« Sita Bella, la première » : Eugénie Metala dans les traces de Thérèse Sita-Bella | in the footsteps of Thérèse Sita-Bella

 Sita Bella, la première : Eugénie Metala dans les traces de Thérèse Sita-Bella | Eugénie Metala in the footsteps of Thérèse Sita-Bella

Eugénie Metala et Beti Ellerson en conversation | Eugénie Metala and Beti Ellerson in conversation.

Translation from French by Beti Ellerson. Images courtesy of Eugénie Metala.

Eugénie Metala dans les traces de Thérèse Sita-Bella: En tant que femme et camerounaise, dans le monde du cinéma—comme Sita-Bella plus de 60 ans avant elle et en tant que conteuse cinématographique, qui trace le chemin de cette femme énigmatique, Eugénie rétablit la mémoire d’une femme qui a fait une contribution indélébile au récit national du Cameroun.

Eugénie Metala in the footsteps of Thérèse Sita-Bella: As a Cameroonian woman in the world of cinema—as Sita-Bella more than 60 years before her, as a cinematic storyteller, who traces the path of this enigmatic woman, Eugénie restores the memory of a woman who has made an indelible contribution to the Cameroonian national story.

Beti Ellerson : Thérèse Sita Bella était une pionnière dans beaucoup de domaines, une pionnière en journalisme, la première femme africaine à réaliser un film—Tam Tam à Paris en 1963 ; aussi elle était pilote d’avion. Avant de discuter de l’évolution de votre film Sita Bella, la première, pouvez-vous nous parler de votre parcours, votre expérience dans le cinéma.

Eugénie Metala : Mon parcours dans le cinéma commence en 2020, après une formation professionnelle en montage audiovisuel, à ce moment je voulais travailler pour la télévision nationale, mais un de mes encadreurs qui travaillait aux Écrans Noirs me parlait beaucoup de cinéma, ça m’a intéressé et j’ai commencé à faire des recherches sur le cinéma, aller en salle et j’ai postulé aux ateliers Mwinda, un atelier en formation documentaire qui se déroulait dans la salle Sita Bella, dont j’entendais parler pour la première fois. En 2021 je réalise mon premier film L’autre match du football féminin, j’enchaine des formations en assistanat de réalisation fiction, dans le cadre du programme Impala, je monte trois films documentaires en 2022, je travaille sur la série Ewusu en 2023, et fin 2024, je réalise Sita Bella, la première dans le cadre du programme Patrimoines-Héritage.

Beti Ellerson: Thérèse Sita-Bella was a first in many fields. A trailblazing journalist, the first African woman to make a film—Tam Tam à Paris in 1963, she was a pilot as well. Before discussing the evolution of your film, Sita Bella, la première (Sita-Bella, the first), could you talk about how you came to cinema.

Eugénie Metala: My journey into cinema began in 2020, after professional training in audiovisual editing. At this time I wanted to work for the national television, but one of my coaches, who worked at Écrans Noirs  talked to me a great deal about cinema, which piqued my interest. I started doing research on cinema, going to the movie theater, and I enrolled in the Mwinda workshops for training in the documentary, which took place in the room Sita Bella—which I heard about for the first time. In 2021 I made my first film, L’autre match du football féminin. From there I trained in assistant film directing. In 2022, within the framework of the Impala program, I edited three documentary films. In 2023 I worked on the series Ewusu, and in 2024 I made the film Sita Bella, la première, as part of the Patrimoines-Héritage program.

***

BE : Pouvez-vous nous parler du documentaire Sita Bella, la première, Qu’est-ce qui vous a inspiré ?

EM : Sita Bella, la première est un film qui parle des paradoxes de la vie en s’appuyant sur le parcours atypique de Thérèse Bella Mbida, cette pionnière oubliée qui n’a pas eu la reconnaissance qui lui était due. Nous vivons dans un monde en perte constante de repère et nous avons besoin de références pour pouvoir avancer. L’histoire de Sita Bella c’est une histoire qui mérite d’être connue et racontée. On doit pouvoir être fier de vanter les mérites de celle qui nous a montré le chemin. En tant que femme cinéaste, je voulais poser un acte fort qui garde cette femme dans nos mémoires de manière à ce qu’elle ne meurt pas une deuxième fois.

BE: Could you talk about the documentary, Sita Bella, la première, what inspired you to approach this subject?

EM: Sita Bella, la première is a film that speaks about the paradoxes of life drawing from the atypical trajectory of Thérèse Bella Mbida, this forgotten pioneer, who did not receive the recognition that she deserved. We live in a world that is losing its bearings and we need references in order to move forward. Sita Bella’s story deserves to be known and told. We should be proud to celebrate the merits of the one who has shown us the way. As a woman cineaste, I wanted to make a powerful gesture which will hold this woman in our memories in such a way that she will not die a second time.

***

BE : Vous êtes femme, camerounaise travaillant dans le monde du cinéma, voyez-vous Sita Bella comme référence ? Comment est-elle perçue dans la culture cinématographique camerounaise, dans la société en général ?

