Laureates of the Afrika Film Festival Köln 2018 Audience Award: Hawa Essuman and Machérie Ekwa Bahango

Laureates of the Afrika Film Festival Köln 2018 Audience Award: Hawa Essuman and Machérie Ekwa Bahango

Congratulations to the laureates of the Afrika Film Festival Köln 2018 Audience Award: Hawa Essuman for the best documentary and Machérie Ekwa Bahango for the best feature film.

Hawa Essuman, Anjali Nayar (Canada/South Africa/ Kenya), Silas, 2017

Liberian activist, Silas Siakor is a tireless crusader, fighting to crush corruption and environmental destruction in the country he loves.

Through the focus on one country, Silas is a global tale that warns of the power of politics and celebrates the power of individuals to fight back. One man's battle gains momentum and emboldens communities to raise their fists and smartphones, seize control of their lands and protect their environment. It is a new generation of resistance.

Machérie Ekwa Bahango, (DR Kongo), Maki’la, 2018

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.