São Paulo -Three Arab countries will be represented in the fourth edition of the African Film Festival, to run from July 10 to 17 at CineSesc in São Paulo. Out of the 24 movies from 14 countries, four are Arab. From Tunisia, a short film (Brotherhood) and a feature film (Look at Me); from Morocco, the feature film (Sofia); and from Egypt, the short film Koka, The Butcher. Altogether, they are 15 feature films and 9 short films among fiction and documentaries, including some previously unseen in Brazil.
The festival intends to promote the contemporary African cinema in Brazil, with the highlights from those countries, acknowledging the importance of their growing cinema industries, which has produced increasingly more great movies. “It is also important to stress the prominence of Arab countries, both within and outside Africa, as funders of the African cinemas for the last few decades,” curator Ana Camila Esteves told ANBA.
For one week, a careful selection of critically acclaimed African and African diasporans movies will be screened for Brazilian viewers. “North African countries have a more consolidated cinema production, because they have a better economy and are less dependent on European countries than Sub-Saharan countries,” said Esteves.
The opening of the festival will be on July 10 at 8:30 pm, with the movie Supa Modo, directed by Kenyan filmmaker Likarion Wainaina (Germany, 74 min., 2018). Admission for this session is free. On the other days, there will be four screenings a day, with prices still not announced.
Sofia
First feature film by Moroccan filmmaker Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia (Qatar/France, 80 min., 2018), tells the story of a young woman living with her parents in Casablanca, Morocco. Following a denial of pregnancy, she finds herself illegally giving birth to a baby out of wedlock. The hospital leaves her 24h to provide the papers of the father of the child before alerting the authorities. Barek has already directed five short films.
After the first screening of Sofia on Saturday, July 13, there will be a debate with researcher Alessandra Meleiro, who will talk about North African movie industry and the Arab countries’ influence as a film financer in the African country. The second session will take place on Monday, July 15 at 7pm.
Look at Me
A production from Tunisia, France and Qatar is Look at Me, directed by Tunisian filmmaker Néjib Belkadhi, (98 min., 2018). Lotfi, a Tunisian immigrant, lives in France and is forced to go back to Tunisia to take care of his nine-year-old autistic son, whom he has not seen for six years. It is Amr’s avoidance of eye contact that drives Lotfi’s quest to become a real father.
The movie will be screened on Friday, July 12 at 7pm, and on Sunday, July 14 at 9pm.
Koka, The Buther
The documentary Koka, The butcher, the debut movie by the Hungarian filmmaker Bence Máté (Germany, Egypt, 38 min, 2018) follows the life of Koka, a respected pigeon trainer who lives in conservative Cairo’s Garbage City (Egypt). As an important pigeon race approaches, the thirty-years-old faces the social pressure to leave his passion for pigeons and build a family. A race against time starts in the peculiar world where pigeons are a source of pride and honor. For the first time the legendary pigeon races of Cairo are captured on camera.
The only session will be on Saturday, July 13, at 3 pm.
Brotherhood
The short movie Brotherhood by Tunisian-American filmmaker and screenwriter Meryam Joobeur (Canada/Tunisia/Qatar/Sweeden, 25 min., 2018) tells the story of Mohamed, a strict pastor who lives in rural Tunisia with his wife and two children. Mohamed is deeply shaken when his oldest son Malik returns home after a long journey with a mysterious new wife. Father-son tension builds up along three days until it breaks.
Brotherhood will be screened twice. Saturday, July 13, at 5pm, and Tuesday, July 16, at 7 pm.
The festival will also feature an open course, “African Cinemas in Perspective,” on July 11 and 12 at 7 pm, aiming to put these cinemas in context for the public. The event is produced by Ana Camila Comunicação e Cultura and SESC. See below the full programme.
Quick facts
4th African Film Festival
July 10 to 17, 2019
CineSesc São Paulo
Rua Augusta, 2075
More information
Programme
July 10 (Wednesday)
8:30 pm – Supa Modo (free admission)
July 11 (Thursday)
3 pm- Nora + Bakosó – Cuban’ Afrobeats
5 pm- Maskdance + debate with Jusciele Oliveira
7 pm- Love Whoever You Love
7 pm- Course – African Cinemas in Perspective (1st day)
9 pm- Rafiki
July 12 (Friday)
2:30 pm- Vaya
5 pm- Silas
7 pm – Look at Me
7 pm – Course – African Cinemas in Perspective (2nd day)
9 pm – Kasala!
July 13 (Saturday)
3 pm- Short films session “Urban narratives”: Koka, The Butcher; The Market King; For Tenderness
5 pm- Brotherhood + New Moon
7 pm- Nora + Bakosó – Cuban Afrobeats
9 pm- Sofia + debate with Alessandra Meleiro
July 14 (Sunday)
2:30 pm- The Swords + The African who Wanted to Fly
4:30 pm – Short films session “Afro-tourism”: Pumzi, Afronauts, Gagarine, The Swords + debate with Kênia Freitas
6:30 pm- Five fingers by Marseille
9 pm – Look at Me
July 15 (Monday)
3 pm- Supa Modo
5 pm – Kasala!
7 pm – Sofia
9 pm – Touki Bouki + debate with Lúcia Monteiro
July 16 (Tuesday)
3 pm- Silas
5 pm – The Maskdance
7 pm – Brotherhood + New Moon
7h 30 pm – Cinema of the Candle
9 pm – Five fingers by Marseille
July 17 (Wednesday)
2:30 pm – Vaya
5 pm – Love Whoever You Want
7 pm – The Swords + The African Who Wanted to Fly
9 pm – Hyenas
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
