AFRICAN WOMEN IN CINEMA BLOG: October 2019

Anna and JJ have loved each other from childhood and have been married a long time. But JJ has a debilitating mental illness that has slowly chipped away at their life leaving nothing but flat routine. Anna starts each day the same. She has made a ritual of her life that helps both her and JJ cope. (25 min 27 sec)

Biography

Angella Emurwon is a writer, award-winning playwright, and filmmaker. She divides her time between an uneventful writing life in Tororo, Uganda and her exciting work mentoring screenwriters. She has written two radio plays that have won BBC Radio Drama awards; one of which, Sunflowers behind a Dirty Fence, is being adapted into a feature film. In 2016, she wrote and directed a short film, Sunday. (Source: http://maishafilmlab.org/maisha-mentor/angella-emurwon/)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Dark Spot by Sandra Essel (Ghana)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Dark Spot (2017)

Sandra Essel

Ghana

Fiction

Synopsis

Verona finds out the reason behind her husband's lack of satisfying her in bed sexually and takes a hasty action. (10 min)

Biography

Sandra Essel went to Creativeland School of Film and Media Arts; afterwards she joined MK Content/Casting, and has also worked with acclaimed directors such as Clement Kofi Amish (Ghana), Linda Brooke Edith (Ghana). She worked as a script supervisor on the Ghanaian film In 3 Days and the short film Broken Wing. In addition, she was production assistant for the Netflix-BBC project “Black Earth Rising”.

(Source: https://hiphopfilmfestival.org/hip-hop-film-festival-ivory-coast-filmmakers-in-competition/)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Rumba in the Jungle, the return by Yolanda Keabatswe Mogatusi (South Africa)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Rumba in the Jungle, the return (2018)

Yolanda Keabatswe Mogatusi

South Africa

Documentary

Synopsis

A glimpse into the world of competitive Dance Sport through a world renowned dance competition, hosted in Sun City, South Africa that went defunct after 1999. As it returns 18 years later, we follow two legendary dance icons as they prepare a new generation of dancers for the competition that launched their own dance careers. (82 min)

Biography

Yolanda Keabetswe Mogatusi is a South African writer, filmmaker and actress who is passionate about putting Africa on the global map. Her TV credits include the Afrikaans SABC sitcom, Askies, which she co-created and wrote a number of scripts on while providing some creative direction as the show’s creator as well as the teen lifestyle program for SABC 3, Meet Joe Food, which is a Hybrid teen lifestyle magazine show that she also created and directed. She has written a number of bubblegum films for Mzansi Magic and is currently working on a couple of feature films, Hair That Moves – the movie and Thula Thula which is supported by the KZN Film Commission.

Yolanda is an ex-storyliner and a Talent Campus and Focus Features’ Africa First Alumni, who loves telling stories, whether it’s behind the camera or in front of it or even with just the use of words.

(Source: https://writersguildsa.org/final-call-wgsa-workshop-soweto/)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: In Search by Beryl Magoko (Kenya)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

In Search (2018)

Beryl Magoko

Documentary

Synopsis

A courageous and determined young woman talks about her experiences going through Female Genital Mutilation and the need to undergo reconstructive surgery on her genitals. Beryl is trying to find out whether she should undergo this surgery, a journey into the unknown for a second time. (90 min.)

At 10, director Beryl Magoko suffered female genital mutilation (FGM). She now knows reconstructive surgery is a possibility, but she’s not sure whether it will help her feel better. Talking to other victims and reviewing her past, she will try to understand what happened.

Recalling her childhood in a rural village in Kenya, as a little girl Beryl Magoko thought it was a simple rite of passage to adult life and acceptance within her community, but no one warned her of the physical and emotional pain, nor the humiliation that this would entail in the future. In Search explores the director’s own emotional dilemmas and those of other women who have gone through the same experience. Source: http://www.film-documentaire.fr/4DACTION/w_fiche_film/56233_1

Biography

Beryl Magoko was born and raised in Komotobo (Kuria - Kenya). After studying Graphic Design at Mombasa Polytechnic she went to Uganda at Kampala University, initially in mass communication, then Film-TV-Video- Production. During this time she worked on different films as sound recordist and camera woman. Encourage by her professor Andreas Frowein she choose a very difficult topic for her diploma film: FGM.

