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Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Best Films from Africa and Middle East

Wonders in the Dark recently concluded a Best Films from Africa and Middle East poll. The inclusion of Iran, Israel and Turkey in this poll meant that the list is vastly different than the combined results of my previous Best films from Africa and Arab World list. Here is my submitted entry. 

Top 20 films from Africa and Middle East.

1. Taste of Cherry (1997, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)
2. Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty)
3. Crimson Gold (2003, Iran, Jafar Panahi)
4. The Time That Remains (2009, Palestine, Elia Sulieman)
5. Soleil Ô (1967, Mauritania, Med Hondo)
6. Timbuktu (2014, Mauritania, Abderrahmane Sissako)
7. Black Girl (1966, Senegal, Ousmane Sembene)
8. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
9. The House is Black (1963, Iran, Forugh Farrokhzad)
10. Chronicles of the Years of Fire (1975, Algeria, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina)
11. Close-Up (1990, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)
12. A Man of Integrity (2017, Iran, Mohammad Rasoulof)
13. Return to Homs (2013, Syria, Talal Derki)
14. A Separation (2011, Iran, Asghar Farhadi)
15. Al-mummia (The Mummy, 1969, Egypt, Chadi Abdel Salam)
16. Cairo Station (1958, Egypt, Youssef Chahine)
17. Salt of This Sea (2007, Palestine, Annemarie Jacir)
18. Tilaï (The Law, 1990, Burkina Faso, Idrissa Ouedraogo)
19. The Little Wars (1982, Lebanon, Maroun Bagdadi)
20. Waltz with Bashir (2008, Israel, Ari Folman)

Note: I have listed the primary country only for the co-productions above.

Titles by country:

Iran: 6
Senegal: 2
Palestine: 2
Mauritania: 2
Egypt: 2
Turkey: 1
Algeria: 1
Syria: 1
Burkina Faso: 1
Lebanon: 1
Israel: 1

It isn't a surprise that Iran dominates this list with 6 titles given the strength of its cinema.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Top African Films of All Time

The challenge in making any top films list from a country or region is accessibility to quality works from that specific country/region. The problem of accessibility to quality African films has certainly gotten better over the last two decades but it is still not enough. Many African films (contemporary and classics alike) are out of reach due to lack of proper distribution or a proper quality transfer with adequate English subtitles. Still, this is my attempt at highlighting some of the remarkable African films I have seen over the last few decades.

Note: almost all the films in this list are co-productions but I had to leave out some co-productions due to the source of main production funding. For example, Rungano Nyoni’s stunning I Am Not a Witch would have made this top 10 but it was UK’s entry to the Oscars so it couldn't be included. Jessica Beshir’s hypnotic Faya Dayi is an American-Ethiopian co-production but it appears to be ineligible for inclusion and the same goes for Abou Leila, a personal favourite. The Battle of Algiers is included in my Italian films list.

Top 10 African Films of All Time

1. Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty)
 

Djibril Diop Mambéty’s landmark film Touki Bouki gives a good slice into an emerging African nation complete with street shots dripping with poverty, heated arguments at the market, youths looking for jobs and trouble, a young couple dreaming of a better future, corruption and payback lurking around the corner with a club in hand and unflinching slaughter shots. The relaxed lingering shots, mixed with carefully spliced scenes give this movie a surreal feel. In addition, plenty of symbolism in the movie with a cow's capture and slaughter being the most commonly used symbol to echo the mental and physical entrapment of the citizens. An incredible film that was ahead of its time.

2. Soleil Ô (1967, Mauritania/France, Med Hondo)
 
 

At its core, Timbuktu is about the centuries old problem of people from one nation/culture using violence/force to impose their ways onto another culture. As the film shows, violent exchanges often results in victims not getting justice and creates a perpetual circle of violent reactions to avenge the violent act. As a result, the film has an an air of inevitability around it.

Even though the film rejects any notion of a happy ending, Sissako has infused his film with plenty of dark satire which results in a few comical scenarios, yet the implications are nothing to laugh at. For example, in one scene, the militants want the local women to cover every part of their body, including wearing gloves on their hands. Yet, as one fish seller points out, she cannot handle the fish if she is wearing gloves. Her protests draw attention to the absurdity of the situation yet similar situations happen everyday where people are killed for not listening to the absurd demands of their invaders. Another such absurd moment happens when the militants forbid the local boys from playing soccer. This results in one of the most beautiful scenes in the film where the kids play soccer without a ball. The kids move around pretending they are passing an invisible ball or taking a shot at goal. This scene is one of the most powerful political protests ever filmed in cinema.

4. Black Girl (1966, Senegal/France, Ousmane Sembene)



Ousmane Sembene’s sharp debut feature is just over an hour long but it packs a punch. The film manages to draw a line between colonialism and post-colonial life and the associated discrimination, racism, prejudice that goes along with it.

5. Moolaade (2004, Senegal co-production, Ousmane Sembene)



Ousmane Sembene's brilliant Moolaade highlights oppression of women by depicting a village’s old practice of female circumcision. Problems arise when a local woman supports the decision of a handful of girls to avoid the ritual. Her defiance leads to a mini revolution which shakes the patriarchal society.

In order to oppress the villagers and regain control, the elders decide that radios should be banned because they are influencing the minds of the people and exposing the villagers to dangerous foreign ideas. So an order is issued to collect all the village radios and burn them. This scene echoes the burning of books depicted in Fahrenheit 411.

6. Atlantics (2019, Senegal/France/Belgium, Mati Diop)
 

A haunting film that adds a new dimension to examine the reason why people undertake risky journeys across treacherous waters and the emotional impact on those who are left behind.

7. Félicité (2017, Senegal co-production, Alain Gomis)
 

Alain Gomis’ lovely film gives a pulsating tour of the Congolese capital Kinshasa complete with lively sights and electric sounds. We see the extremes in the city from the poor who are trying to make ends meet to the wealthy. The film is powered by an incredible performance by Véro Tshanda Beya who plays the titular character Félicité. Music is a core part of the film and there are scenes which feature live performances by the Kinshasa Symphonic Orchestra which lends a poetic feel to some of the sequences.

8. This is Not a Burial, it's a Resurrection (2019, Lesotho/South Africa/Italy, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese)
 

Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese's film is a cinematic wonder, both in form and content. Visually, the film evokes Pedro Costa’s Vitalina Varela while the topic of a dam and destruction of a village in the name of progress recalls Jia Zhang-ke’s Still Life. However, Lemohang’s film has its own unique tone and rhythm enhanced by the setting of the film in landlocked Lesotho.

