Mariama Hima : Trailblazer and pioneer of cinema of Niger

Mariama Hima : Trailblazer and pioneer of cinema of Niger

"Cinema has given us the possibility of putting ourselves in the picture, seeing ourselves in these images."1

Mariama Hima, cultural worker par excellence: cineaste, anthropologist, ethno-linguist,  has held positions as museum conservationist at the National Museum of Niger, National Director of Culture and Niger ambassador to France. She filmed her doctoral research under the direction of Jean Rouch and has long been interested in environmental issues and recycling, recurrent topics of her films: Baabu Banza (Nothing is thrown away), 1984; Falaw (Aluminum), 1985; Toukou (Barrel), 1986; Katako (Boards), 1987; Hadiza and Kalia, 1994. She has also written a book of proverbs, Sagesse africaine, 1998.

Summarizing her filmed research, Baabu Banza (Nothing is thrown away) she states: “Through a series of films, I attempt to address a subject that affects many Third World countries, particularly those of the Sahel. The phenomenon of recycling makes us witness to the birth of an ingenuity generated by necessities of all types. With the overabundant surplus from the West at its disposal the creative genius of these recycle scavengers, is brought forth. So I did not hesitate to plunge my camera into the garbage bins of the city of Niamey, passing through the storied market of Bukoki where everything is bought, sold, recovered, and transformed. I saw a tire turn into a sandal; a tire which, in industrialized countries, is rescued, recycled or quite simply destroyed. In Bukoki it is given a thousand and one faces. Therefore it is not surprising to see a Coca Cola can transformed into a pot, or a metal barrel into a trunk.”

1. Symbolic Narratives/African Cinema: Audiences, Theory and the Moving Image. edit by June Givanni London: BFI, 2000.

Profile: Aïssatou Adamou (Niger)

Profile: Aïssatou Adamou (Niger)

Excerpts from the interview held during the Vues d'Afrique Festival in April 1997, Montreal, Quebec by Beti Ellerson. Translated from French. Published in Sisters of the Screen: Women of African in Film, Video and Television, 2000. Sisters of the Screen: African Women in Cinema, film released in 2002.

About Aïssatou Adamou

The National Television of Niger was established in 1978, as an educational television.  At the time, only experimental programs were shown. I was the first woman to work as television announcer.  I had many problems at the beginning, because a woman presented on television speaking to the public was not highly regarded. Initially, the public was critical of my public image on television.  However, this did not discourage me, because I had the encouragement of my parents and friends to persevere.  Gradually, people realized that women could work in the television industry just as well as men. They realized that there is no difference. Because of this gradual change in attitude, as the years passed, more women became interested in television. More schools are directing their students, both women and men, to the Institut de formation au technique de l'information et la communication, the professional school here in Niger.  Today there are women directors and journalists—not one, not two, nor three, but we are, in fact, quite numerous.

I address diverse themes.  I deal with ethnographic themes with a cultural context, such as the film Gossi that was screened here in Montreal.  I also address social themes such as pre- and post-natal health issues regarding women and children.  Women in the process of national development is a general theme on which there is a great deal of focus.  This includes women from both rural and urban sectors.  I also touch on issues concerning children, because it is necessary to focus on children.  An example would be the education of the young girl, which is a prevailing theme today.

The role she wants to play as a woman in the media

I am a woman, I am a mother, I am a wife, and I work in the media. So one of the roles that I have to take on is to transmit my knowledge to my sisters who perhaps have not had the chance to go to school. The fact that I work in television is in no way an impediment, in terms of the role that I have to play in my household. I have my work to do on the public level and I have a role to fulfill regarding my husband and my children. I am able to combine them without a problem.  I am most happy to say that I have children who are very understanding, and I also have a husband who encourages me.  If I am here today in Montreal, it is because of my husband. He encouraged me to come; he insisted that I must come.

As a woman do you bring something particular to your work in film and television?

