FOCUS: Thérèse Sita Bella, Safi Faye et l'évolution de la pratique cinématographique des femmes africaines | the evolution of African women’s cinematic practice - 20 - 24 / 3 / 2023 - Belgique | Belgium

 

FOCUS:

Thérèse Sita Bella, Safi Faye et l'évolution de la pratique cinématographique des femmes africaines  

The evolution of African women’s cinematic practice

20 - 24 / 3 / 2023 

Des femmes ont écrit une partie de notre histoire du cinéma. Des femmes encore aujourd'hui écrivent cette histoire du cinéma. Certaines sont oubliées, marginalisées et éjectées dans la transmission de cette histoire. Avec Katy Lena Ndiaye, Beti Ellerson, Mahen Bonetti.

Women participated in the creation of African cinema history and continue in increasing numbers. Though some have been forgotten, marginalized and overlooked throughout the transmission of this history.

With Katy Lena Ndiaye, Beti Ellerson, Mahen Bonetti, in person or video-conference.

20.03.2023

Pioneers and trailblazers - Thérèse Sita-Bella, Safi Faye and the evolution of African women's cinematic practice. As the programming of the Focus was already organized at the announcement of the passing of Safi Faye, a spontaneous homage was paid to Safi Faye as part of the presentation. (Beti Ellerson, Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema).

21.03.2023

The political context of the film production of pioneer African women and their invisibility in Africa and the world (Mahen Bonetti, Founder of the New York African Film Festival)

22.03.2023

Screening of En attendant les hommes and Q&A with Katy Lena Ndiaye, the filmmaker.

Interview with Chantal Ndongo, the daughter of Thérèse Sita-Bella.

Screening of selected films by Safi Faye.

Ce Focus est initié par Rosine Mbakam dans le cadre de KASK & Conservatorium / School of Arts Gent, avec la collaboration de l' INSAS,  Tândor productions, Tândor films Cameroun, IndigiMood Films, Africa Film Festival Leuven.

This Focus was initiated by Rosine Mbakam through the KASK & Conservatorium / School of Arts Gent, with the collaboration of NSAS,  Tândor productions, Tândor films Cameroun, IndigiMood Films, Africa Film Festival Leuven.

Un hommage à Safi Faye

A homage to Safi Faye

Sierra Leonean Women of the Diaspora in Cinema, Visual Media and Screen Culture

 Sierra Leonean Women of the Diaspora in Cinema, Visual Media and Screen Culture

Several Sierra Leonean women in film, visual media and screen culture are making important contributions to African world cinema from their diasporic locations in North America and Europe.

Mahen Bonetti, perhaps the most widely known, is founder and director of the African Film Festival in New York (AFF). In 2011 the AFF launched the Sierra Leone Cultural Conservation Project (CCP), which has as main objective, to establish an on-going sustainable media arts program in the country.

UK-based Victoria Marcellina Thomas has a keen in interest in the comedy genre, and while she is interested in Africa, her work centres on people and experiences in the UK.

Sierra Leonean-Canadian Ngardy Conteh focuses her lens on stories of the African Diaspora as well as her ancestral home.

Professor/filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu, born and raised in the United States, draws from both U.S. and Sierra Leonean experiences in her films. Her eclectic body of work spans diverse genres with black women and girls as the point of departure.

Born in the United States to parents who emigrated from Sierra Leone, scholar/cultural producer Nadia Sasso directed the film Am I: Too African to be American or Too American to be African?

In Sierra Leone, one of the most prominent initiatives introduced to train young people to tell their own stories through the moving image, is the WeOwnTV Media Centre. It launched its first program in the country in 2009 by facilitating a month-long filmmaking workshop for eighteen young men and women on the outskirts of the capital, Freetown. Since the initial workshop, a cadre of young people continues to produce stories of their experiences and communities with the technical support, encouragement and continued training of the organizers. Moreover, a visible number of women are among the emerging filmmakers.