EM : Sita est plus qu’une référence pour moi, on ne saurait parler de cinéma camerounais dans le monde aujourd’hui sans parler de Tam Tam à Paris bien qu’il n’ait pas été vu par beaucoup. Au Cameroun Sita Bella est un modèle de vie, qui a impacté divers domaines, les gens ont pour elle du respect, de l’admiration et quelques lointains souvenirs, dans la culture cinématographique une salle a été nommée à son nom et c’est parfois le principal moyen à travers lequel les cinéastes camerounais eux-mêmes apprennent qu’il y a eu une telle femme autrefois.

BE: You are a Cameroonian woman in cinema, do you see her as a role model? What are the perceptions of Sita Bella in Cameroonian cinema culture?

EM: Sita is more than a role model for me, one cannot speak of Cameroonian cinema in the world today without reference to Tam Tam à Paris, even though many people have not seen it.  In Cameroon, Sita Bella is a model of life, who made an impact in a variety of domains. People have much respect and admiration for her, and a few distant memories. A room in the movie theater at the cultural center is named after her, which is in many cases the primary means by which Cameroonian filmmakers themselves learn that there was once such a woman.

 ***

BE : Comment avez-vous rassemblé le matériel pour le film, quelle a été votre démarche ?

EM : J’ai participé à l’atelier Patrimoine Héritage organisé par le réalisateur et producteur par Jean Marie Teno, et la maison de production Bandjoun Film Studio a mis à ma disposition le matériel technique et une équipe technique qui m’a accompagné du tournage à la post production de mon film.

BE: How did you gather material for the film, what was your process?

 

EM: I participated in the Patrimoine-Heritage workshop organized by the filmmaker and producer Jean-Marie Teno, and the production company Bandjoun Film Studio provided me with the technical material and technical crew which accompanied me throughout the film shooting and post-production of my film.

***

BE : C’est quand même déroutant d’imaginer que la mémoire de cette femme pionnière soit tombée si profondément dans l’obscurité ? Bien sûr il y a une salle de cinéma à son nom, et peut être d’autres efforts pour lui rendre hommage. Ce film dédié à elle, espérons-le sera largement visionné. Est-il prévu de le présenter dans les festivals internationaux ?

EM : Le film suivra un plan de circulation que nous allons définir, qu’il s’agisse des projections dans des festivals sur le plan national et international. Avec les autres films de l’édition Patrimoines-heritage 2023 dont les thèmes tournent autour de la contribution des femmes dans les récits nationaux, des sorties en salles sont envisagées dans certains pays avec le soutien d’associations de luttes contre les violences faites aux femmes.

BE: It is certainly baffling to imagine that the memory of this groundbreaking woman fell so deeply into obscurity; yes, there is a cinema room named after her and perhaps other efforts to honor her. This film, that tells her story, will hopefully be viewed widely. Are there plans to present it at festivals internationally?

 

EM: The film will follow a trajectory that we are in the process of defining which entails national and international screenings. Along with the other films from the Patrimoine-Heritage 2023 edition, all of which are inspired by the theme around women’s contribution to the national story, we envision theatrical releases in certain countries with the support of associations whose mission is to end violence against women.

***

BE : Voyez-vous ce film comme un moyen de faire revivre, faire connaitre son héritage ?

EM : Oui, ce film est pour moi une façon de faire revivre Sita Bella, de la sortir du silence dans lequel elle a été jeté, de faire connaitre ses œuvres, ses rêves et ses espoirs, ses combats et la fierté dans laquelle cette femme très pieuse et très croyante a préféré finir. C’est une opportunité de monter que la femme peut être plurielle et exceptionnelle, emmener les femmes à rêver et à se dire que quelqu’un d’autre a commencé à mener les combats auxquelles elles font face aujourd’hui et qu’elles doivent, que nous devons continuer en nous inspirant du parcours de Sita.

BE: Do you see this film as a way to restore her legacy?

EM: Yes, for me the film is a means to revive Sita Bella, to bring her out of the silence in which she was thrown into, to make her work known, her dreams and hopes, her combats, and with the pride in which this woman, so pious and devout, would have wanted at the end of her life. It is an opportunity to demonstrate that women are multi-dimensional and exceptional, to bring women towards their dreams, to show them that someone else began the combat which they face today and, inspired by Sita’s journey, that women must, that we must continue. 

 

Remembering Thérèse Sita-Bella : Tam-Tam à Paris - Il y a 60 ans | Sixty years ago

Thérèse Sita-Bella

Tam-Tam à Paris, il y a 60 ans | Sixty years ago

Journalist André Pouya remembers his interview in 1989

Journaliste André Pouya se souvient de son interview in 1989

 

“Sita Bella, have you thought about writing a book?”, journalist André Pouya asks Thérèse Sita-Bella. She responds: “I continue to write at the present. I have some ideas, and it is never too late to write about them. If I do publish them, the purpose will be to inform and teach.  Remember that I am also a filmmaker. I have many scripts that are lying idle that I would love to bring to fruition. I plan to retire soon and filmmakers are ageless. This will be my way to leave a message…”

 

Journalist André Pouya remembers vividly his interview with Thérèse Sita-Bella at Fespaco in 1989. In homage to her and in recognition of the release of her film 60 years ago in 1963, journalist André Pouya recounts to Beti Ellerson his memories of this pioneer who left us in 2006. 