Yes, absolutely. I think women are in a better position than men to speak about the problems of women. Women are in a better position than men to speak about how to care for a sick child.  As mother and communicator, I think that I have the better advantage to go in the direction of my sisters, without any difficulty. Reciprocally, my sisters also encourage me. They encourage us during the production of each program, often by letter, often by telephone calls, and just as often at work or at home. They come to tell me that the treatment of a certain subject was well presented.  They encourage us to continue the good work. I think that women are the only ones who can truly touch their sisters; because there are certain things that a woman cannot talk about to a man, such as the problems around polygamy. A man may perceive it in a certain way, while a woman, as woman, perceives it in her way.  We as women can present themes without the problem of vexing either men or women.

What is the position of women in other sectors of society in Niger?

My country is a democratic country. In terms of raising the consciousness of women and sensitizing the population about the conditions of women, we have institutions that have done their best to change old attitudes regarding women. We have women's organizations, we have legal organizations whose goal is to sensitize women about the role that they must play. On the administrative level, we have many women who occupy positions of high-level responsibility.

On the governmental level, we have women officials, though they are not very numerous. Women constitute fifty-two percent of the population; however, we have a disproportional small number of women in the government. We have three or four women officials; but, in relationship to their actual number in the population, we think that the government can do more. In the parliament, we have women, women who are fighters. I would say that gradually the attitudes are beginning to evolve.  People now have a much better understanding of the role of women. They realize that there can be no development without the participation of women. Nigeriens have understood this and I think things are advancing. Any project without the participation of women is doomed to fail.

African Diasporas. Pour la nuit (For the Night) by Isabelle Boni-Claverie

 

Isabelle Boni-Claverie

Pour la nuit (For the Night)

France

25min - Fiction - 2005 

 

Pour la nuit (For the Night), the stirring film by Isabelle Boni-Claverie, is available online and may be downloaded on the French website Cine4me, payment through PayPal. Video-on-Demand, a distribution system that is gaining popularity, may well be the future distribution outlet for African films, often plagued by limited distribution. The film is in French with English subtitles.

(NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

 

Synopsis of Pour la Nuit:
On the eve of two events that mark an emotional and rapid departure from all that is familiar, Muriel and Sam are thrown together in a chance encounter.
With her mother's funeral the next morning, Muriel, the daughter of a French father and African mother, struggles to escape her sorrow and unrest.
Shot in black and white and set in Marseilles, Pour la Nuit opens with  death. Muriel, a beautiful young woman of mixed-race, has just lost her mother. She escapes from the tragedy in a taxi whose driver warns her of "hot-blooded men" that frequent the district where she asks to be dropped off. She meets a man in a down-town nightclub and they share one night of passion and stark honesty. In the early morning they part - Muriel to attend her mother's funeral, the man to attend his wedding.
This evocative short film, by French/Ivorian filmmaker Isabelle Boni-Claverie, is a passionate depiction of beginnings and endings.

During an interview with Isabelle Boni-Claverie for the African Women in Cinema Blog, she had this to say to my questions about the film:

Could you talk about the film Pour la nuit and its reception?

It is a story that I wrote spontaneously in one night. I submitted the synopsis to my producer who said, “let’s do it!” At the time, I do not know why, I wanted to shoot in Sweden. I wanted my character to be in a city where she would feel completely foreign. And I like the North Sea, its vast desert beaches. The producer thought that Sweden was a bit expensive... So I suggested Côte d'Ivoire, a very urban film where Abidjan would be a character in itself. I crisscrossed Abidjan a lot at night when I was a teenager. I had very unique experiences, often poetic, that I've never seen transcribed in a film. The producer gave the OK. Yet, it was not that much cheaper! While waiting for replies for funding the political situation began to worsen in Côte d'Ivoire. There was so much distrust, so much violence, including the lugubrious "death squads", that it no longer seemed possible to make a film there that would be shot almost entirely in the exterior and at night. I settled for Marseille, which like Abidjan, is a city built on the edge of the water, with long roads, and a cosmopolitan environment. Of course, I did not make the same film. But I think that I was able to keep most of what I wanted to say: How each copes with life’s grief, even in a less conventional way. I was very touched by the reactions of audiences at various festivals in which I presented. Many times women came to me spontaneously, saying they had responded similarly during a loss. While this is a film about death, many have said it was a wonderful call to life. I very much appreciated receiving the Signis Ecumenical Jury Prize or that of the "prix du public" at the Amiens prison. The prisoners told me that they felt good to hear about love and to see a "little rascal" who also had her share of humanity. These are the kinds of reactions that give meaning to the films that one makes.

