The 22nd Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouaga (FESPACO 2011) kick-off in Ouagadougou, on Saturday with high display of beauty and cultural diversities of African art, dance and music in a dramatic traditional royalties.
The African agility, power and versatility were showcased in a fashionable array of artistic demonstration by talented young men and women energized through melodic tunes from the sounds of heavy African drums and other forms of musical instruments.
The distinguished dignitaries including ministers of state from Burkina Faso and other countries across the globe at the national sports stadium venue for the opening ceremony could not hid their emotions as they poured out appreciations through unending applauds and consistent intermittent shouts.
The biannual African Film festival 2011 is on the theme "African Cinema and Markets," seeks to bring out the necessity and the requirement of a synergy of factors contributing to the emergence of a cinematographic industry worthy of the continent.
The sight-day event will create a platform for and give rhythm to the pulse of film professionals, film critics, journalists, students and the huge population of African cinema enthusiasts to examine creative works, interact with season men and women in the industry.
FESPACO also offers a platform for African Federation of Film Critics' biannual general conference and workshops for season and young film critics across the continent.
Some of the competing Feature Films are "A small town called Descent," from South Africa, which is a post-apartheid picture of the country, describing the social atmosphere polluted by xenophobia; "Ad-dar lakbira - La grande Villa," from Morocco, is an adventure of a family to relocate encountered with challenges and movement handicaps; "en attendant le vote," from Burkina Faso demonstrate 21 years of absolute power of a dictator; "Restless City," from Nigeria focuses on exploits of Djibril in New York; "the last fight of the flamingo," Mozambique exposes the challenges of UN Peacekeepers and "the wedding," from Egypt is about adherence to tradition.
The documentary films category are film enthusiast and jury would confronted with; "Dans le silence, je sens rouler la terre," from Algeria reveals the actions in the Spanish Civil War where many people took refuge in Algeria; "Ein Laben Mit Der duldung ‘une vie avec tolérance de rapatriement," from Cameroon displays challenges of immigrants who faces repatriation order; "Histoire de haine manquée," from Burundi; "Indochine, sur les traces d'une mère," from Benin; and "Monica Wangu Wamwere - The unbroken spirit," from Kenya.
In the Television and Video competition, some of the entries includes; "Hassia-Amour ou chatiment," from Niger; "Dead Weight - Poids morts," from Ethiopia; "Dzaomalaza et le saphir bleu," from Madagascar; "I want a wedding dress," from Zimbabwe; "Julie et Romeo," from Burkina Faso;"My Father's son," from Namibia; "Sharing - Partage," from Libya; and "Zebu and the photo fish," from Kenya.
In the film training institutions category, entries are; "Away From Me," "A fight that lost its feathers," and "Homecoming," all from South Africa; "A qui le tour," "Gahoussi, le mariage parfait," and "remember the time," all from Benin; from Burkina Faso are "Ah les Blancs," "Bipolium," and "J'aurai ta peau," and from Morocco are "De l'autre coté," L'or blanc".
The ACP feature film for Panorama competitors are; "The nine muses," from Ghana; "Al Mansioune - Les oubliés de l'histoire," from Morocco; "Cousins," from Egypt; "Moussem Lamchaoucha - Histoire d'un lutteur Mchaouchi," from Morocco "Ndobine," from Senegal; "The unbelievable adventures of Hanna," from South Africa; "Vivre ici," from Tunisia and "Wamba," from Cameroon.
Francis Ameyibor
Ghana