9. Tilaï / The Law (1990, Burkina Faso co-production, Idrissa Ouedraogo)


The air of inevitability that hovers over Idrissa Ouedraogo’s Tilaï is similar to that in Sissako’s Timbuktu. The reason for the similarity is due to human’s need to maintain their honour and traditions. The film’s alternate title ‘A Question of Honour’ emphasizes that as well. The need to maintain this honour comes at all costs and including killing of family as shown in the film or the taking of one’s life.

10. Yeelen (1987, Mali co-production, Souleymane Cissé)
 
 
Souleymane Cissé's Yeelen beautifully depicts an ancient Malian myth about a battle between father and son (Nianankoro). Set in the 13th century Mali Empire, Nianankoro must tackle an entire cult group along with his wizard father while trying to restore his family name. The folk story is peppered with elements of magic and witchcraft in depicting the family battle. Because Nianankoro holds the power of magic, he is equally feared and respected.
 
Top 10 by Country:

Senegal: 5
Mauritania: 2
Burkina Faso: 1

Lesotho: 1
Mali: 1

Safe to say, Senegal easily wins this.

Honourable mentions (alphabetical order):

Abouna (2002, Chad co-production, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
Adanggaman (2000, Ivory Coast, Roger Gnoan M’Bala)
Bab’Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul (2005, Tunisia co-production, Nacir Kemir)
Cairo Station (1958, Egypt, Youssef Chahine)
Hyenas (1992, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty)
Life on Earth (1998, Mali/Mauritania/France, Abderrahmane Sissako)
Son of Man (2006, South Africa, Mark Dornford-May)
A Summer in La Goulette (1996, Tunisia co-production, Férid Boughedir)
Viva Riva! (2010, The Democratic Republic of Congo co-production, Djo Munga)
Waiting for Happiness (2002, Mauritania/France, Abderrahmane Sissako)

Top 20 by Country:

Senegal: 6
Mauritania: 4
Tunisia: 2
Burkina Faso: 1
Chad: 1
Democratic Republic of Congo: 1
Egypt: 1
Ivory Coast: 1
Lesotho: 1 
Mali: 1 
South Africa: 1

Senegal holds on for most titles per country. Mauritania finishes close courtesy of 3 titles by Abderrahmane Sissako.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Med Hondo's Soleil Ô

 Soleil Ô (1967, Mauritania/France, Med Hondo)


I had read about Med Hondo in a few posts over the years. Yet, I hadn’t seen any of his films. So I waited. Just like I had done previously on many occasions for a film by a director whose films were meant to be seen. TIFF held a retrospective of his films in 2016 which once again brought his name to attention. Then in 2017, Dan Sullivan’s posts about Il Cinema Ritrovato presented hope:


It would only be a matter of time now. Yet, that time moved ever so slowly. Instead, almost two years later, the sad news came that Med Hondo passed away on March 2, 2019. Over the next few days, a few posts again heightened the need to see his film.

First, a republication of the 2016 TIFF retrospective with the eye-grabbing headline:

Med Hondo is the African Auteur You Need to See

Then, David Hudson’s post, which started off by referencing Dan Sullivan’s Film Comment article:

"In 2017, Bologna was set abuzz by a series of new restorations being presented at Il Cinema Ritrovato by the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project. “Right out of the gate, word spread fast about the legendary Mauritanian filmmaker Med Hondo’s rousing introductions at the screenings in his mini-retrospective,” wrote Dan Sullivan for Film Comment."

And then finally, the announcement earlier this year about Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project 3 would have Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô. 

The wait was finally over in August when the Criterion Channel streamed the film online.

I firmly echo the headline by Rooney Elmi that Med Hondo’s film is more relevant now than ever. In fact, the topics of migration and immigration covered with such urgency by Hondo’s film have became an even more burning topic over the last few decades. If emigration and treatment of Africans in France was a problem back in 1967, then the last 5 decades have made it worse. The film covers migration from Africa to France yet the topic is relevant for many other nations in Africa, Asia, South America whose citizens left (and continue to leave) for better jobs in their former colonizing country.

The following lines are among my favourite from the film and illustrate the problem facing migrants:
 
There were tens of them in 1946, several hundred in 1948, over 15,000 in 1964 and 300,000 in 1967.

How many are there now? how many will there be tomorrow?
Beyond a certain level, a previously harmless phenomenon became more significant for some.

“Black invasion”.
The words are loaded with dynamite.

There are more and more of them. What are they doing here?
They wanted independence, now they can stay at home.
They get money, too.
We support them. Do you realise that?
You can’t push your luck too far.

Ok, they come here to do the jobs that we don’t want to do.
But they should invent machines to do them!
It’s simple, isn’t it?
Instead, look.
Great, isn’t it?


We former, present and future colonised people have contributed greatly to the foundation of your industrial and economic capital.
Should the interest on that capital not be our right?
So, please don’t say that we’re costing you dear.


Furthermore, the help you are giving to us is aimed above all at preserving your own markets and maintaining your economic privileges.

I thought of Dany Laferrière’s words from Why must a black writer write about sex? where he talked about people showing in America for the riches (and sex) that they had been sold on. Hondo instead talks about jobs but his words burn with truth:

We former, present and future colonised people have contributed greatly to the foundation of your industrial and economic capital.
Should the interest on that capital not be our right?
So, please don’t say that we’re costing you dear.
Furthermore, the help you are giving to us is aimed above all at preserving your own markets and maintaining your economic privileges.

France built its fortunes on the back of its African colonies as did England with India. Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Holland and even Italy owe a lot of their wealth and prosperity to their colonies. Yet, when people from those former colonized nations show up for low paying jobs, they are treated with contempt and looked upon with disgust, fear, distrust. And this situation has just gotten worse over the last few years.

Newton’s Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Western nations colonized countries and looted them. That was the action. The reaction is the migration of people from those former colonies moving to the colonizers. Yet, the citizens of the former colonies will never come close to the riches that the colonizers took from their nations. However, you can bet that those new migrants or immigrants will be blamed for all the problems in the Western nation.

All of this makes Med Hondo’s 1967 film one of the most relevant contemporary films.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

African Films

The 15 films from the 5 African Nations taking part in the 2014 Movie World Cup have been selected. Given the difficulty in finding African films, the year restrictions have been relaxed for Film #1 and #2 to be from the years 2000 - 2013 as opposed to 2005 - 2013. The following is the criteria for the three films.

