Africa in Motion Event
The Edinburgh Film Guild and the Africa in Motion Film Festival bring you a collection of African short films from Morocco, Mali, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mozambique and South Africa. Produced by often-overlooked African filmmakers, this showcase offers a unique opportunity to engage with the continent's stories as seen through the eyes of its own artistic visionaries and offers an alternative to the often Western-dominated depiction of the region. From experimental to fiction, these short films will surely strike a chord with any curious film enthusiast while offering an opportunity to delve deeper into the realm of African cinema.
Feel free to join in on the experience - for only a single short film or for the entire collection. Whether you are an African film connoisseur or just have passing interest in the region, all are welcome to attend this free event!
The Africa in Motion film festival runs from 21 Oct to 5 Nov at Filmhouse Cinema and other venues. The website is www.africa-in-motion.org.uk.
Wednesday 20th October, 3pm
A Rite of Passage
Paul Emmanuel | SA | 2008| Experimental | 14mins
In this silent and visually stunning documentary, the viewer is challenged to empathise with fresh recruits at the 3SAI military base while their obligatory hair shave changes them irrevocably. Undercut with ambiguous and abstracted images of the vast plains of the Karoo, the monotony of the action and their initial indifference evolve to reveal intimate mirror images of their faces and feelings, exposing a vulnerability behind the rhythms of a production line set-up.
The Young Lady and the Teacher
Mohamed Nadif | Morocco | 2007 | Fiction | 16mins 30
This is the beautifully shot and sensitively acted story of a meeting between a teacher Hakim and a young woman in the settlement he moves to. The young woman has taken leave of her senses as her brother drowned while crossing the Mediterranean to get to Italy. Carrying a terrible secret of his own, Hakim manages to change the woman’s state of mind. These two outcasts transform the dynamics of the village and bring peace back to the lives of the children and the elders.
Hidden Places (Fithla)
Jamie Beron | SA | 2008 | Fiction | 12mins
This story follows three childhood friends who are still haunted by the accidental killing of a shop owner’s son. Twelve years on, the police uncover the body of this young man, while they thought it was buried forever. Their worlds are turned upside down as they are propelled back into the past, and their future becomes uncertain. Their individual paranoia influences their precarious friendship as they come to terms with their dark secret.
A History of Independence
Daouda Coulibaly | Mali | 2009 | Docu-Fiction | 21mins
In the early 1960s, Nama and Siré got married. Nama decides to settle in a cave to lead a secluded life and to devote himself to God. One day, God sends an angel to Nama to thank him for being so devoted and asks Nama to make three wishes. Monologues in the voice-over clash with the images, while establishing an compelling parallel between marriage and freedom; and women’s independence and mistaken values. The different voices express different interpretations of freedom and independence.
Borderline
Sonia Chamkhi | Tunisia | 2007 | Fiction | 25mins
Borderline is a love story set in an unlikely place. It tells about the encounter and relationship of a man and woman at the crossroads of a city that seems inhospitable and forbidding. Both having come to the city to find work, they are living amongst dilapidated buildings and construction sites that – like their burgeoning love affair – contains a promise for the future. But a naive belief in the promise of the city makes the disillusionment even more painful.
Waramutseho!
Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu | Cameroon | 2009 | Fiction | 21mins 46
Kabera and Uwamungu are two Rwandan students who live together in the suburbs of Toulouse. Chaos erupts in their country and Kabera learns that members of his family took part in the massacre of his friend’s family. The two remarkable performances of the main characters make the frustrations of their powerlessness palpable to the audience. This film continues AiM’s theme of trauma and reconciliation as two friends are torn apart due to the events in their home country.
The Storm (Tempestade)
Orlando Mesquita | Mozambique | 2008 | Fiction | 24mins
This film shows how it takes real courage to change what is wrong. In a small fishing village in Mozambique a young fisherman Noé must confront his father’s domestic abuse. Beautifully shot with vibrant colours and passionate acting, the story reveals several layers, connected by the strength of the women in this village. In particular Rosa stands up to her father-in-law and manages to reignite the women’s self-respect that will ultimately lead to a more close-knit community.
Latest News
Chinese Cinema @ EFG
Starting on Sunday 1st May we will be having a bonus mini-season of Chinese films from the 1950s and early 1960s, which all members are entitled to attend. Each screening, at 7pm, will be introduced by Dr Julian Ward, who will also lead a post-film discussion.
1st May - White Haired Girl (Changchun, Wang Bin and Shui Hua, 1950),
8th May - New Year Sacrifice (Beijing, Sang Hu, 1956)
15th May - Before the New Director Arrives (Changchun, Lü Ban, 1956)
22nd May - Hero in the Bandits' Den (First of August, Yan Jizhou and Hao Guang, 1958)
29th May - Lin Family Shop (Beijing, Shui Hua, 1959)
4th June - Land Mine Warfare (First of August, Tang Yingqi, Xu Da and Wu Jianhai, 1962)
11th June - Stage Sisters (Tianma, Xie Jin, 1965)
Posted on Sunday 10th April 2011
Programme change
Elena et les hommes has been replaced by another Jean Renoir film,
The Vanishing Corporal / Le Caporal Épingle.
Posted on Monday 7th March 2011
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Thanks
Posted on Thursday 17th February 2011
Programme Notes
All programme notes for our screenings.
Posted on Monday 17th January 2011
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Posted on Friday 8th October 2010