Young Burkinabe having just completed his doctorate entitled “Die Deutsche Welle : la Voix de l'Allemagne et ses auditeurs francophones d'Afrique (The Deutsche Welle: the voice of Germany and its listeners from francophone Africa)", he was eager to get the reflections of Thérèse Sita Bella on the role of journalism in Cameroon. During her time in the French capital among her media assignments she was correspondent for Deutsche Welle.

In the introduction to the 1989 interview, he outlines her journey: "Thèrése Sita Bella participated in the creation of La vie africaine, the first African journal in France, where she worked until 1964-1965. Afterwards, she spent six months at UNESCO [based in Paris] and also participated in the creation of many radio programs destined for listeners in Africa, including the African Service of the BBC in French, and Radio-Cologne, Germany. She was also correspondent for Voice of America, as well as the Radio Television Luxembourg, then the ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française), the French Radio. She returned to Cameroon in 1967, where she immediately began working at the Ministry of Information. Today she is chief deputy at the Department of Documentation." 

 

***

 

« Sita Bella, l'idée vous est-elle venue d'écrire un livre par exemple? » le journalist André Pouya demande à Thérèse Sita-Bella. Elle répond: « Pour le moment, je suis employée aux écritures. Les journalistes sont employés aux écritures. J'ai quelques idées. Il n'est jamais trop tard pour bien faire. Si j'écris un jour, ce sera dans un but didactique. Je suis en train d'écrire sur l’information et relations humaines. Je mets ce genre de choses en chantier. N'oubliez pas que je suis cinéaste. J'ai beaucoup de scénario qui chôment et que j'aimerais bien réaliser. Je vais prendre ma retraite d'ici quelque temps et les cinéastes n'ont pas d'âge. Ce sera ma manière de laisser un message... » 

 

Le journaliste André Pouya se souvient très bien de son entretien avec Thérèse Sita-Bella au Fespaco en 1989. En hommage à celle-ci et la sortie de son film Tam-Tam à Paris il y a 60 ans en 1963, il raconte à Beti Ellerson ses souvenirs de cette pionnière qui nous a quitté en 2006.

 

Jeune burkinabè venant de terminer son doctorat intitulé « Die Deutsche Welle : la Voix de l'Allemagne et ses auditeurs francophones d'Afrique », il avait hâte de connaître les pensées de Thérèse Sita Bella sur le rôle du journalisme au Cameroun. En effet, durant sa période parisienne, parmi ses nombreuses responsabilités dans les médias, elle était correspondante de Deutsche Welle.

 

Dans l’introduction de l'entretien de 1989, il esquisse son parcours: « Elle a participé à la création du premier journal africain en France qui avait pour titre La Vie Africaine, où elle a travaillé jusqu'en 1964-1965. Ensuite elle a été six mois à l'UNESCO et a également participé à la création de beaucoup d'émissions radiophoniques à destination de l'Afrique et notamment au service africain de la B.B.C., en français et de radio-Cologne, en R.F.A. Elle a été également correspondante de la Voix de l'Amérique, sans compter la Radio Télévision Luxembourg puis de l'O.R.T.F. Elle est rentrée au Cameroun, en 1967, aussitôt engagée au Ministère de l'Information. Aujourd'hui elle est chef de service adjoint de la Documentation. » 

 

En Français ci-après

 

My testimony

I met Thérèse Sita-Bella at the 11th Pan-African Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The major cultural event was held from February 25 to March 04, 1989. Among the festival-goers, the young journalist that I was, noticed an elegant lady, dressed all in white, wearing a hat. To my "bonjour, Madame!" she replied, with a smile, "bonjour, young man!". This reaction encouraged me to introduce myself, FESPACO badge in evidence. Five months earlier, I had returned from my studies to work for Sidwaya, a daily newspaper dedicated to informing and mobilizing the people. This word, in the Mooré language, one of the most widely spoken in the former Upper Volta, literally means "Truth has come". President Thomas Sankara and his comrades created it in 1984, in the spirit of the Great Revolution of October. Lenin, Stalin and their companions had founded the newspaper Pravda, or Truth, in Russian, on April 22, 1912. Reassured by her kindness and spontaneity, I took the conversation further. I congratulated her, gallantly, on her outfit, insisting on the quality of the hat. "You love Old French elegance", she teased, watching my reaction. Unmasked, so to speak, I confessed. We talked about dancing, too. I pointed out that her outfit was suitable for waltzing... I asked her for an interview. She agreed. We met the next day under a thatched-roof bungalow in a hotel popular with festival-goers. As elegant as ever, she willingly lent herself to my questions. She insisted on her three initial vocations, pilot, journalist and filmmaker. Thérèse’s to-do-list brimmed with projects: writing—in order to pass on the knowledge, she had accumulated, and film scripts.

 

I was saddened to learn of her death on February 27, 2006. She died destitute and alone, according to Cameroonian media. Those who admire and think back fondly of her go to pay their respects at her grave, at the Catholic cemetery in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé.