Film 1: previously seen film from 2000 - 2013
Film 2: unseen film from 2000 - 2013
Film 3: film from 1960 - 2004

Algeria

Film 1: Rachida (2002, Yamina Bachir)
Film 2: Outside the Law (2010, Rachid Bouchareb)
Film 3: Daughters of Keltoum (2001, Mehdi Charef)

Cameroon: Two films by Jean-Pierre Bekolo are included. In fact, I was very close to picking all three films by him but A Trip to the Country has a relevant soccer segment making it a worthy selection.

Film 1: A Trip to the Country (2000, Jean-Marie Téno)
Film 2: Aristotle’s Plan (2006, Jean-Pierre Bekolo)
Film 3: Quartier Mozart (1992, Jean-Pierre Bekolo)

Ghana: Shirley Frimpong-Manso could have had all three films for Ghana but I have taken a gamble on Sinking Sands. Also, Ghana is the only nation to have two female directors represent all three films.

Film 1: The Perfect Picture (2010, Shirley Frimpong-Manso)
Film 2: Sinking Sands (2011, Leila Djansi)
Film 3: A Sting in a Tale (2009, Shirley Frimpong-Manso)

Ivory Coast

Film 1: Adanggaman (2000, Roger Gnoan M’Bala)
Film 2: Black Diamond (2010, Pascale Lamche)
Film 3: Burn it up Djassa (2012, Lonesome Solo)

Nigeria

Film 1: Without Shame (2005, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen)
Film 2: Ezra (2007, Newton I. Aduaka)
Film 3: Last Flight to Abuja (2012, Obi Emelonye)

Sunday, April 08, 2012

2012 African Cup of Nations Film Spotlight

The conclusion of the 2012 African Cup of Nations film spotlight. In the end, I was only able to view films from 10 of the 16 African nations that took part in the 2012 tournament.

Group A: 2 films

Libya: The Message (1977, Moustapha Akkad)

A lavish production that balances the story and teachings of Prophet Mohammed along with the political struggle that took place in the name of religion. The prophet cannot be shown in front of the camera and that limitation does not take anything away from the film as characters address the camera and repeat the words they have heard from the Prophet, thereby continuing their dialogue with him. Also, there are some incredible scenes such as the moment when the first call to prayer is announced while the battle scenes leave no stone unturned in terms of production values. The film has a consistent feel which is remarkable given how the production had plenty of troubles eventually resulting in Libya offering to allow filming to be completed.

Senegal: Madame Brouette (2002, Moussa Sene Absa)

A drunk man in a red dress walks into a home where a young girl and woman live. A few words are exchanged, a shot is fired, and the man stumbles out of the home and drops dead. A crowd gathers, a tv crew arrives and debates begin about what really happened. The rest of the film uncovers the events that led to that killing. A few soulful musical numbers are smartly integrated in the film and give some background to a character’s plight or feelings. Also, the music manages to lighten the overall mood of the film because the story depicts harsh realities of society, including corruption. The opening number (shown in the trailer), repeated at various intervals throughout the film, is memorable and appropriate in the film’s context.



Group B: 3 films

Angola: The Hero (2004, Zézé Gamboa)

Vitoria (Makena Diop), a war veteran, anxiously waits at the hospital everyday hoping to finally get a prosthetic leg. Even though he is a decorated war hero, he struggles to find a job so he believes a prosthetic leg will finally help him rejoin the workforce. Unfortunately, his prosthetic is stolen shortly after he receives it and he has no chance to get a replacement. A few people try to help him recover his prosthetic leg including a local politician who misuses Vitoria’s situation to garner some votes.

The film is set in Angola but the issues related to the ignorance of war veterans apply to many nations where politicians are distant from the human cost of war. In such nations, politicians don’t think twice about sending their nation’s civilians to war but then are quick to turn a blind eye when these same soldiers return from war. Vitoria wears his uniform with pride but his uniform wears him down and ends up becoming a burden on him because he finds that his service to his nation means nothing to those around him. So it is not a coincidence that Vitoria is shown to be happy when he is not in his uniform. The absence of his uniform indicates that he has rejoined civilian life and his burden has been removed.

The name Vitoria is similar to that of Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) and that similarity is justified as Vitoria’s prosthetic leg is his ticket to employment like a bicycle is critical to a job in Bicycle Thieves.

Burkina Faso: Dreams of Dust (2006, Laurent Salgues)

Mocktar (Makena Diop) arrives in Essakane looking to work in a gold mine but he is told by a local that he has arrived almost two decades late as the gold has dried up. Still, the workers continue to work in the mine under the desert hoping to strike it rich. Mocktar hopes to put his past behind him in his new surroundings but he finds that the locals in Essakane are haunted by the past. Laurent Salgues manages to depict the state of the workers nicely by smartly mixing enough silent moments with appropriate expressions.

There is a moment in the film when a gold mine caves in, leaving the workers trapped underneath. Even though the camera never ventures into the mine, the accident has echoes of Yash Chopra’s excellent Kaala Patthar (1979).

As an aside, it is remarkable that two films in this group feature Makena Diop in the lead. In both films, he perfectly depicts the right emotion required for his character.

Ivory Coast: Adanggaman (2000, Roger Gnoan M'Bala)
Adanggaman Ossei

Ossei (Ziable Honoré Goore Bi) is reluctant to marry as per his father’s wishes so leaves at night to go see his lover. While he is away, his village is attacked and everyone is taken as a slave, including his mother. Ossie manages to run away but decides to give himself up in order to save his mother. The story is based on true incidents related to slavery in 17th century when some African tribes captured other tribes and sold their prisoners as slaves overseas. The slaves that were kept alive and given enough food were ones that the captors felt could survive the long journey across the ocean. The brutal acts around slavery result in some powerful dialogues in the film such as

"The Whip will reign for a long time."
"Death lurks around us"
"Despair will shroud them, plunging them in horror."

Group C: 2 films

Morocco: Le Grand Voyage (2004, Ismaël Ferroukhi)

A father wants to make the pilgrimage to Mecca so he asks his son to drive all the way from France to Saudi Arabia. The son is initially not happy with his father’s decision but gradually gains a better understanding of his father as the journey progresses. The film manages to stand out from a traditional road feature by incorporating some engaging elements, such as the mysterious Eastern European woman the duo pick up. The woman’s mysterious disappearance and reappearance fits in perfectly as does the predictable actions of the Turkish man the son befriends. The journey ends up becoming a metaphor for life and each experience helps broaden the son’s mind. The end point of the journey at Mecca features the film’s strongest & most emotional moment.