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Trapped by Erica Owusu-Ansah (Ghana)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Trapped

Erica Owusu-Ansah

Ghana

Fiction

Synopsis

Emefa, is in an abusive marriage with Kwame. She assumes that Kwame's abusive nature is as a result of their childlessness. She gets pregnant and assumes that the baby will be able to save their marriage but it does not.

Biography

Erica Owusu-Ansah, filmmaker, writer and director, is CEO of Golden Arrow Productions.

30 October 2019

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Subira by Sippy Chadha (Kenya)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Subira (2018)

Sippy Chadha

Kenya

Fiction

Synopsis

A free-spirited young girl in Lamu struggles to live out her unique dream of swimming in the ocean, against local customs and in an arranged upper-class marriage. (99 min.)

Biography

Ravneet Sippy Chadha is a Kenyan Writer-Director, based in Nairobi. She quit financial services in 2007, as she had a powerful urge to tell her own stories through film. As a child she had to conform to a rigid set of rules. She rebelled against rules that denied her self expression.
(Source: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2341217/?ref_=tt_ov_dr)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Remnants by Hannah Awo Bonney (Ghana)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Remnants (2018)

Hannah Awo Bonney

Ghana

Documentary

Synopsis

This film explores the cultural and historical impact of the TransAtlantic slave trade in Ghana. In Ghana, the story of the slave trade is not popular or widely talked about. People feel uncomfortable having conversations regarding this dark past and memories associated with it although they did not experience it. (42 min).

Biography

Hannah Awo Nkeba Bonney, currently a lecturer at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) in Accra, graduated from the same institution and later proceeded to the Kunsthochschule für Medien in Germany for her post graduate studies.

(Source: http://www.ghheadlines.com/agency/daily-guide/20190220/110219486/film-screening-at-goethe-institut)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: A Thousand Needles by Nikitta Adjirakor (Ghana, Germany)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

A Thousand Needles (2018)

Nikitta Adjirakor

Ghana, Germany

Documentary

Synopsis

A Thousand Needles is a short documentary film on women’s health. It chronicles the journey of a lead character, exploring the effects of women’s sexual and reproductive health issues such endometriosis and uterine fibroids on her life. The story unfolds especially through monologues, artistic visuals and poetry.

Biography

Nikitta Adjirakor who is Ghanaian by birth is currently a PhD candidate in Literatures in African Languages at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. A writer herself, her interests and background lay in words manifested through different mediums such as music, poetry, novels and film. The concept of the film was built from one of her poems which shares the same title as the film. Having lived with varying sexual and reproductive health issues since she was 13, this film serves a platform for her to reveal the often times, invisible realities of sexual and reproductive health issues. The film forms part of an eponymous concept project she is working on which merges different creative art forms in creating awareness about women's health.

(Source: https://www.athousandneedlesfilm.com/the-team)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Reverberation - Performed by Brenda Dokmah Bakomora (Ghana)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Reverberation

Performed by Brenda Dokmah Bakomora

Ghana

Experimental

Synopsis

An experimental short film that aims to create raw, powerful physical language and emotions in a continuing effect. It puts the performer into an exhaustive physical struggle within the limits of the mind and body. The performance is the dramatization of resounding words and persistent questions from society’s expectations and the need to fit into specific constructs of marriage, career and body image in order to be validated.

Performed by Ghana poet Brenda Dokmah Bakomora.

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Ha jan bana by Cecilia Oppong-Badu (Ghana)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Ha jan bana

Cecilia Oppong-Badu

Ghana

Fiction

Synopsis

Two women fight for the rights of the citizens by suing the state amid death threats by people who are likely to be affected if the judge rules in favour of them.

Biography

Cecilia Oppong-Badu, enrolled at the National Film and Television Institute Ghana, worked for TV3 Network Ltd as a Producer/Director for fourteen years. She manages her company Cobvision Inscape Ltd, a media production house. In addition, she has produced several commercials and documentaries for Samara Group, Galaxy Int. School among others. (Source: https://www.freshcraftseries.com/who/participants/#cecilia)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Demented by Josephine Kabahuma (Uganda)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Demented (2019)

Josephine Kabahuma

Uganda

Fiction

Synopsis

Kansiime, a silent but smart mad woman observes her world and carefully lives through life looking out for her responsibilities as a woman in the house, together with her loud buddy, Mugume they flee from home onto separate paths looking out for food for them and their adopted daughter Kajoina. (20 min.)