 

Mon témoignage

J’ai rencontré Thérèse Sita-Bella lors de la 11è édition du Festival panafricain de cinéma de Ouagadougou, au Burkina Faso. La grande manifestation culturelle se tenait du 25 février au 04 mars 1989. Parmi les festivaliers, le jeune journaliste que j’étais avait remarqué une dame élégante, vêtue tout en blanc, en chapeau. À mon « bonjour, Madame ! » elle avait répondu, avec le sourire, « bonjour, jeune homme ! ». Cette réaction m’avait encouragé à me présenter, badge FESPACO en évidence. Rentré des études, cinq mois plus tôt, j’officiais au quotidien d’information et de mobilisation du peuple, Sidwaya. Ce mot, en langue mooré, l’une des plus parlées dans l’ancienne Haute-Volta, signifie, littéralement, « La Vérité est venue ». Le président Thomas Sankara et ses camarades l’avaient créé, en 1984, dans l’esprit de la Grande Révolution d’octobre 1913. Lénine, Staline et leurs compagnons avaient institué le journal La Pravda, La Vérité, en russe, le 22 avril 1912. Rassuré par cette gentillesse et cette spontanéité, je poussai loin la conversation. Je la félicitai, galamment, pour sa tenue, insistai sur la qualité du chapeau. « Tu aimes l’élégance Vieille France », me taquina-t-elle, en surveillant ma réaction. Démasqué, pour ainsi dire, j’avouai. Nous parlâmes de danse, également. Je lui indiqué que sa tenue était adaptée à la valse… Je lui sollicitai une interview. Elle accepta. Rendez-vous, le lendemain, sous une paillote, dans un hôtel prisé par les festivaliers. Toujours aussi élégante, elle se prêta, de bonne grâce, à mes questions. Elle a insisté sur ses trois vocations de départ, pilote, journaliste et cinéaste. Thérèse grouillait de projets : écriture, afin de transmettre les connaissances qu’elle avait accumulées, et scenarii de films.

Avec tristesse, j’ai appris sa mort, le 27 février 2006. Elle est morte dans le dénuement et la solitude, selon les media camerounais. Les personnes qui l’admirent et qui l’affectionnent pourront toujours se recueillir sur sa tombe, au cimetière catholique de Yaoundé, la capitale du Cameroun.

 

 

 

African Women Journalists: Critical Engagements in African Cinemas

African Women Journalists: Critical Engagements in African Cinemas

Image: Poster of Mère-bi, a film by Ousmane William Mbaye

At the eve of African cinemas south of the Sahara, African women journalists have been at the forefront of film criticism and activism in the development of a cinema culture on the continent and the diaspora.

Senegalese Anne Mbaye d’Erneville studied journalism in Paris in the 1950s, returning to her country at the eve of independence to found a variety of cultural bodies among which include a cinema culture that has laid the foundation for contemporary cultural infrastructures. Her influences in cinema culture have spanned radio, print and television journalism and beyond. The emergence of the Dakar-based French-language women’s magazine, Awa, initially launched by Annette Mbaye d’Erneville in 1957 under the name Femmes de Soleil is an example of the early engagement of African women at the intersection of gender and culture. The first written works regarding African women in film were journalistic in nature, with photographs and short profiles of women television presenters and the first African actresses of the nascent African cinema. These reports published in 1966 and 1972 were included in the Senegal-based French-language women’s magazine Awa, la revue de la femme noire (1964-1973).

Moreover, Annette Mbaye d’Erneville was the director of RECIDAK, Rencontres cinématographiques de Dakar for many years. An annual film festival that she initiated in 1990 and with which she continues to have close ties. The 1996 edition of RECIDAK, Femmes et Cinéma (Women and Cinema) paid homage to African women. She was also a founding member of the Association Sénégalaise des Critiques de Cinéma (ASSECCI) created by filmmaker and critic Paulin Soumanou Vieyra and journalist Djib Diedhiou. Also one of the founders of the women’s movement in Senegal, Annette Mbaye d’Erneville’s pioneering feminist voice reverberates within diverse cultural milieux, notable cinema, where she has been a seminal figure in the development of the Senegalese public as cultural readers.

Cameroonian Thérèse Sita Bella (1933-2006), who held many functions as a journalist, is most widely known for Tam Tam à Paris, a 30-minute film that she directed in 1963; documenting the National Dance Company of Cameroon during its tour in the French capital. After the production of the film, while in France, Thérèse Sita Bella continued her work as journalist during which she participated in the creation of several African-focused cultural initiatives. She returned to Cameroon in 1967, working in various culture and cinema related positions.

Amina le magazine de la femme africaine et antillaise, also a French-language magazine, created in 1972, initially based in Dakar and later in Paris in 1975, has an early and present history of featuring profiles and interviews of filmmakers, actors, producers, stakeholders and other professionals in cinema. In its pages, Guinean editor-in-chief Assiatou Bah Diallo has played an important role in the promotion of women of the moving image.

Algerian Horria Saïhi is perhaps best known for her indefatigable work as journalist, reporter, and filmmaker against government censorship and religious fundamentalism. She was a 1995 laureate of the "Courage Award" presented by the International Women's Media Foundation.