Tunisia: Khorma (2002, Jilani Saadi)

Khorma (Mohamed Graïaa) is an easy going and friendly person but others around him often misunderstand him and look upon him suspiciously. In fact, others are just waiting for Khorma to slip up so that they can throw him into the fire. When circumstances result in Khorma making a mistake, the town waste no time in crucifying him. Yet, despite everything that happens to Khorma, he manages to shrug it off and dance freely.

Group D: 3 films

Botswana: The Gods Must be Crazy II (1989, Jamie Uys)

Growing up, I thought the concept of The Gods Must be Crazy was quite funny but unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the same formula in the sequel. This formula features multiple stories spliced together with an unseen narrator describing the actions of the local tribe. There is a cartoonish element to The Gods Must be Crazy II, highlighted by sped up frames, but the overall story is a weaker rehash of the first film.

Ghana: Life and Living It (2008, Shirley Frimpong Manso)

Shirley Frimpong Manso’s The Perfect Picture starts off with a marriage and looks at the quest of three friends to find a meaningful relationship in their lives. In Life and Living it, Manso explores at issues that come after marriage, such as affairs, conflicts, divorce and custody battle over a child.

Mali: Den Muso (1975, Souleymane Cissé)

Sekou, a young factory worker, wants to leave his job because after 5 years, he feels he has not made enough money. Even though his boss asks him to be patient, Sekou refuses to listen. Sekou turns out to be a womanizer and rapes Ténin, the boss’ daughter, and gets her pregnant. Ténin’s father disowns her because of the pregnancy as he believes she has brought shame to the family.

Den Muso (The Young Girl) is Souleymane Cissé’s first feature film and starts off with a thoughtful black and white sequence which shows men working hard at a construction site. The opening sequence contrasts with the rest of the film because Sekou wants to progress in his job but refuses to put in the hard work required. In this regard, Cissé depicts some aspects of a younger generation that demands things instantly without putting in the required effort. Also, the film sheds a light on treatment of women in society by its depiction of Ténin.

Top 4 films

None of the 10 films ran away with the spotlight but a few films had some worthy moments. In the end, the following is the final preference order:

1) Burkina Faso, Dreams of Dust (2006, Laurent Salgues)
2) Senegal, Madame Brouette (2002, Moussa Sene Absa)
3) Morocco, Le Grand Voyage (2004, Ismaël Ferroukhi)
4) Angola, The Hero (2004, Zézé Gamboa)

There was no overlap with the final 4 of the soccer tournament:

1) Zambia: Their remarkable 8-7 penalty shoot-out win over Ivory Coast was emotional given that the victory took place in the same city where members of the 1993 Zambian team were killed in an airplane crash.

2) Ivory Coast: They ended the tournament without conceding a single goal as the final ended 0-0. They won all their previous 5 games by a score of 1-0 (vs Sudan), 2-0 (vs Burkina Faso), 2-0 (vs Angola), 3-0 (vs Equatorial Guinea) and 1-0 (vs Mali).

3) Mali

4) Ghana

Monday, January 23, 2012

African Film Spotlight, CAN 2012


In the past, I had to postpone an African Cup of Nations (CAN) Film spotlight due to the difficulty in tracking down an adequate number of films from the nations taking part in the tournament. That difficulty still exists and in a way, the 2012 tournament is more challenging than previous editions because of the high profile absences of Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa and Algeria. Much has been written about the footballing ramifications of the absence of these five countries especially since Egypt won the last three tournaments, Nigeria and Cameroon have been major forces in the region for the last two decades while Algeria took part in the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa. However, their absence is more serious from a cinematic point of view because Egypt and Nigeria are the two most prolific film producing African nations while in recent years South Africa and Algeria have contributed a good dose of worthy films. Thankfully, Mali and Senegal are present in this year’s tournament as they are a reliable source of films and it is also relatively easy to find films from Morocco and Tunisia. I decided to go ahead with a CAN spotlight because I was able to find atleast two films from each group.

Selection Criteria & Rules

This spotlight has the least amount of rules because of the hurdles involved in finding enough representative films. The selections can be from any decade and co-productions are essential requirements. There will be no head-to-head judging of films but I will write about the selections and then pick my three favourite entries at the end of the spotlight. Backup films will only be allowed in case I cannot find the entries below.

Group A

Equatorial Guinea: None
Libya: The Message (1977, Moustapha Akkad)
Senegal: Madame Brouette (2002, Moussa Sene Absa)
Zambia: None

Unfortunately, the co-hosts Equatorial Guinea are not known for their film industry although a documentary about the nation’s oil industry does exist.

Group B

Angola: The Hero (2004, Zézé Gamboa)
Burkina Faso: Dreams of Dust (2006, Laurent Salgues)
Ivory Coast: Adanggaman (2000, Roger Gnoan M'Bala)
Sudan: None

Ivory Coast are the soccer powerhouses in Group B and it would be a major shock if they didn’t win their group. However, in cinematic terms, Ivory Coast will have their hands full with the two other group entries.

There are a few foreign made documentaries about Sudan but no adequate direct or co-production entry could be found.

Group C

Gabon: Dôlè (2000, Imunga Ivanga)
Morocco: Le Grand Voyage (2004, Ismaël Ferroukhi)
Niger: Le Medicin De Gafire (1985, Mustapha Diop)
Tunisia: Khorma (2002, Jilani Saadi)

There is potential to see films from all four nations.

Group D

Botswana: The Gods Must be Crazy II (1989, Jamie Uys)
Ghana: Life and Living It (2008, Shirley Frimpong Manso)
Guinea: Dakan (1997, Mohamed Camara)
Mali: Den Muso (1975, Souleymane Cissé)

Like Group C, all 4 films might be present.


The football tournament ends on February 12 but this spotlight will be allowed to run until March.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Oil & Africa: Three Books

  • Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil by John Ghazvinian

  • Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil by Nicholas Shaxson

  • The Wonga Coup by Adam Roberts


  • In the film Blood Diamond when Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) is traveling in search of the coveted pink diamond along with Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), they encounter a lone villager in a deserted village. Terrified of Danny, the villager asks Solomon if he can ask the white man to not shoot him. Solomon smiles and tells the villager to not worry and replies that just like the other white men, Danny is also crazy for diamonds. The villager then gravely looks at Solomon and says that thankfully oil has not been discovered in their land, otherwise they will "have real problems."