I really like the film. I see it in the context of identity, especially identity in movement, in Africa and Europe. Muriel seems very at ease as a Frenchwoman but I sense ambivalence in her bi-racial identity, especially vis-à-vis her mother, though I also feel a tension with her father. In reflecting on the debate raging about identity in France right now, could you reflect on your identity as a Franco-Ivorian and your film Pour la nuit in this context?

The debate over national identity in France is a false debate about a false problem. The French nation has always been diverse. This diversity is visible more now than ever and people no longer want to deny a part of themselves in order to melt into a model of assimilation. It irritates some disgruntled people. But the French have rejected this debate by an overwhelming majority. However, there is still some way to go for a “metissage”, whether cultural or ethnic, to become fully accepted. When you are mixed, you are always asked to choose. As if you could amputate a part of yourself! I feel completely French in France and fully Ivorian in Côte d'Ivoire. I'm not accountable to anyone, and certainly am under no obligation to prove my nationality, which, in fact, from the very start I had no choice in the matter! As I enjoy saying sometimes, the only person in my family who actually migrated was my grandmother. She was white, French, and she came to settle in Côte d'Ivoire.

Undoubtedly, it is hard to situate my character Muriel in Pour la nuit. She made her choice, to identify with her father who is white. Perhaps her mother did not give her sufficient reason to be proud of her African-ness or, she simply did not transmit her culture to her daughter. So, Muriel finds it very difficult to connect to the black part of herself. At the same time she feels that if she does not, something is missing, hence her aggression towards her father. Her encounter with a young man of Arab origin will enable her to connect with that part of herself which comes from elsewhere. Then and only then, will she finally be able to mourn her deceased mother.

Pascale Obolo: The Visible Woman ("La Femme invisible/The Invisible Woman" - Trans-Europe-Afrique 32nd Festival International de Films de Femmes 2010)

PASCALE OBOLO: THE VISIBLE WOMAN

Pascale Obolo reflects on her personal experience of invisibility in French society by invoking the American film and TV episode “The Invisible Man”, whose character transforms himself at will. However, the feelings that she describes in her film, The Invisible Woman, may be likened to the American novel, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, an African American. The story is narrated by an unnamed black man who contemplates on his social invisibility in a dominant white society. Or perhaps Pascale Obolo’s sense of invisibility may conjure up Black Skin White Masks by the Martinican Frantz Fanon, as she feels the weight of otherness when living outside of her own world. 

The film was presented at the 32nd International Women’s Film Festival, the 2 to 11 April 2010.

Interview by Festimage with Pascale Obolo discussing her film "La Femme invisible/The Invisible Woman" (2008) with actor Dalande Gomis presented at the 32nd International Women’s Film Festival, 2 to 11 April 2010.

05:31 – 11:28

Translation from French by Beti Ellerson

Presenter:

Her short film reveals her engagement as a woman in a modern society.

Pascale is a filmmaker who does not leave one indifferent.

She has come to our studio with her actor Dalande Gomis.

Pascale Obolo:

I wanted to do an artistic piece

and tie it to the issue of the representation of women 

in society in general, and the idea of the film began from there.

I did it as a kind of experimental cinema.

It is a visual philosophical story

It is a work based on framing and the superimposed image.

At the beginning the film the image is framed in a manner that does not allow one to see the woman’s face.

