African Film Festival 2008
March 27~30, 7:00 pm
Washington University, Brown Hall 100
Screenings are FREE
and open to general public.
All with English subtitles.
Thursday, March 27
Meokgo and the Stick Fighter
Teboho Malatshi, South Africa/Lesotho, 2006, 19 minutes
(Sotho with English subtitles)
In a haunting tale spiced with magical realism, Kgotso, a stick fighter who lives a solitary life in the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho, falls in love with a beautiful and mysterious woman. This story of unrequited love and sacrifice captures the cruelty and the beauty of African magical beliefs.
Juju Factory
Balufu Bakupu-Kanyinda, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2006, 97 minutes
(French with English subtitles)
Kongo lives in Brussels, in the Matonge district, on which he is writing a book. His editor wants a traveler's book; however, the writer is inspired by the vision of complex and tormented souls that he meets at all crossings. Kongo Congo follows invisible ways connected to the Congolese history and its ghosts.
International Award Best Film, Kenya International Film Festival 2007 Golden Dhow Award Best Film, Zanzibar International Film Festival 2007 The Tyrol Award Best Film, 16th International Film Festival Innsbruck 2007
Friday, March 28
Mama Put
Seke Somolu, Nigeria, 2006, 30 minutes
A single woman, who makes and sells street food, is struggling to bring up her family. A gang of armed youth break into the house, demand food, and threaten to kill the family if the meal is not tasty. They return regularly, giving the family money and household items in return for delicious cooking. But when a robbery goes wrong, the cozy relationship becomes dangerous.
Bamako
Abderrahmane Sissako, Mali, 2006, 118 minutes
(French & Bambara with English subtitles)
Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work, and the couple is on the verge of breaking up. In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, a trial court has been set up. Africa civil society spokesmen have taken proceedings against the World Bank and the IMF, whom they blame for Africa's woes. The film screens like a docudrama, as life goes on in the courtyard.
Best Prize, Human Rights Film Festival of Lomé (Togo) 2007
Council of Europe "FACE" Award, International Istanbul Film Festival 2007
Best French-language film, LUMIERES 2007
Jury's Prize, Carthage Film Festival 2006
Public Award, Paris Cinéma Film Festival Bamako 2006
Saturday, March 29
Menged
Daniel Taye Workou, Ethiopia, 2006, 21 minutes
(Amharic & Italian with English subtitles)
A lot can happen in the Ethiopian countryside on the way to the market. A father and his son follow everybody's good advice...and come back to their senses. Adapted from a traditional Ethiopian folk tale, the film is a parable for Ethiopia today: a country in transition between modernism and traditional belief.
Best Short Film, FESPACO 2007
Best Short Film (Crystal Bear), Berlin International Film Festival 2007
Jury's Special Mention, Environmental Film Festival, France 2006
Jury's Special Prize, 26th Festival International du film d'Amiens, France 2006
Clouds over Conakry
Cheick F. Camara, Guinea, 2007, 113 minutes
(French & Malinke with English subtitles)
At the age of 25, the artist–caricaturist BB finds himself chosen to be his father's successor. Son of the inflexible imam who is also the guardian of his village's ancestral traditions, BB refuses to accept his destiny, preferring to work independently and live life to the fullest. This film finds a new approach to the tradition-versus-modernity theme frequently seen in African cinema.
Audience award winner, FESPACO 2007
Sunday, March 30
Growing Stronger
Tsitsi Dangarembga, Zimbabwe, 2005, 30 minutes
(English & Shona with English subtitles)
After living a high profile life as a model and wife to the then-coach of the Zimbabwe national football team, Tendayi Westerhof stunned the nation in 2002 by going public about her HIV-positive status. She became a different kind of public figure: an elegant and glamorous AIDS activist in the world of modeling and the public media.
Winner of the Gender, Equity & Media Award, South Africa 2006
A Love During the War
Osvalde Lewat-Hallade, Cameroon, 2005, 63 minutes
(French, Swahili, & Lingala with English subtitles)
This documentary explores the consequences when rape is used as a weapon of war from the perspective of women in Africa. Aziza and her husband were separated when the Congo-Kinshasa war broke out in 1996. Six years later, they reunite in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). But the souvenirs of the horrors suffered by other women in eastern DRC still haunt journalist Aziza.
African Students in the School of Social Work will be leading a post-show discussion immediately following the screenings.
Youth Program
Presented at the Saint Louis Art Museum
Wednesday, March 26
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon
L'arbre aux Esprits
Cilia Sawadogo, Canada/Burkina Faso, 2005, 45 minutes
(French with English subtitles)
Kodou and Tano meet Ayoka, the spirit of the tree that is soon to be cut by an entrepreneur. This film for all ages combines West African and North American storytelling, with the message that spirits and interior life exist in nature all around us. Elementary and middle schools.
Gallery tours and activity to follow.
Thursday, March 27
12 noon – 2:15 p.m.
Hop
Dominique Standaert, Belgium, 2003, 100 minutes
(French & Flemish with English subtitles)
Justin and his father Dieudonnè are illegal African immigrants living in Brussels. One night, a crucial soccer match featuring their soccer hero, Congolese player Emile M'Penza, changes their life. The filmmaker treats the subject of childhood and immigrant life with great humor, alternating tragic and comic details, to provide an uplifting and morally rich tale. Middle and high schools.
Best Film, Buster International Children's Film Festival 2003