    Equating discovery of oil with "problems" is one of the most accurate assessments, especially in today's time. Although it did not have to be this way. The Oil crisis of 1973, which showed the political power of oil for the first time, should have led the West to try harder for alternate sources of energy and cut down their dependence on oil. But nothing came of it. In America & Canada, the cars got bigger, the suburbs were spread out even more, public transportation suffered and the firm dependence on oil was set in stone. In North America, virtually every item is manufactured or assembled in nations with cheap labour and as a result, ships with giant containers float through the ocean everyday carrying precious goods. Food, clothing, electronics, etc are now all depended on oil to get them through international waters. If the price of oil goes up, then every single industry feels the rising cost.

    Unfortunately, this dependence on oil cannot be changed over-night. Alternative energy sources will take time, so in the meantime the scramble is on to find the next source of oil. While en route to Nigeria for starting the research for his book Untapped John Ghazvinian engages in a conversation with the airline ticket operator who inquires if John's trip to Lagos is for business or pleasure. After John mentions that he is going to Africa because of his book on oil, the operator is surprized to learn that there is oil in Africa. Just as John is explaining the abundant resources present there, the operator cuts him off by saying that they need to get the oil from somewhere.

    As John outlines that his journey to Africa is a journey to that "somewhere" to find out more about this source of oil which will help satisfy America's need. Both Untapped and Poisoned Wells cover mostly the same African countries (Nigeria, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Sao Tome and Principe) and overlap on similar material but their presentation style is different. Untapped follows the author from one country to another in each chapter, while in Poisoned Wells Nicholas Shaxson structures each chapter around a pivotal character's influence on an African nation's fortunes. While both books start off in Nigeria, Africa's most well known oil producer, Nicholas Shaxson talks about the musician Fela Kuti and uses the musician's voice to reflect upon Nigeria. Both books end while talking about the growing influence of China in Africa -- while John spends an entire chapter on China, Nicholas spends just the last page.

    Both authors admit that they changed their views from what they saw and learned. Initially when it came to oil, Nicholas Shaxson's anger was "...directed principally at African rulers or the oil companies from whose oily treats the rulers suckle." But after learning some of the dark plots which surround oil, his "revulsion is now directed less toward these actors and more in two other directions: first, towards oil itself -- the dirty, corrosive substance-- and, second, toward the system--the global financial architecture. In this regards, Shaxson offers some solutions which would decouple this awful cycle of oil, power & money which allows the crimes in Africa to continue.

    What is impressive about both books is the research the authors spent in trying to unravel how each African nation got to their current problems while trying to understand the complicated economic impacts that oil has on a nation. One of the most interesting aspects was the discussion of the negative influence oil had on a country.

    Oil is found, a few get rich, the rest get poor

    Some call it the oil curse but it is better known as "Dutch Disease". John Ghazvinian discusses this in good detail in Chapter 2 of Untapped. Essentially, when a country starts exporting a coveted natural resource (such as oil), it gets an influx of foreign currency (dollars, euros) as opposed to getting paid in its own currency. This artificially inflates its own local currency and makes it look like the country is swimming in money. With foreign money comes foreign imports and things that were locally produced are now replaced by foreign goods. As a result, the local economy suffers and industries such as agriculture are left behind. People are rendered jobless and in search of a better life, they head to the city in droves. Since there is no place to live in the city, they end up dwelling in make shift slums and find cheap labour.

    "And, in what is probably the bitterest irony of all, thanks to the collapse of the agricultural sector, life in the big cities becomes increasingly reliant on expensive foreign food, which is largely out of reach to these new arrivals from the hinterland, who find themselves dependent on government handouts and international food aid. In short, given a sudden infusion of foreign currency, a country that was once a regional breadbasket and net exporter of food can quickly turn into one that is unable to feed itself." Chapter 2, Pages 96/97 Untapped by John Ghazvinian

    This theory refers to developing countries but I believe the new money that oil generates in any city or country can cause immediate inflation and a mad rush for expensive foreign goods unless a nation can control the wealth generated by a resource. Nicholas Shaxson mentions the rare example of Norway who have learned how to properly handle their oil money whereas plenty of other nations indulge in personal glory and wasteful spending. At the end of the day, oil is a finite resource and one day it will run out. Nations that do not properly plan to use the oil money could find themselves in deep trouble when the oozing black liquid vanishes.

    Note: In his excellent book Planet of Slums, Mike Davis looks at the increasing amount of slums cropping up around the world. The urban growth of Lagos in the last few decades has been staggering and the timeline of the city's urban growth + increase in slum dwelling coincides with the glory years of Nigeria's oil boom in the 1970's.

    New oil vs New methods to get old oil

    John Ghazvinian highlights the fact that African oil is not a new phenomenon. "In reality, sub-Saharan Africa has been supplying a healthy flow of crude oil to the international market for decades. Nigeria made its first shipments of oil in 1958, two years before it had even declared independence from Britain, and the lush tropical forests of Central Africa have been drilled by French companies since the early 1950s." Untapped

    But previously, African oil was deemed too expensive to drill and explore. Plus the low price of oil in the 1980's did not make the African crude seem very appealing. But the following factors made oil companies look at African oil differently:

  • Changing political climate from late 1990s onwards


  • Oil companies want cheap oil and would like it without any relative difficulty. But since the mid 1990s onwards, plenty of oil producing countries became not so friendly places to get oil from. The crisis in Nigeria in the mid 90's is attributed towards causing oil to jump to $50 a barrel for the first time in history. And since 1990, the Middle East has been transformed drastically in terms of the political climate. Also recently, Venezuela has been trying to assert its political muscle using oil.

  • New offshore Drilling techniques


  • The Gulf of Mexico saw some major improvements in offshore drilling in the 1990s when new technologies could allow companies to drill upto a depth of 5,000 feet into the ocean to get oil. Suddenly, oil buried deep beneath the Gulf of Guinea was viable again.

  • Rising oil prices


  • The record profit of oil companies with the rising oil prices allowed them to start spending more money in research to get out of the ground or ocean faster.

    Given the above combination, the oil beneath the Gulf of Guinea seemed too good to pass up. Since the oil is buried in the ocean, it is free from some of the political problems faced on land in Nigeria -- the oil can be loaded directly onto ships heading for the U.S or Europe and this would avoid any problems while transporting the oil through troubled borders and armed gun-men wanting their share of the profits. The new oil rush in the African waters is just starting.

    My country, no, your country, but under my watchful eye

    Even though the colonial powers have officially left Africa, they cannot let go of their former colonies. Nicholas Shaxson examines some of these situations and highlights the French as one of the culprits in trying to maintain a hold on its colonies. In some cases, foreign nations are on friendly terms with a dictator because it suits their needs while in some cases, it is better for them if an elected leader is removed. The story of Equatorial Guinea's coup attempts might not be well known but they make for some fascinating reading.