In the first scene, she is about to use the telephone.

There are three superimposed images.

Initially, she is in the telephone booth

and then, the trees from the other side appear superimposed on the glass of the telephone booth

and from behind, the building becomes visible and the protagonist is in the middle.

One after the other, all of the images are superimposed on each other.

Hence, she is already lost in the landscape, lost in the frame, and the film begins in this manner.

Next, there is a shot of her feet as she moves in space

showing her invisibility in French society.

I think that for an actor what is important is to bring out an emotion

and the emotion is not defined by race. Emotion is something that touches our heart.

And when you come to a casting call, you must be given the chance to express yourself

to be able to bring out these things—sadness, joy…

As a director, I think that the most important thing is that an actor reveals emotion.

that the audience is touched, and that is why we enter into the film.

Dalande Gomis:

Precisely, that is what I live as an actor who comes from a minority ethnicity—we have to really look for roles.

Even during a casting call we are told right away “you do not match this role”.

It hurts, but we live with it.

Thank goodness I have known Pascale for a longtime, and as soon as she has a project

I am part of it, especially this one, which concerns me directly.

Pascale Obolo:

When there is a feature or short film that is meant to represent French society

as it actually is, with a population that has evolved, that has changed a great deal

and which is enriched by its immigration history, there is hesitation.

It is for this reason that I have set the year 2055 to arrive at this goal.

To move things,

I think that things move too slowly.

And yet, France has a history with Africa that dates back to the slave trade era.

And when we see what is happening in French society in 2010, we notice a real problem.

There have been several films with a black president

as if the films had anticipated the election in 2009 of a black president of the most powerful country in the world.

That is the force of cinema, the power to project forward.

There is opposition to a quota system in cinema because people say

it is not needed

that French society is not racist

and a quota system is not necessary.

Why then aren’t there more films

where there is a mixture of black and white actors

who act together in important roles without clichés such as the immigrant neighborhoods, the dealers, and housekeepers.

The Invisible Woman (voiceover from film excerpt)

I am an invisible woman

I am from a visible minority

I remember the American television series called “The Invisible Man”.

I liked this series a lot because I could transform myself into any human being

taking the place of another

How wonderful it was!

I was far from imagining that I would find myself invisible in Western society.

What was a dream when I was a child became a nightmare as an adult.

Links

Interview with Pascale Obolo by Mériam Azizi (in French)

 

Sophie Kaboré’s Quest: Exploring African homosexualities

Image of Sophie Kaboré from lefaso.net

Sophie Kaboré's Quest: Exploring African homosexualities

The 20 May 2010 post focused on the use of vlogging and video-sharing by African women in cinema in order to promote themselves and make their work more visible. Sophie Kaboré, an aspiring filmmaker from Burkina Faso, has made an appeal to viewers directly on YouTube and DailyMotion to assist her in the completion of a longer version of her film, Abdou’s Return (Zi-Yaabo). Her description on the video-sharing sites is as follows:

“The film is about Abdou, the oldest son of a well-respected businessman, who, after a long stay abroad returns home. He has lived other experiences that brought about a psychological and sexual transformation. It is about a transvestite who returns to his social and cultural milieu, a milieu that is horrified by this practice. This is a 5-minute film in search of a producer for a larger production. For more information contact: Sophie G. Kabore, +22670356079, email: sofiakab81@yahoo.fr.”

Uploaded on DailyMotion and Itidiani’s Channel on YouTube, both created in December 2009 for the promotion of the film, it has received 1775 hits to date, with several comments of encouragement and suggestions. Below are the French to English translation of the short film Zi-Yaabo, the YouTube comments, and the interview by Souleymane Sawadogo for the journal Sidwaya.

Zi-Yaabo (2009) by Sophie Kaboré

Translation of Zi-Yaabo from French to English by Beti Ellerson

"You did not come by the house last night…"

"I did not have time…"

"Did you hear the car?"

"It’s Abdou, I am sure of it."