Articles featuring Sierra Leonean women in cinema, visual media and screen culture on the African Women in Cinema Blog

“Am I: Too African to be American or Too American to be African?” a film by Sierra Leonean American Nadia Sasso
http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/09/am-i-too-african-to-be-american-or-too.html
World Premiere: “The Flying Stars” by Ngardy Conteh George (Sierra Leone-Canada) and Allan Tong – 14 November 2014
http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/11/world-premiere-flying-stars-by-ngardy.html
A Conversation with Nikyatu Jusu
http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2011/04/conversation-with-nikyatu-jusu.html
Mahen Bonetti: The New York African Film Festival
http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2011/04/mahen-bonetti-new-york-african-film.html
Victoria Marcellina Thomas: A Portrait
http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2010/10/victoria-marcellina-thomas-portrait.html

Storytelling and West African Cinema, a panel of established women filmmakers from the Sahel (African Film Festival and the Metropolitian Museum of Art)

Storytelling and West African Cinema, a panel of established women filmmakers from the Sahel (African Film Festival and the Metropolitian Museum of Art)

Text and Image Source: https://www.africanfilmny.org/event/storytelling-and-west-african-cinema/

Storytelling and West African Cinema, a panel of established women filmmakers from the Sahel as they discuss the power of films to capture the essence of the region and its narrative tradition. Participants include Mahen Bonetti, Founder and Executive Director, African Film Festival, Inc.; Yaëlle Biro, Associate Curator, Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, The Met; Rahmatou Keïta, filmmaker; Fanta Régina Nacro, filmmaker; and Fanta Kouyaté, griot, oral historian, and storyteller.

20 February 2020 at 18h30

Venue:

The Met

1000 Fifth Avenue (Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium entrance at Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street)
New York, NY 10028 United States

African Women in Cinema Blog: Updates | Actualités 05-05-2017 - News around the Internet | Les infos autour de l’Internet

African Women in Cinema Blog

Updates | Actualités

05 – 05 – 2017

Content | Contenu :

Mahen Bonetti

Marie Philomène Nga

Women in Moroccan Cinema

Josza Anjembe

Serkadis Megabiyaw

Mahen Bonetti

This Woman Combined Her Passion For Activism With Her Love Of Cinema To Enact Change. Mariya Moseley. 04 May 2017. Essence.

Marie Philomène Nga

Marie Philomène Nga : on est dans l’obligation de créer ! Eva Sauphie. 28 avril 2017. intothechic.com.

Women in Moroccan Cinema

Women between careerism and Islamism: Moroccan cinema features diversity. Elizabeth Grenier. 02 May 2017. DW.com.

Josza Anjembe

Interview: Josza Anjembe - Festival du Film Francophone. 28 April 2017. YouTube.

Josza Anjembe, la réalisatrice du film "Le bleu blanc rouge de mes cheveux", a gagné le premier prix à la Nuit du Court-Métrage pendant le Festival du Film Francophone 2017.

Serkadis Megabiyaw

Our Compound. Nova Student Film Festival. 28 April 2017. YouTube.

Synopsis: The action of one man in a hurry impacts his community by creating an alternate path.

INDIGO TONGUES Interview Series (Iyalode Productions)

INDIGO TONGUES Interview Series

(Iyalode Productions)

It is very important to me as an African to reach out to other Africans and support their work. We are a marginalised group in the context of world politics, or anything else within the global context really, so the more we can support each other, the more our voices will be heard, our stories told and our problems solved--Mojisola Sonoiki

Indigo Tongues is an interview series produced by Iyàlódè (e-yah-low-day) Productions founded by Mojisola Sonoiki in 2005. Following is a selection from the interview series. Visit the Iyalode Productions website for the entire series at https://iyalodeproductions.com/

This post has been reformatted from its original content to include updated interviews from the series.

Indigo Tongues features Tope Oshin 

Indigo Tongues catches up with one the most prolific filmmakers in the Nigerian Film industry, Tope Oshin in Lagos whilst on the set of shooting an episode of the soap Forbidden.

September 13, 2019

http://iyalodeproductions.com/indigo-tongues-features-tope-oshin/

Indigo Tongues features Lydia Forson 

Indigo Tongues catches up with Ghanaian screen Diva, Lydia Forson in Accra where we chat about her work and get a glimpse into her personal side.

August 7, 2018

http://iyalodeproductions.com/lydia-forson-on-indigo-tongues/

Mahen Bonetti on Indigo Tongues

Indigo Tongues features Mahen Bonetti originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa, is the Founder of The African Film Festival inc., producers of the New York African Film Festival, one of the largest film festivals dedicated to celebrating African cinema in the U.S.