    The Wonga Coup by Adam Roberts reads like a thriller probably because the events surrounding the two coup attempts were spawned from a fictional writer. It is alleged that the mastermind behind the first coup attempt in 1973 was the famous writer Frederick Forsyth. In 1973, these allegations were just rumours. But in 1974, when Forsyth’s novel The Dogs of War came out the rumours were turned towards suspicion. The story of the novel mirrors in almost exact detail what happened in the 1973 coup. Recently obtained material in 2005 might implicate Forsyth. When Adam Roberts interviewed Forsyth in 2006, Forsyth did not confirm or deny the rumours but said that Roberts can make up his own mind. Forsyth did confirm that in 1973 he went undercover in South Africa to collect information on coups and mercenaries. He claims that some of his data was mistakenly believed to a diary of a coup plot. One thing that can be confirmed is that the people involved in the second coup in 2004 used Forsyth's book The Dogs of War as a blueprint. Forsyth actually finds it amusing that his book was used as a plan and jokes that strange ideas can be hatched over beer.

    The influence of beer

    Adam Roberts begins The Wonga Coup by mentioning how the idea of the 2004 coup was first talked over plenty of beer. Also the idea's funding also lay in beer money as the architect of the coup, Simon Mann, came from a family which made money from a brewing company. The Polish writer Ryszard Kapuscinski often talked about the importance of a cold beer in Africa to combat the oppressive heat. One lasting image of Africa's portrayal features foreign expats, spies, mercenaries sitting in a bar sipping cold beer while discussing their political or financial plans. Even in Blood Diamond Danny Archer (DiCaprio) explains the African situation to Maddy (Jennifer Connelly) with the following words in a bar:"“over there it is bling bling, but here it is bling bang..".

    In the early years of Iraq's invasion, plenty of journalists wrote about experiences of drinking beer in hotel lobbies while waiting for the next big explosion or story to chase. In most cases, beer was used to pass the time before the next big story arrived but in the case of Equatorial Guinea, consumption of beer by a group of mercenaries may have led to a coup's origins.

    The full story, please!!!!

    When the media reports about crime in Africa, we are only told the obvious things -- who killed whom and in some cases by what weapon. Sometimes, some reports talk about how the weapons arrived in Africa in the first place but in most cases, the full story is never given. There are no weapons being manufactured in Africa, so they must have come from some nation. Did the foreign nation trade weapons for African oil? Why do nations continue to deal with rogue states? Oil, diamonds are obvious reasons, but what else? Who were the middlemen who conducted the weapons trade? Which nations did they come from? Are these weapons traders like Nicolas Cage’s character from Lord of War?

    If a Western nation's spy or former military officer is involved in an African nation's coup, then can the Western nation quietly deny involvement? What about Oil companies? In Untapped John Ghazvinian talks to some oil company representatives and engages them on the African situation. He gets some honest answers and some usual run of the mill answers about how foreign oil companies are not to blame for Africa's problems.

    The truth is that the world needs oil. It has to come from "somewhere". Oil companies will rush wherever they can sense oil and money to be made. In quite a few cases as mentioned in Untapped & Poisoned Wells, Western Oil companies made deals directly with dictators/rebels to get at the oil. So then is oil the problem? Is oil blinding all reason? Yes and a little no. Oil has become a problem today because the global economy is tied to it. But more than 70 years ago, that was not the case when gold was the universal currency. In the future, when all the oil has run out, then a new resource might take its place.

    For now, until there is oil under the ground in some part of the world, the following will always happen:
  • Elections will be rigged

  • Governments will be toppled

  • Wars will be waged

  • Money will change hands



  • And Finally....

    There Will be Blood!

    Wednesday, December 12, 2007

    Spotlight on Africa

    Back in February, inspired by an article in Sight and Sound, I sought out films from Africa. But the search proved challenging as most of the films mentioned in that article were elusive. In the end, of the four titles I got, only Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal) was highlighted in the article. My other three picks were random, basically whatever I could find. Out of the three, only When the Stars meet the Sea, a mythical fable from Madagascar was a personal favourite; Quartier Mozart (1992, Cameroon) & La Vie Est Belle (1987, Zaire) were decent enough as they provided some interesting moments of humour centered about themes of witchcraft & love. But these four were not enough for a decent spotlight, so I always wanted to find more titles from Africa.

    About 10 months on, the search still proved difficult but I managed to track down a few more titles from that Sight and Sound article, plus I got enough different films to atleast have a decent overview. The films also neatly fall into two distinct regional areas -- West Africa & North Africa.

    The West – Soccer & Films:

    Pic from: My Travel Guide

    Western Africa has provided a rich dose of films and soccer players over the last few decades. In fact, some of my favourite African soccer players have hailed from West Africa. Players such as Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast), Abedi Pele (Ghana), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), George Weah (Liberia), Kanu & Jay Jay Okacha (both from Nigeria) have fascinated me over the last 15 years or so. But these are just a handful of players from an impressive selection. Ofcourse, it is a bit easy to know about West Africa's pool of players because a huge number of them ply their trade in top European teams.

    There is also a rich selection of directors and films that have graced the international scene from the complex diversity of 16 countries that constitute West Africa. The films range from artistic & poetic tales to crude commercial works that cater to local cinematic palates. Stories that feature both harsh reality and magical myths are shown in equal measures, sometimes in the same film.

    Exile and the return: Sissako & Mambéty

    Professional African soccer players may be the highest paid people of the group that leave Africa for European employment. But plenty of other people who leave the continent struggle to earn an income in Europe. Some of them manage to do fine but find themselves longing for life back home. Such is the case of the main character Dramane in Abderrahmane Sissako's Life on Earth. Dramane (played by Sissako himself) decides that he wants to usher in the new century (2000) in his native Mali.

    At the film's start, we find Dramane wandering through a grocery story packed with numerous varieties of cheeses and other food items.


    He returns home to a village where the craziness of Year 2000 couldn't be further. It is a peaceful place where one would be thankful for finding even one brand of cheese.


    The relaxing life allows Dramane to ponder his life and even the fate of Africans on a global scale.


    I first saw Sissako's Waiting for Happiness (2002) and was impressed. That film was about a young man waiting to head to Europe for a better life (as the title indicates). So his days are spending waiting while watching people go by. Well Life on Earth is about a character's return back to Africa from Europe to find happiness. But this movie was made first, so it forms an interesting circle with his later work. And, there are some characters in the film who simply sit around and watch the world go by, much like in Waiting for Happiness.