Biography

Josephine Kabahuma is a Ugandan actress, writer and upcoming director working with Kyooto Media Group; she has worked on a number of projects as a writer, actress, director and script supervisor including; At The Garage, Kemi, Fidelity, Esteem, Demented, Equanimity, Judas Kiss and Breach among others. (Source: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10883759/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm)

29 October 2019

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Before the Vows by Nicole Amarteifio (Ghana-USA)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Before the Vows (2018)

Nicole Amarteifio

Ghana-USA

Comedy

Synopsis

Set in the capital of Ghana, the film captures the relationship between a happy couple, Nii and Afua, as they navigate the anxiety of their upcoming nuptials and question what it takes to ensure a long and happy marriage. The story reflects a modern-day African love story that can be universally understood by millennials around the world. (88min)

Biography

Nicole Amarteifio is an acclaimed TV/film producer cited in The Financial Times "Top 25 Africans to Watch" list, after a successful launch of the hit web series 'An African City', dubbed by CNN and the BBC as Africa's answer to 'Sex and the City'. Nicole is pursuing TV/film projects full time, after a successful career in international development, including her role as the first ever social media strategist for the Africa Region at The World Bank. In 2018, Nicole premiered her first feature film, a romantic comedy called 'Before the Vows', at the New York African Film Festival, followed by the American Black Film Festival, the Pan-African Film Festival, Toronto Black Film Festival and the AFI Silver New African Film Festival. She has several projects in development. (Source: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5106979/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Memre Yu (I Remember) by Zaide Bil (Belgium)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Memre Yu (I Remember) 2019

Zaïde Bil

Belgium

Documentary

Synopsis

A neglected family house in Paramaribo, Surinam. Almost 50 years ago, not long after being built, the house was left by a Surinam family that moved to The Netherlands. For good, it turned out. Today the house is a subtle reminder of the bond that the family still has with their country of birth. 'Memre Yu' is a poetic documentary about identity, migration and transitory memories.

Biography

Zaïde Bil is a graduate from the Royal Institute of Theatre, Cinema and Sound in Brussels. She graduated cum laude in her master's degree of documentary directing. Before that, she graduated from the Windesheim University of Applied Science in Zwolle, earning a bachelor's degree in Journalism. The combination of those diplomas give‍s‍‍ her the qualities of artistic directing and thorough research to tackle complex and versatile projects. (Source: https://www.dokma.be/over)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival 2019: Many Love by Rediat Abayneh (Ethiopia)

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival

(Ghana)

NWFF 2019

Many Love (2019)

Rediat Abayneh

Ethiopia

Fiction

Synopsis

Saron discovers that her younger brother Abi committed a crime by raping her boyfriend’s little sister. She persuades herself that Abi has done this due to the long-term illness that kept him isolated from his peers and decides to help him avoid punishment and escape. Saron’s boyfriend Bereket unsuccessfully pleas and urges her to turn Abi in but in the end, it all comes down to Saron and her conscience. Will she go through with her plan? (20 min. 20 sec.)

Biography

Rediat Abayneh is a freelance animator and Film-maker based in Bristol. Her works are mostly inspired by the culture, story and art of ancient Abyssinian. She also have a strong interest working with digital paintings as well as running creative workshops for young people. (Source: https://filmfreeway.com/ManyLove)

NDIVA Women's Film Festival (NWFF) 2019 - Accra, Ghana - 30 October - 02 November

NDIVA Women’s Film Festival (NWFF) 2019

Accra, Ghana

30 October - 02 November

NWFF is a film festival that aims to create artistic platforms for the presentation of work by, for and about African women.

