residents about the negative environmental and health consequences of plutonium mining. French mining companies have mined uranium there since 1976. Today the region is contaminated, and large numbers of people have died young and suffer from chronic illnesses. Ms. Wiera’s father, a retired uranium mineworker, is at the heart of this film. He shares his memories of 35 years spent in the mines.

Queen Of Katwe, Mira Nair (Uganda, USA)

Living in the slum in Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle for 10-year-old Phiona and her family. Her world changes when she meets Robert Katende, a missionary who teaches children how to play chess. Phiona soon becomes a top player. The film is based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi, whose biography, The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girl’s Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster, was written by Tim Crothers. The film stars the Oscar-winning actress Lupita Niong’o as Phiona’s mother, the award-winning actor David Oyelowo as Robert Katende, and Madina Nalwanga, who won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Young Actor in her role as Phiona.

The African Who Wanted To Fly, Samantha Biffot (Gabon, China)

The African Who Wanted to Fly tells the incredible true story of Luc Bendza, a young Gabonese boy who discovers Kung Fu after watching the film The Big Boss and deciding he wants to “fly” like Bruce Lee and devote his life to the martial arts. At the age of 15, he sets off for China to make his dreams come true. He joins the prestigious wushu martial arts academy, and under the tutelage of Grand Master Meng Huifang, Luc eventually becomes number one in an art form that had previously never counted an African in its midst.

Tickling Giants, Sara Taksler (USA, Egypt)

Following Egypt’s Arab Spring in 2011 and in need of a laugh, Dr. Bassem Youssef left his career as a heart surgeon in Cairo to try his hand at comedy. He incorporated his observations from Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show to create Al Bernameg, the first political satire show in Egypt. Thirty million viewers watched each episode. Called an “ebullient ode to freedom,” the film investigates the challenges of non-violent action and the power of comedy.