    Exile is also a central idea in Djibril Diop Mambéty's 1992 film Hyenas. This time however, it is a woman who returns back to her village to seek revenge not peace. When she was a young girl, she was forced into prostitution by a man and had to leave the village in shame. After she has earned riches abroad, she returns to set things right. Besides the revenge aspect, the film is an interesting look at greed and how money can shift politics in one easy go. One absurd segment in the movie revolves around a trial which is rendered useless when the returned woman offers to buy the judge. While all the political games are going on, the hyenas (literally) are simply laughing on the sides. I saw Mambéty's Touki Bouki (1973) back in February. The title of that surreal road movie translated into ‘Journey of the Hyena’. Well, almost two decades later, Mambéty truly exposes the hyenas disguised as men.

    An element of exile is also tackled in Moolaade. A rich village elder's son is back from France to marry a local woman. The son is prized because of his French education and he returns with modern ideas which are at odds with those of his father. For example, the son supports equal rights for women as opposed to his father who wants the women to be oppressed like the old days. Interestingly enough, both the son in Moolaade and Dramane in Life on Earth find inspiration in the words of French poet Aimé Césaire, a person who fought for the rights of French colonies in Africa and the Caribbean.

    Old tradition and values vs winds of change:


    Certain traditions such as the importance of family are best kept and nurtured. But old traditions such as the oppression of women are best buried and forgotten. Ousmane Sembene's brilliant film Moolaade looks at a village’s old practice of female circumcision. Problems arise when a local woman supports the decision of a handful of girls to avoid the ritual. Her defiance leads to a mini revolution which shakes the old male dominated rule.

    In order to oppress the village people, the elders decide that radios should be banned because they are influencing the minds of the people and exposing the villagers to dangerous foreign ideas. So an order is issued to collect all the village radios and burn them. This scene echoes the burning of books depicted in Fahrenheit 411.


    The clash of traditional vs modern values is also depicted in Haramuya, a film set in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougo. The film also shows the economic difficulties that exist in the city where some people struggle to earn an income and have to resort to petty theft to make ends meet.

    Gaston Kaboré's Wend Kuuni is mostly the story of an orphaned ‘mute’ child and the family that takes him in. But around the boy, we can see old practices and beliefs dominating the people. Through a flashback, we learn about the traumatic event that caused the boy to lose his voice -- his mother had been accused of being a witch and killed. While the film shows that sometimes old beliefs can cause harm, the movie also highlights how traditional values can benefit as the boy in Wend Kuuni is lovingly raised by his new adopted family.

    Myth and witchcraft:

    My first introduction to the witchcraft that existed in Africa was through soccer. June 8, 1990. Argentina, the defending World Cup Champions, stumbled to an unbelievable defeat against Cameroon. No one could have predicated Cameroon's 1-0 win. I still remember that day and the reaction of shock that surrounded that win. Very soon afterwards, almost all neutrals were cheering for Cameroon and its 38 year old star Roger Milla. Most soccer players stop playing soccer in their early 30's, so it was extraordinary to see Milla playing at the top level at 38 (even more remarkably, Milla played in the 1994 World Cup and currently holds the record for the oldest player to have scored goal at the age of 42!). Milla was not supposed to have been in the team for the World Cup because he had retired from the game prior to 1990 but he was asked to play thanks to Cameroon's president. And what a great decision it was as Milla scored crucial goals to lead Cameroon into the quarter-finals. In fact, Cameroon were 7 minutes away from the World Cup semi-finals before England knocked them out. But despite the heroic on-field efforts by Cameroon, talk of witchcraft hovered around the team. It was rumoured that a witch doctor was brought in to bless the team. Was this blessing merely a stunt or an actual belief? Whatever the case maybe, with each subsequent World Cup, the talk of witchcraft does return whenever Cameroon or even Nigeria play. Witch doctors do make headlines predicting World Cup winners and even game scores! Such talks of witchcraft are not limited to Western Africa only but also find roots in almost all parts of Africa with maybe the exception being North Africa.

    When did the first mention of witchcraft originate? Probably with some of the oldest myths that can be found in a country’s history. Souleymane Cissé's film Yeelen beautifully films an ancient Mali myth about a battle between father and son (Nianankoro). Set in the 13th century Mali Empire, Nianankoro must tackle an entire cult group along with his wizard father while trying to restore his family name. The folk story is peppered with elements of magic and witchcraft in depicting the family battle. Because Nianankoro holds the power of magic, he is equally feared and respected.

    Kenyan author Ngugi Wa'Thiong'O's book Wizard of the Crow also features witchcraft in the story about a corrupt African ruler set in a fictional African country. In fact, the book's title comes from a magical curse that a character (a beggar) invokes in order to ward off the policemen chasing him. The beggar is amused to find that a simple hand written sign threatening a curse could have such a powerful effect on the adults and scare them into submission. Such is the power of magic on the minds of the people. I am still in the middle of reading the book so I am not sure if in the end reality will win over black magic.

    The Third Wood: witchcraft, love and family

    What is the third biggest film industry in the world? This Guardian article first drew my attention to the answer which stumped me -- Nollywood. The entirely video film industry in Nigeria churns out movies at a rapid rate behind the studios of Hollywood and Bollywood. Since none of the movies are shot on film or shown in a theater, producers and film-makers can quickly shoot and produce movies on video. The films are often distributed and sold at road-side stalls for an eager audience.

    Recently Film Int studied Nollywood in great detail. The essays ranged from history of the film industry to the themes covered and the social & political impacts of these movies. Unfortunately, none of those in-depth essays are available online but here a few quotes:

    "The first Nigerians to shoot feature fictional films on video were artists from the Yoruba travelling theatre tradition, who turned to video when making films on celluloid became prohibitively expensive as the result of Nigeria's catastrophic structural adjustment programme". Jonathan Haynes, Nnebue: the anatomy of power.

    "The Video film is arguably the most popular mode of cultural expression in Nigeria, produced at a rate which arguably makes Nigeria the hothouse of the genre in the world". Chukwuma Okoye, Looking at Ourselves in our Mirror.

    On Nollywood's essential themes: "the corruption, moral turbulence and pervasive anxiety of the post-oil-boom era; the garish glamour of Lagos; titillating and dangerous sexuality; melodramatic domestic conflicts; and immanent supernatural forces including both dark cultic practices and Pentecostal Christianity." Jonathan Haynes, Nnebue: the anatomy of power.

