Africa Film Festival Ghent 2024
AFRICA FILM FESTIVAL GHENT, DE CENTRALE (27 – 30 March, 25 April 2024) - flyer
OPENING EVENING : Wednesday 27 March, at 20h00 (Turbinezaal)
Tickets: € 8 (vvk), € 11 (adk), € 5 (vvk met Uitpas; -18 j; groepen +10), € 2,2 (kansentarief)
Via www.uitbureau.be
- Official opening by the Alderman for Culture Sami Souguir.
- Short film: Le Retour by Isabelle Christiane Kouraogo (Morocco, 2021) (17 min.) Cast: Tracy Meud'z, Khalid Bongazzoul
Spoken: French / Subtitled: English
Salimata, a foreign student in Morocco, learns that her sick mother is dying. She wants to go home as soon as possible to see her one last time. Because she has no money for a plane ticket, she decides to hitchhike to Dakar.
- Main film: Black Tea by Abderrahmane Sissako
(France/Mauretania/Taiwan/Ivory Coast, 2024) (110 min.)
(BELGIAN AVANT PREMIERE!)
Cast: Nina Mélo, Han Chang, Ke-Xi Wu, Michael Chang, Isabelle Kabano
Spoken: Mandarin, French / Subtitled: Dutch/French
Aya, a young Ivorian woman in her early thirties, says 'no' to everyone's surprise on her wedding day. After emigrating to China, she works in a tea export shop with Cai, a 45-year-old Chinese man. Aya and Cai fall in love, but can their relationship survive their troubled past and the prejudices of others?
The film has been selected for the Official Competition of the Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) 2024.
- Opening reception around 10:30 PM
Thursday 28 March, at 20h00 (Turbinezaal)
Tickets: € 8 (vvk), € 11 (adk), € 5 (vvk met Uitpas; -18 j; groepen +10), € 2,2 (kansentarief)
Via www.uitbureau.be
- Short documentary: Dann Dolé (Résilience) by Pierre Maurice Lopy (Senegal, 2022) (12 min.)
Spoken: Wolof / Subtitled: English
Ndeye Aminata Seck, a mother of three, wakes up early every day to prepare and sell meals at her food stall from morning to evening to provide for her family. The film is a testimony to the power of independence, ambition and willpower.
- Main documentary: Between the Rains by Andrew H. Brown and Moses Thuranira (Kenya/United States, 2023) (82 min.)
Spoken: Swahili / Subtitled: English
This visually stunning documentary tells the story of the Turkana community who, during a period of prolonged drought in northern Kenya, increasingly face violent clashes with rival groups hunting their livestock. The film follows Kolei, a shepherd boy who tries to adapt to the radically changing climatic conditions in his pastoral region. The young man not only struggles with his position as a warrior, he also questions the erosion of the culture that has shaped every aspect of his life. This moving coming-of-age story captivatingly shows how climate change threatens one of the world's oldest communities.
- Post-screening discussion led by Annelies Verdoolaege (Africa Platform, Ghent University)
Friday 29 March, at 20h00 (Turbinezaal)
Tickets: € 8 (vvk), € 11 (adk), € 5 (vvk met Uitpas; -18 j; groepen +10), € 2,2 (kansentarief)
Via www.uitbureau.be
- Short docufiction: Kolonga (S’en sortir) by Martin Makitakow (DR Congo, 2022) (20 min.) Language: Lingala / Subtitled: English
The Espace Masolo Center shelters street children who are often accused by their parents of witchcraft. It is a phenomenon attributed to religious practices of fundamentalist Protestant churches (Eglises de Réveil).
- Main feature: Nome by Sana Na N’Hada (Guinea-Bissau/Portugal, 2023) (117 min.)
Cast: Marcelino Antonio Ingira, Binete Undonque, Marta Dabo, Helena Sanca
Language: Portuguese and Creole / Subtitled: English
Guinea-Bissau, 1969. A violent war rages between the Portuguese colonial army and the guerrillas of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde. Nome leaves his village and joins the resistance group Maquis. After years, he returns as a hero, but joy quickly turns into bitterness and cynicism.