Jihan El-Tahri worked for sometime as a journalist for many prominent news agencies but gradually found her interest in documentary filmmaking as a means to explore her subject more deeply. She had this to say about her move towards the documentary:
"I realized that as journalist we do not have the time to look into what is actually happening. We have deadlines everyday so you just skim the surface constantly and you don’t get to the bottom of what this is all about. And that is why I chose documentary.  Because documentary was about taking the time to look into a topic that is close to your heart and really looking at it in an angle that you choose. And doing the research and taking the time and formulating it in a way that is your own expression. Where as a journalist, there are so many constraints in terms of space, the number of words, when your editor wants it, who’s going to edit it back there. So this was not what I was looking for. What I was looking for was a mode of expression and that I obviously didn’t find in journalism."

 

Mauritanian journalist and director, 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. In 2021 she was named Mauritania coordinator by the Caucus of Pan African Journalists.

Throughout the continent a cohort of women are actively engaged in film journalism following the footsteps of these trailblazing women who have come before them. The African Women in Cinema Blog has featured several of these journalist activists:

Hortense Assaga created the magazine Cité Black Paris, hosts several cultural programs and regularly reports on cultural events for Africa 24 and Canal+ Afrique. Togolese film critic Sitou Ayité wears multiple hats as producer, scriptwriter and director. Amina Barakat from Morocco, navigates the local film culture scene as well as throughout the continent. Franco-Burkinabé Claire Diao traverses an array of transmedia networks: podcasts, audio-visual programming, itinerant film curation, and diverse print media. Cameroonian journalist Stéphanie Dongmo, blogger, president of the Cameroon chapter of CNA, Cinema Numerique Ambulant, the extensive network of mobile cinema in Africa and Europe, is also a novelist. Falila Gbadamassi, journalist, film critic and social media editor, informs and wants to be informed about Africa in particular. From Nollywood to Bollywood via Hollywood, she is both a film enthusiast and critic. She writes for Africiné Magazine (Dakar), among other media. France-based independent journalist Amanda Kabuiku collaborates with several publications. Belgo-Congolese Djia Mambu keeps a visible presence at the important network of African film festivals, Cannes and beyond. Similarly, Belgium-based filmmaker and journalist Wendy Bashi is a host of the programme Reflets Sud on TV5 Monde. Cameroonian journalist and film critic Pélagie Ng'onana is an editor at the Dakar-based Africiné Magazine and collaborates with the Yaoundé-based cultural revue Mosaïques. Originally working as journalist, Nadège Batou wanted to expand her audience beyond the community-based media, hence, acquiring the necessary training as director and producer. She is founder and director of the Festival des 7 Quartiers in Brazzaville. Similarly journalist-filmmaker Annette Kouamba Matondo of Congo-Brazzaville, is also an avid blogger, using social media to showcase local social activities and women’s initiatives. Domoina Ratsara from Madagascar is president of the Association des Critiques Cinématographiques de Madagascar (ACCM) which she co-founded in December 2018Senegalese Fatou Kiné Sene is general secretary of the Senegalese Film Critics Association. The goal of Senegalese Fatou Warkha, creator of the online television channel Warkha TV is to change attitudes and laws, giving a face and voice to everyone who has been forgotten by the authorities.

Report by Beti Ellerson
 

Following are articles published on the African Women in Cinema Blog by this growing cohort of journalists. (The post will be updated to include additional names and links).

Regarding Anne Mbye d'Erneville: https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2010/09/annette-mbaye-derneville-mere-bi.html

Regarding Thérèse Sita Bella: https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2010/10/foremothers-in-african-cinema-therese.html

Regarding Horria Saihi: https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2010/01/horria-saihi-portrait.html

Regarding Jihan El-Tahri: https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2010/11/tete-tete-with-jihan-el-tahri.html

 

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

 

Hortense Assaga
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/06/conference-du-pavillon-des-cinemas.html

Sitou Ayité
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2011/03/mis-me-binga-international-womens-film.html

Amina Barakat
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/12/asmae-el-moudir-filmmaking-has-been-my.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/09/report-on-6th-edition-of-international.html

 

Wendy Bashi
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/07/cinef-4-2018-cinema-au-feminin-kinshasa_83.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/07/clarisse-muvuba-cinef-women-who-dare-le.html

 

Nadège Batou
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2010/11/conversation-with-nadege-batou.html

Claire Diao
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2017/05/claire-diao-double-vague-le-nouveau.html
http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2016/04/claire-angele-nadia-pocas-rama-inen.html
http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2016/03/claire-diao-interview-bypar-stefania.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/09/examining-past-to-envision-future.html
http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-gang-of-what-bande-de-quoi-bypar.html

Stéphanie Dongmo
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/09/nadine-otsobogo-public-is-shy-about.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/09/examining-past-to-envision-future.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-cinema-of-women-from-francophone.html
http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/12/brigitte-rollet-african-women_20.html

Falila Gbadamassi
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/05/mati-diops-atlantique-in-foam-of.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/05/cannes-2019-maimouna-ndiaye-member-of.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/05/papicha-mounia-meddour-in-resistance.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/05/mati-diop-it-was-very-important-for-me.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/05/cannes-2018-sofia-byde-meryem-benmbarek.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/05/rafiki-to-our-forbidden-love-nos-amours.html

Amanda Kabuiku
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/05/gang-of-chicks-bande-de-meufs-analyse.html

