New wave of African films attracts audiences in Canada
Calgary Africa Film Festival

In June 2002, a small, but well selected festival of African cinema, showed that the new wave of African filmmaking is yielding excellent quality that can attract world audiences. In the days preceding the G8 meeting of the political leaders of the world's wealthiest countries, in Kananaskis, Canada, a festival of African films & music helped to raise consciousness about issues concerning Africa. The playfully phonetic name, and no charge admission policy, belied the excellent programme selection and presentation of Calgary's Afrikabeat festival, held from June 19-22, 2002, in Calgary's Uptown Cinema.
The large 1950's style cinema was packed for all four days of performances of an excellent, though small, selection of recent African feature films. The films were accompanied by musical performances led by Senegalese born Canadian, Alpha Yaya Diallo. The films in the selection represented a new realism in African cinema, and are briefly described below:
Lumumba: Dir Raoul Peck; 115 mins; Belgium; selected for Cannes Director Series. The true story of the first Prime Minister of Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo), murdered less than three months after he came to power. The dramatisation works well as a piece of cinema which portrays the idealism and cynicism present in African politics, although the pacing could have been improved by streamlining some of the political arguments. Lumumba is on release in video rental outlets throughout Canada.
Ochre and Water: Dir Craig Mathew and Joelle hesselet; 53 mins, South Africa; winner Rockie Award Special Jury Prize 2002. More than an excellent ethnographic film about one of the threatened aboriginal peoples of southern Africa, the Himba, this film portrays an ancient culture in dynamic dialogue with the government of Namibia, which needs to construct a dam in order to provide the water for national development. Issues of the conflicting demands of national development, and conservation of the natural environment and ancient cultures, as well as negative views of these cultures in local government, are brought to the viewer without didactics, though it would have been interesting to briefly discuss the alternatives available for national development.
100 days: Dir Nick Hughes; 96 mins; Kenya. The story of the government co-ordinated genocide of the Tutsi people in Rwanda. A dramatisation of the experience of one village, makes no attempt to present an overview or analysis of the situation from a world perspective, but rather manages to portray the ordinary people who are victims and perpetrators, and the local mechanics of brutality. The seemingly arbitrary movements of local UN peace keepers asks questions of the UN's chain of command in these situations. The Canadian audience found some of the scenes of violence difficult to watch, but these could not be considered to be gratuitous.
Yellow Card: Dir John Riber; 92 minutes; Zimbabwe. A soccer player seems destined to become a star. His journey toward self knowledge and responsibility involves choices of sex and commitment, in a part of the world where one in four of the population is HIV positive.
Ryan's Well: Dir Lalita Krishna; 50 minutes; Canada. "A touching film about a Canadian boy who shows that one person can change the world", in this case by raising $500,000 for water well construction in Uganda. However, this film about the wonderful work of fundraisers in the first world, asks few questions about why the Ugandan government is unable to provide this basic human necessity itself.
God Is African: Dir Akin Omotoso; 95 mins; South Africa. When the South African government exercises a subdued approach toward the planned execution of Nigerian writer Ken Sarowiwa and eight other men, students at Key University decide to do something more dramatic. God is African "portrays a new consciousness of what it is to be African".

Contact: www.africabeat.org or email: [email protected]