Opening Ceremony: Wednesday 30 October, 17h

Opening Film: Many Love by Rediat Abayneh (Ethiopia)

Special Feature: Before the Vows by Nicole Amarteifio (USA/Ghana)

Writ(ing) Women

A Panel Discussion: Writing For-By-About Women

Talking #MeToo: Women, Film and Sexual Harassment

FILM SELECTION

Many Love by Rediat Abayneh (Ethiopia)

Memre Yu (I Remember) by Zaide Bil

Before the Vows by Nicole Amarteifio

I am Sheriff by Teboho Edkins (Lesotho)

Can We Die in September by Kingsley K. Antwe (Ghana)

North to South by Coniah Mouiche (Ghana)

Engulfed by Kojo Owiredu Kissi

Demented by Josephine Kabahuma (Uganda)

The Sound of Masks by Sara CF de Gouveia (South Africa, Portugal, Mozambique)

Reverberation by Brenda Dokmah Bakomora (Ghana)

Ha jan bana by Cecelia Oppong-Badu (Ghana)

A Thousand Needles by Nikitta Adjirakor (Ghana, Germany)

She Her Woman by Lauren Abdallah (Ghana)

Sunday by Angella Emurwon (Uganda)

Remnants by Hannah Awo Bonney (Ghana)

Subira by Sippy Chadha (Kenya)

Determined by Miriam Safowaa (Ghana)

Hardened by Prince Adu Mensah (Ghana)

Aku Grace Naa Atswei Adjetey (Ghana)

Tempered Glass by Nana Serwaa Akosa (Ghana)

Trapped by Erica Owusu-Ansah (Ghana)

In Search by Beryl Magoko & Jule Katinka Cramer (Germany, Kenya)

Morning Ride by Omar Nana Owusu (Ghana)

Voiceless Pain by Charles Addo (Ghana)

Rumba in the Jungle, the return by Yolanda Keabatswe Mogatusi (South Africa)

Shame of Puberty by Ojok Francis Odong (Uganda)

Black Queens by Nii Ofei-Kyei Dodoo (Ghana)

Dark Spots by Sandra Essel (Ghana)

Provence by Kato De Boeck (Belgium)

Mayfair by Sara Blecher (South Africa)

Shadow of a Doubt by Emmanuel Boakye (Ghana)

Dear Self by Marion Mills

Silent Titans by Magdalene Quarshie (Ghana)

17 October 2019

Ugandan Eleanor Nabwiso, laureate of the African Focus Award for her film "Bed of Thorns", a film raising consciousness about gender-based violence against women

Ugandan Eleanor Nabwiso, laureate of the African Focus Award at the 2019 London ArtHouse Film Festival for her film "Bed of Thorns", a film raising consciousness about gender-based violence against women.

The film, produced and directed by Eleanor Nabwiso was made with an all-women crew.

"I want to put out more films about gender based violence in detail… The cultural norms in Africa believe that men should beat their wives, to show that they love them, or that a woman is beaten because she is guilty of something… A man beating his wife is wrong, not just in Africa but across the world. The message from this film is: 'don't keep quiet'... We call it 'bedroom matters', if you are fighting with your husband keep it in your bedroom…and when you come out of the bedroom, smile to the world, this is wrong, speak out, tell someone about it. (From BBC interview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07qzj3s)

Synopsis:

Bed of Thorns follows the story of Stella who is getting married in a few weeks but friends around her know she is being battered by her fiancé and their aim is to stop the wedding from happening. All of her friends are actually undergoing domestic violence from emotional abuse, physical abuse, bullying, and rape.

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/BEDofThornsfilm/

16 October 2019

Appel à films | Call for entries 2020 : Mis Me Binga Festival International de Films de Femmes | International Women’s Film Festival (Cameroun | Cameroon)

Appel à films | Call for entries 2020

Mis Me Binga Festival International de Films de Femmes | International Women’s Film Festival

(Cameroun | Cameroon)

Mis Me Binga Festival International de Films de Femmes

23-27 Juin | June 2020

Les femmes cinéastes du monde nous devoilent

LE MONDE VU PAR ELLES

Women filmmakers of the world unveil the 2020 edition:

THE WORLD SEEN THROUGH WOMEN'S EYES

Longs-métrages et courts-métrages | Feature and short films

Inscriptions en ligne à | Online applications at : mismebinga@gmail.com

Envoyez des films avant le | Send films before : 28 février | February 2020

https://www.facebook.com/FestivalMisMebinga/

14 October 2019

In Memory of Namibian filmmaker Oshosheni Hiveluah

In Memory of Namibian filmmaker Oshosheni Hiveluah

I have the sad news of the passing of Oshosheni Hiveluah on 09 October 2019. Let us give tribute to her, her work and her contribution to cinema. She will be dearly missed.