March 10, 2015

http://iyalodeproductions.com/mahen-bonetti-on-indigo-tongues/

Indigo Tongues features Wanuri Kahiu

Award winning Kenyan Filmmaker, Wanuri Kahiu catches up with Indigo Tongues in Nairobi for a candid interview about working and living life as a filmmaker.

November 13, 2013

http://iyalodeproductions.com/wanuri-kahiu-on-indigo-tongues/

Also see link from the African Women in Cinema Blog:

Mojisola Sonoiki: The Women of Color Arts & Film Festival is "my destiny"

"Looking Back, Looking Forward: 20 Years of the New York African Film Festival" ed. Mahen Bonetti & Bea Leal Riesco

"Looking Back, Looking Forward: 20 Years of the New York African Film Festival" ed. Mahen Bonetti & Bea Leal Riesco

Publication is now on sale at africanfilmny.org

Source: africanfilmny.org

To commemorate twenty years of the New York African Film Festival, over thirty of the continent’s most vibrant cinematic voices reflect upon the reasons that led them to dedicate their lives to filmmaking and the new challenges and opportunities for African cinema in the future.

The filmmakers’ words reveal their own unique experiences and help us discover the richness and singularity of Africa’s cinematic history, illuminating new trends in contemporary African cinema and emphasizing the role of the African filmmaker as a cultural and political mediator in our highly interconnected world.

The directors’ insights are accompanied by detailed biographies and filmographies, as well as in-depth essays by filmmakers Férid Boughedir, Osvalde Lewat, and Femi Odugbemi, and renowned film programmer Richard Peña.

The publication also has been honored with a statement from distinguished filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako. Together, they create an intergenerational audiovisual map of the continent.

Featuring contributions from Ahmad Abdalla, Moussa Sène Absa, Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Faouzi Bensaïdi, Isabelle Boni-Claverie, Cheick Fantamady Camara, Yara Costa, Daouda Coulibaly, Yemane I. Demissie, Angèle Diabang, Andrew Dosunmu, Jihan El-Tahri, Taghreed Elsanhouri, Hawa Essuman, David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga, Alain Gomis, Wanjiru Kairu, Mama Keïta, Tunde Kelani, Judy Kibinge, Ekwa Msangi-Omari, Djo Tunda wa Munga, Jean Odoutan, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Xoliswa Sithole, Lonesome Solo, Charlie Vundla, and Zelalem Woldemariam.

Guest curator Mahen Bonetti. Shades of Love: Romance in Contemporary African Cinema | Les nuances de l'amour : la romance dans les cinémas africains contemporains

This film series, Shades of Love: Romance in Contemporary African Cinema at MFAH, is organized by The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas in collaboration with the Menil Collection and its exhibition The Progress of Love, on view December 2, 2012–March 17, 2013.

Guest film curator for the series is Mahen Bonetti, founder and director of the New York African Film Festival. “When thinking of Africa," she says, "the definition of love is vague or absent. The word love is always overshadowed by crisis—AIDS, drought, warfare. So when thinking of the continent of Africa, one does not think of the word love in relation to the emotions and tension that accompanies the concept. The films in this program cover passion, jealousy, revenge, yearning, scheming, intimacy, courtship, gallantry, sexual encounters—with a definite African flavour.”

Selection of Films

 

Restless City (2011) Andrew Dosunmu

A Love During the War (2005) Osvalde Lewat-Hallade

Awaiting for Men (2007) Katy Léna N’diaye

Love Brewed in an African Pot (1980) Kwaw Ansah

Faat Kiné (2001) Ousmane Sembène

Hyenas (1992) Djibril Diop Mambety

White Wedding (2009) Jann Turner

Sex, Okra and Salted Butter (2008) Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

Surrender (2000) Celine Gilbert

 

 

***

 

Les nuances de l'amour : la romance dans les cinémas africains contemporains

Cette série de films, Les nuances de l'amour : la romance dans les cinémas africains contemporains (Shades of Love: Romance in Contemporary African Cinema) organisée par The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston au Texas, en collaboration avec la collection Menil et son exposition, The Progress of Love (Le Progrès de l'amour) a lieu du 2 décembre 2012 au 17 mars 2013.