Djia Mambu
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/05/djia-mambu-journalist-and-film-critic.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2016/08/djia-mambu-black-pourquoi-mavela-et-pas.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2016/04/djia-mambu-alices-diops-towards.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2016/02/djia-mambu-africine-meanwhile-theyre.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/10/djia-mambu-best-actress-award-for-much.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/01/and-what-film-editor-she-is-interview.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/01/interview-with-actress-prudence-maidou_29.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/10/remembering-khady-sylla-djia-mambu.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/04/femmes-de-cinema-cinema-de-femmes-women.html
 

Annette Kouamba Matondo
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/06/annette-kouamba-matondo-duty-of-memory.html

Pélagie Ng'onana
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2017/06/mis-me-binga-2017-womens-cinema.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/01/nejib-ayed-le-cinema-est-un-vrai-mur.html

Fatou Kiné Sene
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2013/03/mois-du-cinema-au-feminin-women-in.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/04/sur-la-rive-on-shore-byde-mariama-sy.html
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/11/mame-woury-thioubou-5-etoiles-un-recit.html

 

Domoina Ratsara

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2021/07/domoina-ratsara-malagasy-film-critic.html

 

Fatou Warkha
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/02/tv5monde-warkhatv-briser-le-silence-des.html
 

50 years ago Thérèse Sita-Bella directs "Tam Tam à Paris"

Thérèse Sita-Bella entered the world of cinema even before most of the filmmakers that are recognized today as pioneers. Trailblazing journalist from Cameroon, she made Tam Tam à Paris in 1963. The 30-minute film documented the National Dance Company of Cameroon during its tour in Paris.

It was featured at the first FESPACO in 1969, alongside the films of Mustapha Alassane (Niger), Oumarou Ganda (Niger), Urbain N'Dia (Cameroun), Serge Ricci-Sékou-Ouédraogo (Burkina Faso), Ababacar Samb (Senegal), Ousmane Sembene (Senegal), Momar Thiam (Senegal), Paulin Vieyra (Senegal).(1)

Thérèse Sita-Bella had a long, productive career in radio and print journalism.  During a 1989 interview(2) she indicated that she had many scripts that she would like to put to film and, upon her retirement, hoped to be able to do so. But she left us in February 2006, forgotten and virtually unknown in her own country.(3) Thus, as we recognize her accomplishments at conferences and in articles about women in the history of African cinema, it must also be emphasized that African cultural producers must struggle nonetheless to produce and work. And now with the increased interest in Africa’s pioneers in cinema, one must ask how this groundbreaking journalist, cineaste, pilot, descended so deeply into obscurity, having defied her own assessment of her place as a filmmaker, asserting: "you know cinema is not a woman's business".(4)

(1) Hamidou Ouédraogo. Naissance et évolution du Fespaco de 1969 à 1973. Ouagadougou : Impressions, 1995.

(2) Interview by André-Marie Pouya. Amina, 233 September 1989.
(3) Jean François Channon. La grande Sita Bella est morte. 28.06.2006. Republished from Le Messager.

(4) Cited in "l'Afrique filmée par des femmes" by Elisabeth Lequeret, Le monde diplomatique, August 1998. 

Image: Wikipedia

A longer version published in the African Women in Cinema Blog: Foremothers in African Cinema: Thérèse Sita-Bella

EN FRANÇAIS

Il y a 50 ans Thérèse Sita-Bella réalise « Tam Tam à Paris »

Thérèse Sita-Bella est entrée dans le monde du cinéma avant même la plupart des cinéastes d'Afrique reconnu(e)s aujourd'hui comme pionnier(ère)s. Journaliste camerounaise, elle a défriché le terrain en réalisant Tam Tam à Paris en 1963, un film sur la compagnie Nationale de danse du Cameroun en tournée à Paris.

Sélectionné au premier Fespaco en 1969, le court métrage de 30 minutes a été présenté avec des films de Mustapha Alassane (Niger), Oumarou Ganda (Niger), Urbain N'Dia (Cameroun), Serge Ricci-Sékou-Ouédraogo (Burkina Faso), Ababacar Samb (Sénégal), Ousmane Sembene (Sénégal), Momar Thiam (Sénégal), Paulin Vieyra (Sénégal).(1)

Thérèse Sita-Bella a eu une carrière longue et productive à la radio et la presse écrite. Pendant une interview en 1989, elle parlait de son désir de reprendre la caméra : « J'ai beaucoup de scénario qui chôment et que j'aimerais bien réaliser. Je vais prendre ma retraite d'ici quelque temps et les cinéastes n'ont pas d'âge. Ce sera ma manière de laisser un message. »(2) Mais elle nous a quitté en janvier 2006, oubliée et presque inconnue dans son propre pays.(3) Donc lorsqu'on célèbre sa contribution dans les conférences et les articles sur les pionnier(ère)s du cinéma africain, il faut préciser aussi que les professionnel(le)s de la culture africaine doivent se battre dans leur travail et peiner pour créer. Avec de plus en plus d'intérêt sur les pionnier(ère)s d'Afrique, on doit se demander comment ce fait-il que cette première dans tant de domaine : journaliste, cinéaste, pilote, se trouve dans les oubliettes, défiant sa propre notion de la place des réalisatrices : « vous savez, le cinéma n’est pas une affaire de femmes. »(4)

(1) Hamidou Ouédraogo. Naissance et évolution du Fespaco de 1969 à 1973. Ouagadougou : Impressions, 1995.

