SISTERS OF THE SCREEN (West Africa/USA, 2002, 73 min.), directed by Beti Ellerson, image and sound by Christophe Poulenc. In English and French with English subtitles.

In our post-film discussions—and particularly when we had Safi Faye here as our guest, we have often talked about the triple-challenges faced by African women filmmakers: (a) the many production/distribution difficulties faced by all directors working in Africa, (b) the obstacles they face because of their gender, and (c) the problems inherent in trying to reconcile the various roles in their lives. We have talked about ability that women filmmakers have, particularly in North Africa, of penetrating and bringing us into feminine worlds that are off-limit to men. We have talked about the way that women filmmakers can expose us to the intimacies and frustrations of women’s experience.

Tonight, we are pleased to offer a film that foregrounds these and many other questions regarding the situation of African women filmmakers, and seeks answers from the filmmakers themselves. The product of tremendous effort by Howard University professor Beti Ellerson, Sisters of the Screen brings together women from all over the African continent, and the inquiry is clearly that of a woman engaging with other women.

In between the two quotes above, which serve to frame this film, we see and hear from the following women:

Aïssatou Adamou, Niger, Director

Shirikiana Aina, USA, Director/Producer

Gyasiwa Ansah, Ghana, Director

Chantal Bagilishya, France/Rwanda, Producer

Marie-Clémence Blanc Paes, France/Madagascar, Producer

Tsitsi Dangarembga, Zimbabwe, Writer/Director

Zeinabu Irene Davis, USA, Director

Hélène Maïmouna Diarra, Mali, Actor

M’bissine Théeèse Diop, Senegal, Actor
Alexandra Duah, Ghana, Actor

Safi Faye, France/Senegal, Director

Anne-Laure Folly, France/Togo, Director

Lucy Gebre-Eqziabher, USA/Ethiopia, Director

Valerie Kaboré, Burkina Faso, Director

Aï Keïta-Yara, Burkina Faso, Actor

Amssatou Maïga, Burkina Faso, Actor

Sara Maldoror, France/Guadeloupe/Angola, Director

Ouméma Mamadali, France/Comoros, Director

Salem Mekuria, USA/Ethiopia, Director

Zanele Mthembu, USA/South Africa, Director

Thembi Mtshali, South Africa, Actor/Singer

Catherine Wangui Muigai, Kenya, Producer

Anne Mungai, Kenya, Director

Fanta Régina Nacro, France/Burkina Faso, Director

Ngozi Onwurah, UK/Nigeria, Director

Franceline Oubda, Burkina Faso, Director

Monique Phoba, Benin/Congo, Director

Horria Saïhi, Algeria, Director

Naky Sy Savane, Cote d’Ivoire, Actor

Cilia Sawadogo, Canada/Germany/Burkina Faso, Director

Wabei Siyolwe, USA/Zambia, Director/Producer

Naiwa Tlili, Canada/Tunisia, Director

Prudence Uriri, Zimbabwe, Director

Zara Mahamat Yacoub, Chad, Director

Florentine Yaméogo, Burkina Faso, Director

In addition, we get to see excerpts from a number of films, some directed by women, others made by men and featuring powerful performances by women actors: Selbe by Safi Faye; Sidet by Salem Mekuria; Women with Open Eyes and Women of Niger by Anne-Laure Folly, Dilemme au Feminin by Zara Mahamat Yacoub; Anna From Benin by Monique Phoba; Body Beautiful and Monday’s Girls by Ngozi Onwurah; Buud Yaam by Gaston Kaboré, with actor Amssatou Maïga; Guimba the Tyrant by Cheick Oumar Sissoko, with Hélène Maïmouna Diarra; Taafe Fanga by Adama Drabo, with Hélène Maïmouna Diarra; Mapantsula by Oliver Schmitz, with Thembi Mtshali; Finzan by Cheick Oumar Sissoko, with Hélène Maïmouna Diarra, Saikati the Enkabaani, by Anne Mungai, and Awara Soup by Marie-Clémence Blanc Paes.

The interviews are not simply grouped by filmmaker; rather, they are organized thematically. A lot of ground is covered in 70 minutes, including

• The challenges of women to integrate their work into the totality of their lives (as wives and mothers)
• Abililty of women filmmakers to speak authoritatively about woman’s experience
• Circumcision treated with complexity
• Western stereotypes of African women
• Women as witnesses to war and violence
• Women as actors, looking inside for their roles
• Special challenges faced by women filmmakers
• Resisting the objectification of African women actors
• Difficulty of finding scripts with good roles for African women
• The complex identity of mixed-race and expatriate women filmmakers
• Women filmmakers organizing themselves for mutual support
• The 1991 FESPACO and Its Treatment of Women Filmmakers from the Diaspora
• Resisting and healing the dichotomies self-imposed or imposed by others (e.g., Francophone vs. Anglophone, African vs. Diasporan)
• The question of whether or not there is such a thing as a "woman’s sensibility."

While inspiring, the statements and testimonials in these interviews show these filmmakers as real women, facing real difficulties. They don’t necessarily have all the answers. As you can see from the above list, two of the final sequences in fact focuse on some of the issues that divide these women filmmakers. Still, the overall thrust of the film is clearly their identification with all that brings them together as women and as filmmakers.

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