A humorous perspective on a problem child

Africa is hot. There is not a newspaper around that has not featured articles on the continent these past few months. VANITY FAIR’s (leading American magazine) July issue was even entirely devoted to Africa. Under the inspired leadership of guest-editor Bono, prominent people like George Bush and Madonna were eager to share their involvement with the African continent. Africa is incontrovertibly on the move, but it seems that especially the western view on Africa is evolving; the problem child is maturing, with plenty of cultural, social and political possibilities.

The tenth anniversary of AFRICA IN THE PICTURE reflects all these developments. From September 6 -16 the festival will feature an eclectic selection of 44 films, which originate mostly from the continent itself. The festival’s complete programme will be shown at Rialto cinema in Amsterdam. A selection of these films will also be shown at Lantaren/Venster in Rotterdam, Filmhuis Den Haag, Chassé Cinema in Breda, LUX in Nijmegen and the Verkadefabriek in Den Bosch. In the week preceding the festival various free open air cinemas will be organized in seven neighbourhoods in Amsterdam, Assen, Rotterdam and The Hague.

The thread running through this year’s festival is humour. It often enables directors certain liberties, which they would not be permitted in other genres. Through humour the films tackle loaded social, political and cultural subjects in a surprising way. The satire CLOUDS OVER CONAKRY, for example, deals with religious hypocrisy and manipulation in Guinea, and in the comedy JUJU FACTORY the painful colonial history between Congo and Belgium is explored. I’M THROUGH WITH WHITE GIRLS gives a hilarious view on black men who solely date white women. The exceptional TENGERS is the first South African clay animated feature, in which director Michael J. Rix satirizes modern life in Johannesburg.

The celebration of the new Ethiopian Millennium is the festive occasion behind the festival’s screening of various highlights from Ethiopian cinematic history. Among the features of this special focus is MENGED, which deals with the misadventures of a father and son on their way to market. MENGED by Daniel Taye Workou was awarded the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and the Golden Horse at the Fespaco Film Festival in 2007. On Friday September 7 the festival starts celebrating the Ethiopian Millennium with a special evening filled with Ethiopian films, debates, music and food in Rialto Cinema.

The elections and Charles Taylor’s trial triggered the festival’s second special focus: SIERRA LEONE IN THE PICTURE. The cinematic highlight is EZRA by Newton Aduaka, a gripping film that deals with child soldiers in Sierra Leone. SIERRA LEONE IN THE PICTURE also contains public interviews with directors Newton Aduaka (EZRA) and Jonathan Bundu (KING OF THE STALLS and INSIDE THE SALOON), documentaries and short films. In the autumn EZRA will be digitally screened for several schools in cinemas across the country. The 2007 edition also contains the usual programme items like AFRICAN DIASPORA, HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MOTHERLAND and GAY AFRICA.

And last but not least, Africa in the Picture and AT5 Film Productions unleash an actual battle through the YOUR HOOD IN THE PICTURE project. Youths, from five different neighbourhoods in Amsterdam, are battling it out over which one will come up with the most original and comic short film about their culture and (neighbour)hood. Their filmmaking skills were honed during a professional workshop and their progress can be viewed at WWW.AT5.NL and WWW.AFRICAINTHEPICTURE.NL. From August 31 onwards the final shorts will be shown at the free open air cinemas, in the neighbourhoods in which they were created, and on AT5. The awardwinning short will be announced during the festival’s opening on September 6 in Rialto. Afterwards the short will also be broadcast on the regional TV-channel AT5. •