(2) Propos recueillis par André-Marie Pouya. Amina 233 septembre 1989.
(3) Jean François Channon. La grande Sita Bella est morte. 28.06.2006. Le Messager, republié de Messager.

(4) Cité dans « l'Afrique filmée par des femmes » par Elisabeth Lequeret, Le monde diplomatique, août 1998.

Image: Wikipédia

IN ENGLISH

Foremothers in African Cinema: Thérèse Sita-Bella (1933-2006)

Foremother in African Cinema: Thérèse Sita-Bella

by Beti Ellerson

Thérèse Sita-Bella (1933-2006) entered the world of cinema even before most of the filmmakers that are recognized today as pioneers. Trailblazing journalist from Cameroon, she made Tam Tam à Paris in 1963.  The 30-minute film documented the National Dance Company of Cameroon during its tour in Paris.  It was featured at the first FESPACO in 1969, alongside the films of Mustapha Alassane (Niger), Ousmane Sembene (Senegal), Ababacar Samb (Senegal), Urbain N'Dia (Cameroon), Paulin Vieyra (Senegal), and Momar Thiam (Senegal).

According to a short biography by Andre Pouya, published in the French-language Amina Magazine in 1989, after producing the film, Thérèse Sita Bella worked in France from 1964 to 1965 during which she participated in the creation of the first African journal in France La vie africaine. Afterwards, while still in Paris she spent time at UNESCO, as well as participating in the creation of several French-language radio programs for African listeners for both BBC and Radio-Cologne. She was also correspondent for Voice of America, and the Radio Television Luxembourg, then known as the ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française), the French Radio. In 1967, she returned to Cameroon where she began working at the Ministry of Information and later as chief deputy at the Department of Documentation, followed by a stint at the Department of Cinematography. In the 1990s she founded the short-lived magazine entitled “Stars” focusing on culture and show business.

Thérèse Sita Bella had a long, productive career in radio and print journalism; during her interview with André Pouya , she stated: I continue to write at the present. I have some ideas, and it is never too late to write about them. If I do publish them, the purpose will be to inform and teach. Remember that I am also a filmmaker. I have many scripts that are lying idle that I would love to bring to fruition. I plan to retire soon and filmmakers are ageless. This will be my way to leave a message… And yet, she never made another film. According to the obituary by Jean François Channon, in February 2006 at 73 years old, she died, forgotten and virtually unknown in her own country.

Thus, as we recognize her accomplishments at conferences, in blogs and articles about women in the history of African cinema, it must also be emphasized that African cultural producers must struggle nonetheless to produce and work. And now with the increased interest in Africa’s pioneers in cinema, one may ask how this groundbreaking journalist, cineaste, pilot, descended so deeply into obscurity, having defied her own assessment of her place as a filmmaker, asserting: “you know cinema is not a woman's business".

Translation from French by Beti Ellerson of an interview by André -Marie Pouya. Amina Magazine #233, September 1989.

Version originale en français ci-après.

Thèrése Sita Bella participated in the creation of La vie africaine, the first African journal in France, where she worked until 1964-1965. Afterwards, she spent six months at UNESCO [based in Paris] and also participated in the creation of many radio programs destined for listeners in Africa, including the African Service of the BBC in French, and Radio-Cologne, Germany. She was also correspondent for Voice of America, as well as the Radio Television Luxembourg, then the ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française), the French Radio. She returned to Cameroon in 1967, where she immediately began working at the Ministry of Information. Today she is chief deputy at the Department of Documentation.

What are your thoughts on the evolution of the press in Africa?

The press in Africa is experiencing enormous difficulty. The private press needs a lot of advertising capital. As advertisers are often the target of these articles, journalists are not able to present burning issues. If you published an article opposing alcohol or tobacco, companies engaged in these businesses are reluctant to give you their advertising market.

We are now on the verge of a kind of journalistic prostitution...Political problems should be taken into account. Initially, the press was very limited in expression. Since the election of President Paul Biya, power is a bit more balanced. Leaving a little more freedom of expression to the so-called official press. Curiously in the official press, the radio and television, we read and hear things that the private press would not have dared mention in the past. We are witnessing the democratization of the press. We see an evolution both in form and in substance. The content is much more interesting, since people can say freely what they think.

Obviously, there is self-censorship. Journalists are not going to say and write things that would cause their articles to be censored. For example, they are not going to endanger state security. With the arrival of the national television, we are experiencing an upsurge in media expression.

Do Camaroonians politically support the press?

Everyone knows that when a major newspaper is censored it arouses curiosity. People want to know why there is censorship. When a newspaper is seized, people always find a way to get hold of it. The shrewd ones operate similarly to sell foreign newspapers that have been seized.

I think the majority of the population in Cameroon support Paul Biya, because they hope he will bring improvement with change. Democratization is already a reality. This is evident in recent local and parliamentary elections and even during the presidential elections. It turns out that people living in different regions work together on the same newspaper, though there are heated debates in the newsroom. The consensus that emerges gives some credibility to the press. It is a kind of internal democracy.

Has the upsurge of the press diminished the power and appeal of the “sidewalk radio”?