"Mom, Abdou is here!"

"Where is Abdou?"

"What's with this disguise?"

"What a welcome? Aren’t you happy to see me?"

"But yes!"

"Welcome!"

"Thank you!"

"Welcome!"

"My baggage is in the trunk over there."

"I am happy to see you mother, how are you?"

"Is this a joke, what has become of you my son?"

"Listen mother, the flight was very long, I am very tired, this is neither the time nor place for criticism! I will see you later. I am very tired!"

"Abdou, could you do me a favor and take off those earrings, those bracelets and the whole caboodle that you are wearing! Do you understand? Your father is the imam of this neighborhood? He will kill you rather than let you dishonor us all."

"You have done your duty as mother to bring me into the world and I will accept the rest. If you do not want to see me as I am then tell me. Since I arrived, there has been nothing but criticism. Abdou this, Abdou that, I am sick of it!"

"I am sick of it, leave me alone. Maybe it is better if I go back."

"Abdou! Abdou!"

"That’s enough mom, that’s enough!"

"Abdou! Abdou!"

"Welcome, hello father."

"Hello my daughter. Has Abdou arrived?"

"Yes he has."

"Oh, he has. Could you bring me some water please?"

"Hello dad."

"Abdou?"

"Dad."

"Is that you?"

"Yes dad."

"It’s you Abdou!"

"Yes dad."

"Get him out of here, right now!"

"Make him disappear!"
"Get him out of here, right now!"

French to English translation by Beti Ellerson of comments from YouTube:

1. I think that it would have been more instructive to present an “ordinary” gay couple coming home. The son could have introduced his companion to his father, the Imam. The latter’s reaction—the violent and stupid rejection—would have been the same as in the film, but with a greater acceptance and reaction from the heterosexual public, which is the purpose of the video. However, this does not at all diminish the courage of the filmmaker.

2. I think that there is a great risk in presenting the gay world with images of the “drag queen” as is presented in the video. I think the drag queen is very unhappy because of the prevalence of homophobia, and only represents a very small percentage of the LGBT community. And I think that this representation risks being counterproductive by increasing the rejection by the hetero-normative society, gays and lesbians, bi-sexuals or transgendered persons, effeminates or not.

3. The subject is not easy, but it deserves to be addressed. But this would require a bit more finesse in the treatment. Good luck, because I see that the path is strewn with pitfalls.

Interview by Souleymane Sawadogo for Sidwaya translated from French to English by Beti Ellerson (Link no longer available)

Ms Sophie Kaboré is an aspiring filmmaker. For several years she has worked on the production of a short film. Her film, Abdou’s Return (or Zi-yaabo) of which a first version is on YouTube, treats the subject of homosexuality in Burkina Faso. She reveals to the journal, Sidwaya the difficulties that she encountered and the reasons that led her to broach this theme.

Sidwaya (S): Your film speaks of homosexuality. What is the plot?

Sophie G. Kaboré (S.G.K.): I was looking for a relevant and topical subject for a short film. I have often signed production contracts but nothing followed. Before taking on this project, I knew nothing about homosexuality. I had also thought about portraying a character using comedy. However, I was not aware that this could cause problems.

But I made this choice because up until then I had heard that African filmmakers had to rely on funding. I am not challenging this but I feel that each filmmaker must be free to choose. The film is about the return of the oldest son of a well-respected businessman, after a long stay abroad. During his stay he lived other experiences, which brought about a psychological and sexual transformation. So, it is about a transvestite who returns to his native town, an environment that condemns such practices.

S. What did you want to bring out by treating the subject of homosexuality?

S.G.K.: This idea came to me because I have gay friends. Before I met them, to be honest, I never thought about it, personally. Since knowing them I noticed that they are different, sensitive, and very special. It is for them that I embarked on my film.

S. Is it to make a plea for their cause and to stand up for them?

S.G.K: To make a plea for their cause is perhaps a bit much, since I do not know anything about homosexuality. But I have good friends, extraordinary friends. And these friendships led me to work on this project.

