Mauritanian Women in Cinema, Visual Media and Screen Culture

Mauritanian Women

in Cinema, Visual Media

and Screen Culture

What prompted me to act was the courage and dedication of these brave women, who have children to feed and educate, and the elder to care for. And despite all of this, they work hard to meet the multiple needs of all these people. While at the same time, most of them are either divorced or married to men looking for work. [These women are extraordinary]… I wanted to show their role in the successful execution of family and society, because everything revolves around them. I wanted others to know about them and to support them--Mariem mint Beyrouk*

Mauritanian filmmaker Mariem mint Beyrouk, considered a pioneer in the field of visual media in her country, received her training in France, Tunisia and Syria after which she joined the newly created Mauritanian television (TVM) in 1982. She founded the Association of Mauritanian Women of the Image in 2009, which brings together women in technical and artistic fields in the visual media. Several initiatives have been dedicated to showcasing women’s works, such as “Femmes et Cinéma en Mauritanie” (Women and Cinema in Mauritania) an event held in Nouakchott in 2011, highlighting films that focus on politics, the environment and social development. One of the main objectives of the Association is to raise women’s consciousness through the visual media, about health issues, women in general, mother-infant health, the excision of girls, marriage of adolescent girls, among other issues.

Mai Mustafa Ekhou, born in Nouakchott, has worked as a photographer since 2011 and has contributed to international and Arab competitions and exhibitions. She entered the world of filmmaking in 2012 and worked as an actress, assistant director, director and independent director films.

Amal Saadbouh, who began directing in 2017, has won the best film award for two consecutive years at the 2017 and 2018 Nouakchott International Film Festival. Her work has also been presented internationally. Moreover, she is a member of the Union mauritanienne des jeunes cinéastes (Mauritanian Union of Young Filmmakers) and l'Académie El Mahrousa des médias (the El Mahrousa Academy of Media).

As Meya Moustapha was recognized for her creativity by the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, for her film in progress "Lem Yentehi Baad", the Egyptian minister highlighted the importance in recognizing young African talent as an example of the capabilities that the continent holds.

Hence, echoing the vision of Mariem mint Beyrou, to show the empowering role that African women hold for society, the continent, and the world.

Report by Beti Ellerson

Following are articles published in the African Women in Cinema Blog:

Mai Mustafa Ekhou : It's not over yet 

http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/05/recent-films-mai-mustafa-ekhou-its-not.html

Sewdetou (Sada) : Amal Saadbouh 

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/02/festival-films-femmes-afrique-2020-amal.html

The First Box by/de Mai Mustafa Ekhou (Mauritania | Mauritanie)

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2017/03/luxor-african-film-festival-2017-first.html

Mariem mint Beyrouk: Mauritanian Women in Cinema

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2011/08/mariem-mint-beyrouk-mauritanian-women.html

*Source: tv5monde

RECENT FILMS - Mai Mustafa Ekhou : It's not over yet (Mauritania)

Mai Mustafa Ekhou

Mauritania

It's not over yet (2019)

7 min - Fiction 

Description

"Hell is the others," Sartre says. In a mental hospital in a country, a doctor tests the relationship of two patients with the outside world and their mental health.

Bio

Mai Mustafa Ekhou Mauritanian was born in 1987 in Nouakchott She has worked as a photographer since 2011 and has contributed to international and Arab competitions and exhibitions She entered the world of filmmaking in 2012 and worked as an actress, assistant director, director and independent director films The End- Ishtar and Isis-The First Box- Bells-It's Not Over Yet my film Ishtar and Isis won the jury award for the 2014 Nouakchott International Film Festival And received a mention at the Arab International Film Festival in Gabes 2016 my first film won the Jury Prize Nouakchott International Film Festival 2017 my film Ajras won the Jury Prize Nouakchott International Film Festival 2018 my first film won the prize of the first place in the short films contest Arab Youth Creativity Festival - Cairo 2019. 

Festival Films Femmes Afrique 2020 - Amal Saadbouh: Sewdetou (Sada)

Films Femmes Afrique

Amal Saadbouh

Sewdetou (Sada)

Mauritania - 2019 - 10 min - Fiction

Courts-métrages en compétition |

Short films in competition 

Synopsis

Une fille soumise à la violence verbale et physique de l'esclavage trouve sa liberté dans la poésie de la nuit.