Not at all. To the contrary, in most of the private newspapers there is always a section dedicated to the “sidewalk radio”: “I heard that…”, “the President said that…”, “the sorcerer predicts that…”

We try to tell the story in the manner of La Fontaine, portraying political figures by changing their names a bit. We also simulate people chatting in a bar. Each saying: "I heard that...” Information believed to be confidential or top secret by the powers to be is filtered into the story.

Sita Bella, have you thought about writing a book?

I continue to write at the present. I have some ideas, and it is never too late to write about them. If I do publish them, the purpose will be to inform and teach.  Remember that I am also a filmmaker. I have many scripts that are lying idle that I would love to bring to fruition. I plan to retire soon and filmmakers are ageless. This will be my way to leave a message…

Propos recueillis par: 

André Marie Pouya

Amina #233 Septembre 1989

Elle participé à la création du première journal africain en France qui avait pour titre La Vie Africaine, où elle a travaillé jusqu'en 1964-1965. Ensuite elle a été six mois à l'UNESCO et a également participé à la création de beaucoup d'émissions radiophoniques à destination de l'Afrique et notamment au service africain de la B.B.C., en français et de radio-Cologne, en R.F.A. Elle a été également correspondante de la Voix de l'Amérique, sans compter la Radio Télévision Luxembourg puis de l'O.R.T.F. Elle est rentrée au Cameroun, en 1967, aussitôt engagée au Ministère de l'Information. Aujourd'hui elle est chef de service adjoint de la Documentation.

Quel jugement portez-vous sur l'évolution de la presse en Afrique?

La presse, en Afrique, connaît une énorme difficulté. La presse privée a besoin de beaucoup d'apport de la publicité. Comme les annonceurs sont souvent la cible des articles de presse, les journalistes éprouvent de la difficulté à aller au fond des choses. Si vous faites paraître un article contre l'alcool ou contre le tabac, les entreprises dont c'est l'activité rechignent à vous accorder leur marché, de publicité. Vous êtes alors à la limite de la prostitution... Les problèmes politiques sont à prendre en compte. Au départ, la presse était très limitée dans l'expression. Depuis l'avènement du président Paul Biya, le pouvoir a lâché un peu de lest. On laisse un peu plus de liberté d'expression à la presse dite officielle. Curieusement dans la presse officielle, la radio et la télévision, nous lisons, nous entendons des choses qu'elle-même la presse privée n'aurait pas osé évoquer par le passé. Nous assistons à la démocratisation de la presse. Nous voyons une évolution, tant dans la forme que dans le fond. Le contenu est beaucoup plus intéressant, dans la mesure où les gens peuvent dire, librement ce qu'ils pensent. Evidemment, ils s'autocensurent et ne vont pas jusqu'à dire et écrire des choses qui entrainaient une censure de leurs articles. Par exemple, ils ne vont pas attenter à la sûreté de l'état. Avec l'arrivée de notre télévision, nous vivons une explosion de l'expression médiatique.

Les citoyens camerounais soutiennent-ils politiquement la presse?

Tout le monde sait que c'est quand un grand journal est censuré qu'il éveille la curiosité. Les gens veulent savoir le pourquoi de la censure. Quand un journal est saisi, les gens trouvent toujours le moyen de se le procurer, sous le manteau. Les petits malins opèrent pareillement pour écouler les journaux étrangers qui ont été saisis. Je crois que la majorité de la population, au Cameroun, soutient Paul Biya, parce qu'elle espère qu'il va apporter un mieux dans le changement. La démocratisation est déjà une réalité. Nous l'avons vu lors des dernières élections municipales et législatives et même lors des présidentielles. Il se trouve qu'à l'intérieur d'un même journal cohabitent des ressortissants de régions différentes, il y a un débat houleux au sein même des rédactions. Le consensus qui se dégage donne une certaine crédibilité à la presse. C'est une sorte de démocratie interne aux journaux.

L'éclosion de la presse a-t-elle diminué la force et l'attrait de Radio-Trottoir? 

Pas du tout. Au contraire, dans la plupart de ces journaux privés, vous aurez toujours une page réservée à Radio-Trottoir: «On dit que...», «Le Chef a dit que...», «Le sorcier a prédit que ...».

On essaie de raconter l'histoire à la manière de La Fontaine. On met en scène des personnalités politiques, en changeant un peu les noms. On simule aussi les gens qui bavardent dans un bar. Chacun dit: «Moi, j'ai entendu que ... ». On y délivre ce qui a filtré de ce que certains responsables croient détenir comme confidentiel ou très secret.

Sita Bella, l'idée vous est-elle venue d'écrire un livre par exemple?

Pour le moment, je suis employée aux écritures. Les journalistes sont employés aux écritures. J'ai quelques idées. Il n'est jamais trop tard pour bien faire. Si j'écris un jour, ce sera dans un but didactique. Je suis en train d'écrire sur l’information et relations humaines. Je mets ce genre de choses en chantier. N'oubliez pas que je suis cinéaste. J'ai beaucoup de scénario qui chôment et que j'aimerais bien réaliser. Je vais prendre ma retraite d'ici quelque temps et les cinéastes n'ont pas d'âge. Ce sera ma manière de laisser un message...