Saturday 30 March, at 20h00
Tickets: € 15 (vvk), € 18 (adk), € 12 (vvk met Uitpas; - 18 j; groepen + 10), € 3,6 (kansentarief)
Via www.uitbureau.be
- Film . Mambar Pierrette by Rosine Mbakam (Cameroon/Belgium, 2023) (93 min.)
Cast: Pierrette Aboheu, Cécile Tchana, Karelle Kenmogne, Fabrice Ndjeuthat, Marguerite Mbakop
Language: Bamiléké and French / Subtitled: Dutch and French
Douala is bustling with the start of the new school year. Customers flock to Pierrette's workshop to pick up school uniforms for their children and ceremonial attire. Pierrette is more than just a seamstress; she is also the confidante of her clients and of a generation. But when heavy rains threaten to flood her workshop, one of the many setbacks she faces, Pierrette must keep her head above water.
Concluding reflection by Deputy Mayor of International Solidarity, Hafsa El-Bazioui.
At 22h15 (Kelderzaal)
- Closing Concert . Nana Osei & Band
The young, talented harpist, singer, percussionist, and dancer Nana Osei grew up in Ghana, where he mastered the art of the seperewa (a Ghanaian harp). He inherited the deep-rooted musical traditions passed down through generations within his family. Nana Osei studied Ghanaian music and dance at the Music Department of the University of Winneba (Ghana) and later delved into the traditional music and dances of the Akan people. In addition to playing the seperewa, Nana incorporates the subtle sounds of the mbira (thumb piano) during his performances, along with various other percussion instruments such as the thigh and water calabashes, the Ghanaian percussion box, and bamboo percussion. While his musical roots are in Ghana, Nana Osei is building a thriving artistic career from Ghent today. His musical repertoire includes a range of genres, including Highlife, Palmwine, Akom, and Kundum music.
Thursday 25 April, 20h00 (Turbinezaal)
Tickets: € 18 (vvk), € 21 (adk), € 15 (vvk met Uitpas; - 18 j; groepen + 10), € 4,2 (kansentarief)
Via www.uitbureau.be
MAKING MEN // DUNIA DANCE THEATRE: A choreography of self-discovery, sensitivity and strength
Dive into the rhythmic world of contemporary dance with the multidisciplinary performance Making Men, preceded by a short dance film.
Making Men explores the meaning of masculinity. Four African dancers delve into this theme through a powerful, rhythmic choreography that also radiates softness and sensitivity. Can the failure to conform to the stereotypical image of masculinity and the roles imposed on men lead to the discomfort and violence seen among young men in many societies today? Are they free to be who they want to be, or are they being boxed in?
Four dancers, still in their developmental stages, explore this theme. They seek to better understand themselves by expressing their doubts and questioning themselves. Through dance, they express themselves and try to break free from the invisible chains to discover their true selves. This performance seeks to emphasize the boundaries of the male stereotype for those who want to experience all facets of human emotions.
Making Men is a film consisting of four choreographic scenes. Each scene represents a phase or transition in a man's life. The film was shot in the breathtaking landscape of Zimbabwe. The special cinematography enhances the emotions expressed in the dance.
Making Men is also a dance performance created during the preparation of the film; each part of the film corresponds to a choreographic part of the performance. The performance builds upon the choreography of the film, against a backdrop of a specially designed video landscape where the dancers sometimes interact.
Dunia Dance Theatre
Development and execution by Harold George & Antoine Panier // Artistic coaching by Vincent Kuentz // Dancers Tatenda Chabarwa, Tinashe Jeri, Nigel Kamunga, Peter Lenso, Delvin Pikani, Carlton Zhanelo // Lighting by Arnaud Lhoute // Pictures by Antoine Panier
