ELEVENTH ANNUAL CASCADE FESTIVAL OF
AFRICAN FILMS
February/March 2001
Note: Links to resources are still being added to this site.
MOSSANE (1996, Senegal, 105 min.), directed by Safi Faye. In Sere with English subtitles. We are honored to open this year’s festival with the most recent feature film by one of Africa’s foremost women film directors, Safi Faye of Senegal. Young Mossane, whose name comes from the word for “beauty” in the Sere language, is “The Pearl of Mbissel” She is in the full, irresistible flush of adolescent radiance, and no one—not even her brother—can withstand her loveliness and grace. Her heart belongs to a poor student, Fara, but her parents have promised her from birth to wealthy young Diogoye. So, she must rebel, and the story takes on powerful, mythical dimensions. Six years in the making, Mossane is a work of passion and commitment from this admirable filmmaker, who will be on hand to introduce the film and answer questions for us.
Thursday, February 1, 7:30 p.m., Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd.
LE FRANC (1994, Senegal, 45 min.) and LA PETITE VENDEUSE DE SOLEIL /The Girl Who Sold the Sun (1999, Senegal, 45 min.), directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty. The Festival has chosen its first weekend to pay tribute to the memory of another of Senegal’s great directors, Djibril Diop Mambéty, who left us in 1998. Just before he died, he managed to complete one last film, La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil, which was the second in a planned trilogy of short films entitled Tales of Little People. Le Franc was the first. It tells the story of a penniless, pitiful musician, a ludicrous fellow, whose only hope lies in the national lottery. This absurd Everyman trudges across the shantytowns of Dakar, literally carrying his fate upon his back, in search of a way out. The protagonist of La Petite Vendeuse is 12-year-old Sili Laam, who drags herself across Dakar on her withered legs and crutches, trying to sell The Sun, the daily newspaper. Stubborn, good-humored, and proud, she too guides us through a Dakar that we will not see in tourist brochures, but which is authentic, alive, and filled with the resourcefulness of those who survive. A charming, powerful film. In Wolof with English subtitles.
Friday, February 2, 2:00 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
TOUKI BOUKI/Journey of the Hyena (1973, Senegal, 86 min.), directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty. We continue our tribute to Mambéty by bringing back his first feature. A milestone in the history of African cinema, Touki Bouki tells a universal story--a pair of lovers who will do anything to escape their life in the slums of Dakar. Mory and Anta hustle, steal, and scam their way across Dakar en route to the ship that they hope will take them to a life of bliss in Paris, which they are convinced is "almost Paradise." The film captures the deep ambivalence about tradition and modernity that we see in so many African films. In Wolof with English subtitles.
Saturday, February 3, 2:00 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
Read the Program Notes for Touki Bouki
HYENAS (1992, Senegal, 113 min.), directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty. Mambéty’s greatest film, and one of the Festival’s all-time favorites, Hyenas tells the story of Linguère Ramatou, a poor young woman who is impregnated and then cast off by a young man in search of a wealthy wife. The young man, Dramen Drameh, is now a popular, respected shopkeeper in line to become the mayor of Colobane. Then Ramatou returns, incredibly wealthy, and the citizens of Colobane are prepared to do anything in order to secure her largesse. Based on a play by the Swiss playwright Fredrich Dürrenmatt, Hyenas is a unique mix of traditional African morality and modernist style, blending tragedy, satire, and political critique. In Wolof with English subtitles.
Saturday, February 3, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
GENESIS (1999, Mali, 102 min.), directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko. By the director of Finzan and Guimba the Tyrant (1995), Genesis features the great Malian singer, Salif Keita, in this African rendition of the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau, with its overtones of fratricide and ethnic violence. Agriculturalists struggle against pastoralists, Israelites against Canaanites, in this story that has been transported to the semi-arid plateaus of Northeastern Mali. The director’s aim was “to return Africa to the center of consciousness and events, to build bridges between the concerns of Africans and of other people.” A rich, fascinating film. In Bambara with English subtitles.
Thursday, February 8, 12:00 p.m., and Friday, February 9, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
BYE BYE AFRICA (1998, Chad, 86 min.), directed by Mahamat Saleh Haroun. In this hybrid between documentary and work of fiction, director Mahamat Saleh Haroun returns to Chad after many years of exile in France. The country is in political turmoil, and the film industry is in total decline. He travels around N’Djaména with his old friend, a former projectionist, in order to document this decline and perhaps prepare for a new film project.. He comes to understand, though, that he himself is not without responsibility. Filmed quickly and inexpensively, this film manages to pose a number of profoundly self-critical questions about the role of cinema in a culture undergoing deep crisis. In French and Chadian Arabic with English subtitles.