I am republishing excerpts of the interview with her on the African Women in Cinema Blog and her report of the 2014 International Images International Film Festival for Women (IIFF), also on the Blog.

Well in terms of growing up, I was born in exile in Angola. Since I was born during the war my perception was for a very long time very militant because of propaganda songs, videos and the lifestyle that I lived. Then I spent part of my childhood in the former GDR and my first cinema experience was so magical and enchanting-I think it was the 1984 film, Neverending Story and I was fascinated with cinemas from that day forth. This was the total opposite of what moving images had been for me before this, so as any child would have, I fell in love and hard. We didn't go to the cinema often but when we did I could not hide my enthusiasm for days ahead. Most of the regular weekly stuff I was exposed to were the TV shows like Batman etc. you know 80's shows-sitcoms, Cosby show, etc., but because we lived in a communist state the shows that were screened had to be in line with communistic ideals and of course all channels were majorly censored. Back in Namibia from 1990 I was exposed to a lot of commercial blockbuster Hollywood films and very few African films which made filmmaking in my eyes appear to be an exclusive and distant thing and for a selective few. Because I always wanted to tell stories however I opted for theatre at the time, because it was open to me to explore. Then I remember seeingSarraounia (Med Hondo, 1986) one evening as a teenager, a film shot in Burkina Faso, and it changed my outlook and perception on African cinema. I then started digging and searching for more foreign films, going to embassies for film screenings and trying to expose myself to films I was not accessing and films that had that heart, that passion that I shared when telling stories. Then I moved to Cape Town to study and I felt like I had arrived, there were alternative theaters (cinema nouveau and Labia) that screened independent films and it was during that time that I was also learning more about filmmaking, work on set, etc.

See the obituary at Namibi Insider: https://namibinsider.com/2019/10/10/remembering-namibian-filmmaker-oshosheni-hiveluah/

09 October 2019

Call for Applications Open: Cinematography Workshop for Women from the Horn of Africa (Hargeysa, Somalia) - Deadline 10 November 2019

Call for Applications Open: Cinematography Workshop for Women from the Horn of Africa (Hargeysa, Somalia) - Deadline 10 November 2019 - The Carrot Co.

PRESS RELEASE: APPLICATION CALL (OPEN)

http://thecarrotco.org

Send application to: workshop@thecarrotco.org

The major part of storytelling is image composition. The framing, the lights, shades, moods, shapes and camera movement. And that’s why it’s called moving pictures.

As we continuously advocate for the creation of more African stories, we must deliberately include the participation of women in capturing them. In an attempt, we have now open an application call for women/girls who want to learn the art of image composition. To be a camera woman.

By the end of this workshop you will be able to demonstrate technical control over the basic elements of photography, including exposure, lighting and framing. You’ll develop an understanding in capturing moments and the collaboration between the cinematographer and the director. During and after the workshop you will be able to succesfully complete a variety of film projects and managing each project during the pre-production, production and post-production phases.

To apply, please fill in the form here https://forms.gle/cFsR5q9HhHxDxWr98

Application closes on the 10th of November, 2019.

The Art of Visual Storytelling Workshop for Women

Introduction to Camera/Camera Parts

-lightening and exposure

-white balance

-types of shots

-composition techniques

-camera angles

-camera movements

Introduction to Visual Storytelling

-documentary storytelling

-three-act structure

-developing unique stories

Pre-production

-planning

-location scouting

-assembling equipment

Production

-filming

-previewing rushes

Post production

-assembly for editing

-editing previewing director cut

-working on the final cut

The CARROT Co is an experiential art based organization formed to confront challenges facing the development sector using new media and tools to communicate to a targeted audience.

The CARROT Co. is a collective of award winning African artists with IT experts, legal practitioners, community mobilisers, high level project managers and pan African activists working in the development sector to transform communication using the ART.

Our aim is to creatively simplify messaging, dignify African lives, and amplify social causes for an impactful and sustainable development. We have all worked, lived and experience several African countries with strength in multiple languages and cultural integration.

Source: Twitter and Facebook