In the 1950s and 1960s African filmmakers began to emerge,
telling the story of African culture, identity and history by those who lived
it rather than those who were witness. In the decades since, a rich body of work
has resulted, as diverse as the continent itself, reflecting on everything from
pre- and post-colonial history to “tribal” folklore and politics to
examinations of the impact of globalization and modernization on traditional societies.
This year, we are pleased to host an exciting selection of recent films circulated
by the African Film Festival in association with the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
This traveling showcase, featuring works from Zimbabwe, Gabon, Senegal, Guinea,
Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
offers diverse perspectives on contemporary African culture and a broad appreciation
of the rich traditions offered to the rest of the world.
MAY 10 12
FRI 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
YELLOW CARD
ZIMBABWE 2000
DIRECTOR: JOHN RIBER Tiyane is 17, and the world is his oyster. A good student,
he is also the rising star of the city soccer team in Harara and dreams of playing
in England for Manchester United. But the game of life is about to stage a grand
upset. His hormones are running wild and everyone wants a piece of him, especially
Linda, a girl from a wealthier social class. Tiyane’s game, but there are
some things he hadn’t bargained for — like actually falling in love
with another girl, Juliet or becoming a father… Riber’s keenly observed
drama explores the social and economic tensions between parallel cultures in a
distressed society while offering a pointed lesson on personal responsibility.
(90 mins.)
WITH
watt
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 1999
DIRECTOR: BALUFU BAKUPA-KANYINDA Blasty and Celi love each other, but Blasty has
a second love – his boombox. He doesn’t even want to go outside unless
he can blast some tunes as he walks. When his batteries go dead, Celi agrees to
go and buy new ones, which provides Quiz, a would-be suitor, the chance to make
his move on his rival’s girlfriend. (19 mins.)
MAY 17 18 FRI 7 P.M., SAT 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
TEMPORARY REGISTRATION
GUINEA 2001
DIRECTOR: GAHITE FOFANA The son of a Frenchwoman travels back to Guinea to find
his natural father but is mugged on arrival. His friendship with an endearing
tramp and the discovery that his father is an old, wasted alcoholic frame this
shimmering portrait of a rootless generation. The town and its inhabitants are
the object of a meeting - that of a silent but determined man and those who host
him - a troubled milieu, a kingdom of wheeling and dealing and nightclubs. Silences
and glances speak realms about the expectations and uncertainties, and certain
discreet things are only filmed through a curtain. The image hugs the bodies or
places, the camera is carried on the shoulder in the movements from place to place,
the frame plays on the lines, shadows, silhouettes, and lights to convey the uneasy
experience by this son as he seeks an absent father, and an Africa that escapes
him. (78 mins.)
WITH
A GIRL FOR SOULEYMANE
SENEGAL/FRANCE 2000
DIRECTOR: DYANA Souleymane, a young Senegalese man, has lived in Paris for three
years. Alone and poor, he imagines a life and family back home that makes his
world survivable. (24 mins.)
MAY 23 24 thu 7 P.M. fri 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
DOLE / DOLLAR
GABON 1999.
DIRECTOR: IMUNGA IVANGA Libreville, the capital of Gabon, is home to Mougler and
his teenage friends. The boys, always strapped for cash, consider robbing a dole
(cash game) stand—a new kind of instant lottery. The stakes are high, but
so is the risk. Mougler, increasingly worried by his mother’s illness, fatefully
decides to go ahead with the holdup. In French with English subtitles. Best Screenplay,
Ouagadou Pan African Film Festival. (92 mins.)
WITH
A CLOSE UP ON BINTOU
BURKINA FASO 2000
DIRECTOR: FANTA REGINA NACRO Bintou wants to make sure that her daughter goes
to school, but her husband Abel doesn’t think it’s worth it when there’s
only money enough for the boys’ education. Bintou, however, doesn’t
give up, starting her own millet-sprouting business to earn the extra money. Abel,
scared that he is losing power in the family and that Bintou’s newfound financial
freedom will lead her to adultery, tries to sabotage her efforts. Joyfully satirical,
Nacro pushes aside the stereotypes of dignified African tradition and tackles
sexuality, gender relations, and even the fraught relationship between traditional
and modern, with comic results. (30 mins.)
MAY 30 THU 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
IN THE NAME OF CHRIST
IVORY COAST 1993
DIRECTOR: ROGER M’BALA M’Bala’s polished fourth feature takes on
the fraught subject of religion in Africa and contains it in a very ironic fable
about a born-again prophet who styles himself as Magloire,“the first cousin
of Christ. Mixing a potent recipe of traditional and Christian beliefs, this new
faith peddler makes his gift for gab and theatricality work to create dubious
“miracles”— giving vision to a blind man he has blinded for the
occasion and impregnating a previously barren woman. In this uncompromising parable
about the human hunger to believe in something — particularly during Africa’s
often jolting transition into modernity — M’Bala shows that even false
prophets may be seduced into playing out the martyr’s ultimate scenario.
(90 mins.)
WITH
SMOKE IN THE EYES
CAMEROON/BELGIUM
DIRECTOR: FRANCOISE WOUKACHE It is the end of summer in 1997. Fela is dead and
Kabila has seized power in Zaire. In Brussels, Malou has come to spend the weekend
with Bwesi, a young African filmmaker. Things seem all right, but Malou is a kind
of indecisive girl, “willing, not willing, yet willing.” (23 mins.)