S.: You stated that you encountered problems during the production of the film. What kind of problems?

S.G.K.: I encountered problems both personally and professionally. In terms of professional problems, when I completed the 6-minute film, Abou’s Return, I submitted it to festivals. For instance, the coordinator of "Vues d’Afrique" suggested, after stating that it was very interesting, that it was too short for competition, and to make it longer.

I am now at this stage, and my main character, because of his commitment to the film, delayed his trip to the United States. I have submitted my dossier to institutions that were likely to finance it, and each time I was told that the subject is taboo in our society.

Therefore, the people and institutions that I contacted said that they were sorry but were not able to support me. A general manager was aggressive towards me, calling me a damned woman. I had advice from experienced filmmakers like Idrissa Ouédraogo who also explained to me that it was an uncomfortable subject. Some cinema professionals have gone so far as to nickname me “fag hag” and many have asked why I have hooked on to the theme of homosexuality.

S.: Has your private life suffered?

S.G.K.: When I needed to make the film longer I realized that it was not by reading literature that I would really become knowledgeable about the question of homosexuality. I had to spend time with gays, who were already my friends. From the beginning my boyfriend could not deal with it.

As time went by rumors started that I went out with women since I was always with gay men. If truth be told, I did not hide since they were just as much my friends as others. I was not ashamed, I am even less afraid to go out with them.

S.: How long have you been with your boyfriend?

S.G.K.: We have been together for nearly three years. It was the peddling of these rumors by friends who saw me in the company of gays that is the cause of our clash.

S. : Did not the change in your behavior contribute to the clash?

S.G.K. : Nothing has changed in our relationship. It is the work that I chose to do that is the explanation—I needed to do this research and spend time with homosexuals. I am nearly on the street. I have just left my boyfriend because of this.

S.: You have also said that your family has reacted.

S.G.K.: I went with a gay friend to the home of my sister, who is very religious. When she found out she couldn't deal with it. I have a lot of respect for gays, they are human beings like everybody else. For instance, one does not choose to be black or white; we just are and that’s all to it.

S: Perhaps those close to you fear that homosexuality is contagious?

S.G.K.: (Laughter) Of course not! I would not say that! I have friends who live in this milieu. I will not hide it…, I don’t know, myself. Someone is one person one day, and discovers he is another person later. Personally, I feel that it is a state of being as any other. There are those who are by birth and others who become gay.

S.: What is the possibility that you may sway towards homosexuality or perhaps you have already?

S.G.K.: (Laughter) Am I already? No. But one never knows, “never”. Up until the present I have never had a desire to go out with a woman.

S.: Inspite of your trials and after your film Abdou’s Return, you have persevered. Where are you now in your pursuit?

S.G.K.: In fact, I have assembled a production dossier for a documentary on homosexuality and I am looking for funding. The documentary will focus on homosexuals living with HIV/AIDS. In the case of all of these projects many people have tried to support me but at the last minute withdrew. I am not sure why. An international television station which I contacted felt that the subject was too delicate.

S.: At the rate that things are going do you think that you will be able to complete the film one day?

S.G.K.: I cannot be 100% sure, but I am staying optimistic. I am willing to fight to finish the film because it speaks about a subject that should get the same attention as any other film. But I am still looking for a producer. I hope to do a 52 to 60 minute film. I appeal to all who are willing to assist me in completing the film. While there are many who are reticent about dealing with the subject, as I stated before, gay people are like everybody else, and to make a film about homosexuality is not reprehensible. For certain requirements for the film I took a trip to Côte-d’Ivoire. A gay Ivoirian who is presently in Burkina even says that homosexuality is more developed here than there, only that it is not talked about. The majority of gays that I know are foreigners, whereas all of the lesbians are Burkinabè. As for me, I do not know when this phenomenon began in Burkina, but I know that it is increasing in magnitude. But far be it for me to promote it!