La curatice invitée de cette série, Mahen Bonetti, fondatrice et directrice du New York African Film Festival remarque que :

"En pensant à l'Afrique, la définition de l'amour est vague, voire absente. Le mot "amour" est éclipsé par "crise": le SIDA, la sécheresse, la guerre. Donc, en regardant le continent africain, on ne pense pas au mot "amour" par rapport aux émotions et la tension qui accompagne ce concept. Les films sélectionnés pour cette série en revanche reflètent la passion, la jalousie, la vengeance, le désir, les manigances, l'intimité, la cour, la galanterie, les rapports sexuels--avec une saveur africaine."

La séléction de films

 

Restless City (2011) Andrew Dosunmu

Un amour pendant la guerre (2005) Osvalde Lewat-Hallade

En attendant les hommes (2007) Katy Léna N’diaye

Love Brewed in an African Pot (1980) Kwaw Ansah

Faat Kiné (2001) Ousmane Sembène

Hyènes (1992) Djibril Diop Mambety

White Wedding (2009) Jann Turner

Sexe, gombo et beurre salé (2008) Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

Surrender (2000) Celine Gilbert
 

Mahen Bonetti: The New York African Film Festival

The New York-based African Film Festival (NYAFF) has become a staple of the city's cinematic landscape thanks to its founder and executive director, Sierra Leonean Mahen Bonetti. Founded with the support of her husband and important players on the New York City culture scene, NYAFF has become an institution in itself and is a groundbreaking network for the promotion, exhibition, and distribution of African cinema in the United States. As the NYAFF motto indicates "it is more than just a festival".

NYAFF as an idea emerged in the 1980s from Mahen's desire to show positive, diverse and realistic visual representation of Africa in the United States, in contrast to the dominant media images of misery and strife. While the festival concept had not yet formulated, she had already begun to look for a way to make a contribution towards correcting these misconceptions about Africa. As the film festival took shape in the 1990s its main objective was to use the medium of cinema to promote awareness about Africa and educate both Americans and Africans living in the United States. At the same time, it has always been committed to the development of an international audience for African films. The scope and scale of NYAFF expands to reflect the ever-changing realities of Africa and the African Diaspora, as well as new developments in African cinema practices.

And while in cinema one often finds a dominance of men, within NYAFF there is a high visibility of women in all spheres. Women have always played an integral role--from the very top of the small organization to the board of directors and advisory board, in the selection of films, and the articles and interviews in the impressive Through African Eyes publication series.

Mahen had this to say to my question during our interview: "As a woman, do you feel that you have a sensibility towards African women's works? Could you talk about the visual image of African women and the representation of African women in the film industry and also share your impressions on films by African women, the sensibility, themes, tendencies?" (From Sisters of the Screen: Women of African on Film, Video and Television, Beti Ellerson, 2000).

I think Africa is a woman and everything that is working in Africa is because women are behind it.  They also have a sensitivity and the rhythm.  Women are more three-dimensional, they are deeper, and in Africa, that complexity comes from a woman. I find that the subjects that the African women deal with are different from those of African-American women's films, much less Hollywood.  Here in the States, one doesn't expect to see things like polygamy, female genital mutilation, or women in Tanzania crushing stone.  You feel their passion, you feel their confusion, you share it with them. Safi Faye's film Mossane is a beautiful film; there you have three generations of women. I also felt lucky; she let me show it this year.  I love the relationship between the grandmother and the granddaughter.

No aspect of African cinema is more miraculous than the most unbidden emergence of female filmmakers on the continent.  What makes film the most immediate, the most direct of all art forms is its ability to transport, to place one instantaneously in someone else's situation.  Their films sometimes focus on the challenges of adjustment and this is why audiences can identify.  Whether they are depicting upheavals or celebrating life, they show "little people" trying to "do the right thing."
I believe the female African filmmaker has a defined perception of her world and because of this her films translate.  It can move from one language into others.  They have tenacity, resourcefulness, and buoyancy.  Their situation requires all these qualities.

I also believe that, in using the cinematic medium, we find that in their films, women are best able to recapture, help define the true essence of African culture and African people.  They address issues in a sense that are taken away from imposed colonial values or colonial distortions and point of view.

Link: African Film Festival, Inc.