    "From its very beginnings in the 1990s the 'home video' industry in Nigeria has churned out movies that were constructed around a mode of narrative that seeks to naturalize the supernatural by dwelling on stories or plots that blend reality with fantasy. These movies have seized the imagination of audiences in Nigeria, across Africa and the African diaspora. It would seem that Nollywood movies have the strong capacity to appeal to deep currents in the psyche of its captive audiences, particularly its African audiences. The interplay between the magical and the real is part of the African consciousness and is part of the popular culture of postcolonial Africa." Hope Eghagha, Magical realism and the 'power' of Nollywood home video films.

    Even though Nollywood started out in Nigeria, a few articles show how the industry and its practices cover neighbouring Ghana and Ivory Coast as well. One of the most surprizing things I discovered was how a certain number of Nollywood films were inspired by Bollywood films. In fact, some Nollywood films entirely lifted the stories or even dance steps from Bollywood films such as Taal, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Maine Pyaar Kiya. In a way, it should not be a surprize that Bollywood's appeal reaches to the Nigerian audiences as the tales of domestic problems and love stories should have no problems finding homes in countries with a strong focus on family life.

    Images of a region:


    German filmmaker Ralf Schmerberg's 45 minute black and white documentary Hommage à noir manages to capture both the African village and city life in a series of gorgeous black and white visuals accompanied with resonating music. His camera captures tribal practices, leisurely soaks in all the sights and sounds of a local market and even records a local soccer game. Filmed mostly in Cameroon, the abstract images could be used to apply to certain Eastern, Central and Southern parts of the continent as well.

    Moving on to the North...


    The North – Football & Cinema:

    Pic from: My Travel Guide
    North Africa also has an amazing selection of top class soccer players but only a few of them leave for Europe. The Egyptian soccer league is the most established of the North African countries with the Moroccan league providing some worthy teams as well. One of my favourite North African players is Mustapha Hadji (Morocco) who was named African Footballer of the year in 1998. He had limited success in the English league but scored some amazing goals for Morocco.

    But sometimes football can indeed tale the state of a country or even a region. Professional Egyptian soccer is certainly better known than its other Arab North African counterparts, much like how Egyptian cinema and literature dominates its Northern African neighbours. In fact, for the longest time it was Egyptian film that dominated the entire Arab world. But in recent years, other nations such as Tunisia and even a few of the Middle Eastern countries have started making in-roads towards establishing a unique cinematic identity of their own. Tunisian film-maker Férid Boughedir’s insightful documentary Caméra arabe (1987) looks at the development of Arab cinema and its rise against a background of turbulent political pressures. It was interesting to watch Boughedir’s documentary but unfortunately, I was only familiar with one director in that 60 minute film -- Youssef Chahine.

    Coming of age via the lens of Férid Boughedir:

    I first came across Boughedir thanks to his 1996 film A Summer in La Goulette. Sometimes a movie impacts a person tremendously. In that regards, ..La Goulette was one of the first few foreign films to overwhelm me and leave me breathless. I was seduced by the film and its three female characters, one Christian, one Arab and one Jew. I too wanted to travel to the beaches of La Goulette to bask in the white walled town where the three girls wandered, leaving men speechless in their wake. It was a tremendously enjoyable film and showed that no matter what religion the girls followed, their fathers were equally stressed and worried about their daughters; the fathers wanted to protect their daughters from the eyes of the local boys at all costs but they didn’t realize that it was their daughters who were the ones eyeing boys with equal passion and lust in the first place.

    But before Boughedir showed the coming of age of teenage girls, he beautifully portrayed the maturing of a young boy Halfaouine: Child of the Terraces (1990). The film starts with the following images of the boy.


    What are the interesting images that are holding the boy’s attention? Well his mother has been talking him to the local Hamam since he was a little boy but she has not realized her boy is growing up fast and developing an interest in girls and women. His eyes are wide open because he is staring at the naked girls and women around him.

    The film is shown from the point of view of the little boy. We see what he sees and at times, we are given a few glimpses into the political revolution that is taking place around him. Not too much time is spent detailing the political struggles against a dictatorship regime because the boy does not understand what is going on. He has no idea why some people get arrested, why some disappear or how writing some harmless slogans on the wall could get someone in trouble. His goal in life is to understand the female species and to that end, he does accomplish his goal.


    The purpose of a film and struggles along the way:


    The last viewed film turned out to be an appropriate choice to close out the African spotlight. Youssef Chahine’s Alexandria Again and Forever details a film director’s struggle to get a movie made, the struggles he has with himself and his lead actor, the pressure of his producer, the overwhelming expectations of film festivals and the challenges posed by a writer’s strike. Chahine plays the main role in a film that can be described as his 8 ½.


    The issues described in the film could possibly plague every film-maker as they could find themselves questioning the relevance of each scene and even the impact that their work would have. And surely there are plenty of directors out there who have one eye on the film festival circuit during their film’s post-production. Indeed, some directors attempt to get their movies completed in time for that prestigious film festival screening. So when a director is working with an end goal already in mind, it is not far fetched to believe that the pressure of expectations could creep up into some of their decision making during the filming.


    Final notes:

    Africa will once again take centre stage for me at the start of 2008 thanks to the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament held in Ghana from Jan 20 – Feb 10. 16 nations from all corners of Africa would complete in this usually entertaining competition.

    Group A: Ghana, Namibia, Guinea, Morocco
    Group B: Nigeria, Benin, Mali, Ivory Coast
    Group C: Egypt, Sudan, Zambia, Cameroon
    Group D: Tunisia, Angola, South Africa, Senegal

    Ideally I would have liked to have a film festival to coincide with the soccer games but unfortunately, I would struggle to find films from all nations. As it stands, I have atleast seen films from 8 of the 16 countries. This spotlight was definitely an improvement in terms of getting films from African. But there are plenty of classics out there which are either lost or not distributed in North America. Slowly, but surely, maybe some of these works will start finding their way across the ocean.


    Film (Year, Director): Ratings out of 10
  • Life on Earth (1998, Abderrahmane Sissako): 9
  • Hyenas (1992, Djibril Diop Mambéty): 8
  • Moolaade (2004, Ousmane Sembene): 9.5
  • Haramuya (1995, Drissa Toure): 6.5
  • Wend Kuuni (1982, Gaston Kaboré): 6
  • Yeelen (1987, Souleymane Cissé): 8.5
  • Hommage à noir (1996, Ralf Schmerberg): 8
  • Caméra arabe (1987, Férid Boughedir): 7
  • Halfaouine: Child of the Terraces (1990, Férid Boughedir): 8
  • Alexandria Again and Forever (1990, Youssef Chahine): 7.5