A girl subjected to the verbal and physical violence of slavery finds her freedom in the poetry of the night.

Biographie | Biography

Amal Saadbouh a commencé à la réalisation en 2017, elle a remporté le prix du meilleur film pendant deux années consécutives au Festival international du film de Nouakchott 2017 et 2018. Elle a également eu des contributions internationales. Elle est membre de l'union mauritanienne des jeunes cinéastes et de l'Académie El Mahrousa des médias.

Amal Saadbouh, who began directing in 2017, has won the best film award for two consecutive years at the 2017 and 2018 Nouakchott International Film Festival. Her work has also been presented internationally. Moreover, she is a member of the Union mauritanienne des jeunes cinéastes (Mauritanian Union of Young Filmmakers) and l'Académie El Mahrousa des médias (the El Mahrousa Academy of Media).

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

Luxor African Film Festival 2017: The First Box by/de Mai Mustafa Ekhou (Mauritania | Mauritanie)

Luxor African Film Festival 2017

The First Box

by/de Mai Mustafa Ekhou
(Mauritania | Mauritanie)

Women at the 6th Edition |

Les femmes à la 6e édition

SHORT FILM | COURT METRAGE

Synopsis: The First Box (2016) 

[English]

The film revolves within a philosophical mould in 

which a woman somewhere in this world fights to be freed from intellectual slavery.

[Français]

Le film pivote dans un moule philosophique dans lequel une femme quelque part dans ce monde se bat pour être libéré de l'esclavage intellectuel.

Rama Thiaw talks about the "making of" her film "The revolution won’t be televised"

Rama Thiaw talks about the "making of" her film "The revolution won’t be televised"

A conversation with Rama Thiaw and Beti Ellerson, May 2013.

EN FRANÇAIS

Rama Thiaw, born in Nouakchott, Mauritania, is author, director and producer at Boul Fallé Images, a Senegalese film production company. Mauritanian and Senegalese, she grew up between Senegal and France. After obtaining a Master's degree in International Economics at the Sorbonne, she gravitated towards cinema receiving a diploma in filmmaking at the University of Paris 8 and after, a Master's at the University of Paris 3 at Censier Daubenton.

Rama, you are in the middle of the production of the film titled, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" which appears to be inspired by the late Gil Scott-Héron. What motivated you to make this film?

The film "The revolution won’t be televised" is in fact a tribute to Gil Scott-Heron. In the note of intention of my film, I give the reasons that motivated me to make the film as follows:

"Far from the images that journalist present in the media, in my documentary, "the revolution will not be televised", I want to film them as they are, Romantic beings. In their 'Actions' as activists in the service of the People, and in their 'Dreams' as they return to the stage as poets-musicians."

"In the 1980s, Senegal was dominated by an unnamed dictatorship. The man who stood against this system, Maître Abdoulaye Wade, decided to establish political liberalism. However, after he was elected, this hero quickly became worse than his predecessors.

My film begins on January 17, 2012, at the end of the Senegalese legislative campaign—12 years after the presidential election of Maître Abdoulaye Wade.

During this same period, Thiat and Kilifeu, members of the Keur Gui Band, decided to take action where the socialist opposition failed to do so. They mobilised and created with other friends--musicians, artists and journalists, a peaceful and apolitical group called ‘Y'en a marre’ (We’re fed up).

They organised marches and demonstrations to ensure that the Constitutional Council would revoke the candidacy of the outgoing president. The mobilisation was unprecedented. The recently-roused opposition joined the young artists of ‘Y'en a marre’. United under the banner of the M23, they stood up to the former man of law who tried to usurp the democracy of 10 million Senegalese.

In this atmosphere of revolution, using direct cinema, I filmed Thiat and Kilifeu, the two protagonists of this citizen uprising. But President Wade did not want an African Spring to happen in Sub-Sahara Africa. The rebellion had to be stopped before it spread. Between threats and intimidation, in and out of prison, and bribery attempts, I followed these two musicians in their daily lives. Through interviews facing the camera, they shared with us their feelings about their commitment and their sudden media attention, but also their doubts after the arrests. Far from highlighting only these moments, I wanted to understand the origins behind their behaviour, which is why I decided to give an intimate portrayal as well. Throughout the first part of the movie, I show how one lives a revolution from day to day, with all the dangers, uncertainties and joys it brings."