Thursday, February 8, 2:00 p.m., and Saturday, February 10, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
JIM COMES TO JO’BURG/African Jim (1949, South Africa, 48 min.), directed by Donald Swanson. In English.
DOLLY AND THE INKSPOTS (1997, South Africa, 28 min.), directed by Peter Davis. In English.
When it appeared in 1949, Jim Comes to Jo’Burg was billed as “the first full-length entertainment film to be made in South Africa with an all native cast.” It is a simple, familiar story, that of a young man who leaves his village to make it in the big city. He quickly finds himself in trouble, but he has musical talent and a beautiful young woman who believes in him. What else does he need? Like the American “race” movies of the Thirties and Forties, this film was made on a low budget by Whites and geared towards an exclusively Black audience. It features a number of stars from the townships and was a sensation for Black audiences, who had never before seen their own heroes on screen. It is followed by a documentary by Peter Davis (who joined us last year as part of our panel discussion of the South African film Fools), which pays tribute to some of the stars of Jim: the great blues singer Dolly Rathebe and the African Inkspots. We see them forty years later and learn of their reliance on music to carry them through the worst days of Apartheid. Thursday, February 15, 12:00 p.m., and Friday, February 16, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
FINTAR O DESTINO/Dribbling Fate (1998, Cape Verde/Portugal, 77 min.), directed by Fernando Vendrell. Set in the Cape Verde Islands, this is a film about foolish dreams, missed opportunities, and reluctant understanding. Like all the men on the island, Mané dreamed of escaping to Portugal. He would do it through his prowess on the soccar field. But he gave up his dream in order to marry a local girl and settle down, and he has regretted it ever since. But now there is a younger version of himself with enormous potential, and the boy just might be his ticket off the island at last. Fate, however, has some tricky moves in store for Mané. In Portuguese and Criolo with English subtitles.
Thursday, February 15, 2:00 p.m., and Saturday, February 17, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS (1998, France/Belgium, 70 min.), directed by Michel Ocelot. For Family Film Day, we offer this charming animated children’s film based on a Congolese folk tale. It tells the story of Kirikou, a child born in a village upon which Karaba the sorceress has placed a terrible curse. Kirikou sets out on a quest to free his village of the curse and to find out the secret of why Karaba is so wicked. After its normously popular screening last year, we promised to bring it back, and we have! This time in an English version to make it easier for young children to appreciate.
Saturday, February 17, 2:00 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
YELLOW CARD (2000, Zimbabwe, 90 min.), directed by John Riber. A product of Media For Development (MFD), the same group that brought us Neria, More Time, and Everyone’s Child , Yellow Card is another film from Zimbabwe that openly probes contemporary issues. Seventeen-year-old Tiyane is a bright young man from Highfields Township, a good student, a star striker for the Highfields Hyenas soccar team, very attractive to the young women. His world comes crashing down on him when he discovers that he has somehow become a father. Life has handed him a “yellow card”; will he heed its warning? A big hit in Zimbabwe, the film has an infectious soundtrack and characters we can all relate to. In English.
Thursday, February 22, 12:00 p.m., and Friday, February 23, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
HALFAOUINE/Child of the Terraces (1990, Tunisia, 98 min.), directed by Ferid Boughedir. Young Noura hates to go to the Turkish baths with his mother. He is too old for that, not far from puberty. But events transpire that make the baths suddenly more attractive to him, in this wonderful film about coming-of-age, gender identity, repression, and liberation. As Noura, young Selim Boughedir takes his place among the most memorable of child actors in one of the best films ever to come from North Africa In Arabic.
Thursday, February 22, 1:30 p.m., and Saturday, February 24, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
SAMBIZANGA (1972, Angola, 102 mins.), directed by Sarah Maldoror. This African film classic was made at the height of the Angolan struggle for independence from Portugal. Dimingos is a good worker, a loving husband and father . . . and a secret fighter for independence. When he is sold out by one of his comrades, he finds himself on a long, painful journey to prison and torture. His wife Maria, who knows little of his clandestine activities, embarks on a journey of her own, following him to the capital, trying to make sense of what has happened. Raw, powerful, a rare glimpse at an independence struggle from a woman’s point of view, this film tells her story. In Portuguese and Criolo with English subtitles.
