With Africa’s biggest film fest in Durban, South Africa, now a distant memory, some of the globe’s finest creatives are preparing for Zurich. Sadly, Venice showcased only five films from Africa. Toronto is underway, until September 14. Zurich’s fest, September 25 to October 5, is next. There is also Hamburg, London, Rio de Janeiro and others. To paraphrase activist and historian Dr Hannah Elsisi, tokenise talent and stories from Africa and elsewhere.
Toronto is showcasing almost 300 films. Only three of those films are from Brazil, eight from Africa (or co-produced with Africans), and, in contrast, 20 British-only projects. Bam Bam, Mother’s Love and Stitches, Nollywood’s trio are the only films with no overseas partners. Fests ought to judge African films for their quality rather than searching for (a) time warp, or (b) cliché: death, despair and devastation. Enter The Eyes of Ghana, a tribute to the legacy of Chris Tsui Hesse – directed by Ben Proudfoot, a Canadian, and produced by Accra’s Anita Afonu, Hesse’s protégé, alongside Nana Adwoa Frimpong and Moses Bwayo. The latter also co-directed with Christopher Sharp, Bobi Wine: The People’s President.
In Calle Málaga, Moroccan author Maryam Touzami partnered with peers from France and Germany. British-Nigerian artist Akinola Davies melds his two worlds in My Father’s Shadow set in 1993, the year Sani Abachi staged a coup d’état. Two years later, Abachi sacrificed Ken Saro-Wiwa for profits. Davies’ story recalls Ken Wiwa’s In the Shadow of a Saint, a tribute to martyred dad. Saro-Wiwa was unwavering in his stance against Shell’s devastation in Nigeria. Toronto’s deplorable attempt to mute The Road Between Us deflects from messages such as filmmaker Sarah Friedland’s about Israel’s decades-long terror-backed occupation. Since 2023, Israel’s arms have ended north of 60,000 lives (children account for a third). Palestine 36 will take Toronto crowds to the bloody heart of pain but tackle historical erasure.
With life imitating art, denialist voices blame everybody but the problem. Not many fall for the act. But, thousands of industry players and others gathered in Venice last Saturday for an anti-genocide demonstration over the fest’s stance on Gaza. The only Southern African film in Toronto, the Zamo Mkhwanazi-directed Laundry, a Swiss-South African collaboration, explores segregationist apartheid. Laundry and My Father’s Shadow revisit evil eras when Nigeria and South Africa were oppressed by what Fela Kuti calls “Vagabonds In Power”.