You are using a crowd-funding strategy at Kisskissbank, why this choice?

In fact, the crowd-funding idea is two-fold. One, it is to talk about the film in order to get an opportunity to find a distributor and to get visibility in the theatres. And as I am also a producer, I went into debt to do the first 8-week shoot with a 6-person crew in addition to myself. Initially I intended to do fundraising on a US platform but I don't live in the United States so I couldn't. It is also for this reason that we have an English-language version because I think that this film would interest an Anglo-Saxon public more so than a French one. Because these themes are rather far from the audience in France, and besides, events that take place in Senegal get very little media attention. Therefore, there is still a long way to go, since I must go back to shoot the second part before editing the film.

Texte Source : The Revolution won't be televised

Image Source : The Revolution won't be televised

EN FRANÇAIS

Links

Berlinale 2016: The Revolution won't be televised by/de Rama Thiaw

Rama Thiaw, A Young Filmmaker in the Struggle

Mariem mint Beyrouk: Mauritanian Women in Cinema

©Mariem mint Beyrouk

Mauritanian filmmaker Mariem mint Beyrouk, speaks about cinema in Mauritania, the Association of Mauritanian Women of the Image, and her work as cineaste.

Mariem please begin by talking a bit about yourself.

My name is Mariem mint Beyrouk, I am a director and cineaste from Mauritania. In 1983, I joined the newly created Mauritanian television (TVM) after my first training internship in France at FR3 in Bordeaux and at TDF in Paris. Later I studied at the CAPJS (African center for advanced training of journalist and communicators) in Tunis and the training center of ASBU (Arab States Broadcasting Unit) in Damas. While there, I attended workshops facilitated by French, Arab and Belgian instructors.

I like my work very much, which I consider to be the greatest profession in the world. I direct several political and cultural programs at the TVM where I am head of a rather important unit.

I am also president of the Association of Mauritanian Women of the Image, which brings together female directors, camerapersons, script supervisors, etc.

Is there a cinema culture in Mauritania?

Cinema did exist in Mauritania along with several cinema houses, and people went regularly to the movie theater. However, at the beginning of the 1980s, with the emergence of television in Mauritania, it started to diminish until it disappeared. Cinema houses closed, replaced by video and television.

Television viewing is a favorite pastime due to satellite and information technology. However, in the last several years La Maison des Cinéastes (The House of Filmmakers) was created, which has given a new momentum to cinema. In addition, it organizes an annual festival.

You direct several programs at the Mauritanian Television, what are some of the themes and programs and their reception by viewers?

Yes, my television programs are well received. In fact, according to a TV poll, Kelimat we anguam, a cultural program, and Eraey etebi a program about health, received first-place rankings.

In 2007 I participated in the series “Femmes Battantes 2” (Women Go-getters 2) co-produced by CIRTEF and the TV Suisse Romande, which entailed scriptwriting and set viewing at the CIRTEF centre in Niger, and editing in Cameroon.

And your films?

My films have been well received by the public, especially Les chercheuses de pierres/Women in search of stones (2008), which won a prize at the Taille XL Festival in Brussels. It was an honor for me and for my country, as it was the first time that a Mauritanian television director brought home a prize from outside of Mauritania. Chercheuses de pierres is about a group of women who make jewelry and artwork from stone, for which they must travel alone in the desert to collect—a journey which may take several weeks.

The Association of Mauritanian Women of the Image is a very important organization! How many women are involved in it? What are its activities?

Our objective is to raise women’s consciousness about health issues, women in general, mother-infant health, the excision of girls, marriage of adolescent girls, etc.

During the last few years, women have begun to show interest in filmmaking because there was a tendency to only pursue journalism. The Association of Mauritanian Women of the Image is comprised of all the women working in technical and artistic fields at the TVM. The Association has more than one hundred women and most recently, young directors formed by La Maison des Cinéastes have joined. We have considered organizing festivals and meetings with our female counterparts throughout the continent but we do not yet have the means to do so.

Works in progress, future projects?

As for the future, I have many projects, including a documentary on the Imraguens, a Mauritanian fishing community who live on the northern coast. Among the fishing activities is the preparation of the fish, done by the women.

Interview and translation from French to English by Beti Ellerson, August 2011.

Version française