Thursday, March 1, 12:00 p.m., and Friday, March 2, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade Campus.
BATTLE OF THE SACRED TREE (1995, Kenya, 82 min.), directed by Wanjiru Kinyanjui. We end the series, and African Women Filmmakers Week, with this first feature by a young Kenyan woman, Wanjiru Kinyanjui. Mumbi, the daughter of a traditional healer, returns to her Kikuyu village after leaving her abusive husband. Eager to soak in the restorative powers of her tradition, she finds herself instead in the middle of a controversy. The local Christian Ladies Society has decided that it is time to cut down an ancient tree that has been venerated by the villagers for generations. Faced with the impossible task of stopping them, Mumbi finds within herself the resources to unite the village in an act of communal healing. In English and Kikuyu.
CHEF! /Chief! (1999, Cameroon, 61 min.), directed by Jean-Marie Teno.
LA TETE DANS LES NUAGES /Head in the Clouds (1994, Cameroon, 37 min.), directed by Jean-Marie Teno.
Director of the excellent feature film Clando (which showed in the Eighth Festival), Jean-Marie Teno is also an excellent documentarist. His film Afrique, je te plumerai/Africa, I Will Pluck You (1992) is a powerful presentation of the impact of colonialism on his country. Tonight’s films point to problems that have continued to plague Africa since independence: corruption, disastrous economies, cultural submission. In Chef! he demonstrates the connections between authoritarianism in the one-man government and in the patriarchal family. Witty, thought-provoking, and passionate, Teno blends the personal and the political in his life and in his work. In French with English subtitles.
Thursday, February 8, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade.
KAFI'S STORY (1989, Sudan/United Kingdom, 53 min.), directed by Arthur Howes. In Nubian with English subtitles.
NUBA CONVERSATIONS, (1999, Sudan/United Kingdom, 55 min.) directed by Arthur Howes. In English and Nubian with English subtitles.
The award-winning Kafi’s Story puts a tape recorder in the hands of a young man from the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, who travels north to Khartoum in search of a job that will pay him enough to buy a wedding dress for his second wife. He shares his thoughts, emotions, and desires with the tape recorder, allowing us access to his personal authenticity. The film is followed by Nuba Conversations. At the time that he filmed Kafi’s Story, director Arthur Howes promised that he would return to Sudan to show his films. However, circumstances conspired to keep him from returning for ten years. This film begins with his narrating the story of his return, then shifts to the stories of the Nubians with whom he reconnects and allows them to tell their own tales of genocide, persecution, and uncertainty in their own words.
Thursday, February 15, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade.
FAMILY ACROSS THE SEA (1991, U.S. and Sierra Leone, 56 min.), directed by Tim Carrier.
THE LANGUAGE YOU CRY IN (1998, Sierra Leone/Spain, 52 min.), directed by Alvaro Toepke and Angel Serrano.
These two films unveil the long-forgotten connections between the Gullah people of South Carolina’s Sea Islands and the people of Sierra Leone. Family Across the Sea t presents the work of a pioneering black linguist, Lorenzo Turner, who in the 1930s discovered over 3,000 words of African origin in the Gullah dialect, thereby revealing the deep continuities that managed to endure despite the tribulations of slavery. The film ends with a Gullah delegation visiting their Sierra Leonean homeland. The Language You Cry In picks up where Family Across the Sea leaves off. It demonstrates the contribution of contemporary scholarship to restoring what narrator Vertamae Grosvenor calls the “non-history” imposed on African Americans by the institutions of slavery and racism. It focuses on a song that was common to both Gullah and Mende culture and builds to an acutely powerful demonstration of the healing powers of language, culture, and re-discovered history.
Thursday, February 22, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade.
LONG NIGHT’S JOURNEY INTO DAY (1999, South Africa/U.S., 95 min.), directed by Frances Reid and Deborah Hoffmann. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, Long Night’s Journey Into Day tells takes us into the world of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Under the influence and leadership of Bishop Desmond Tutu, the new South African government has chosen the path of restoring its damaged soul by telling and bearing witness to the truth. We follow four very different cases that came before the Commission, including that of white American exchange student Amy Biehl, whose parents meet their daughter’s black murderer and his family. We also see the family members of the Cradock Four, black activists slain by a white policeman. Powerful and painful, this film eschews easy finger-pointing and engages audiences directly in the process of witnessing, forgiving, and healing.
Thursday, March 1, 7:30 p.m., Terrell Hall, Room 122, PCC Cascade.
RETURN to CFAF Notes & Resources