The emerging art film in Africa once again has the opportunity to shine at the Museum of Fine Arts at the annual African Film Festival, running now through Feb. 26.
Over the past few years, the MFA has been expanding its range of film topics, currently showcasing movies with gritty and controversial story lines. Featuring highly acclaimed films like "Moolaad?©" by Ousmane Sembene (Senegal, 2004), this year's festival selections address a diverse range of societal issues.
The festival's eight-show engagement starts off with Ousmane's "Moolaad?©." The film depicts the courageous life of a West African women who struggles with the trauma of female genital mutilation in her village. The main character, Coll?©, after being utterly mortified by her own circumcision, refuses to let her daughter be put through this grueling ceremony. When her rebellion against tradition gains her notoriety in her village, Coll?©'s home becomes a safe harbor for four other young girls who run away from the village in order to escape circumcision.
The film takes a radical turn when the men of Coll?©'s village face off against their female counterparts, who intend to fight to change the cruel sexist traditions of the past. "Moolaad?©" is about a battle of progress versus tradition where many issues like gender equality and human cruelty are explored in depth. The film is shot in the West African dialect Bambara, but has English subtitles.
Sophomore Adjoa Anyane-Yeboa's roots stem from the culturally rich African country of Ghana. Growing up watching Ghanaian cinema, she believes that the African independent film industry is growing at a rate similar to that of the recently popularized Latin American cinematography.
"The film festival seems like an exciting opportunity to display the culture, traditions, and issues of modern African life," Anyane-Yeboa said, "I definitely hope I get a chance to go out and view my people's work, and I encourage everyone else to check it out, too."
Secretary of Tufts African Student Organization, Sophomore Temi Ogunbodede, is excited to see the work of new African filmmakers and believes that an event like the MFA African Film Festival will bring more exposure for black art films.
"I am very fascinated with film, and I always enjoy seeing my people - other blacks - in cinema, especially when the films address diverse topics and themes, rather than the Hollywood-packaged stereotypical black movies," Ogunbodede said.
Other featured films at the festival include "Kabala" (Mali, 2002) by Assane Kouyate, "Daughter of Keltoum" (Tunisia, 2001) by Mehdi Charef, "Soldiers of the Rock" (South Africa, 2003) by Norman Maake, "Hollow City" (Angola, 2004) by Maria Jo??o Ganga, "Cosmic Africa" (South Africa, 2002) by Craig Foster and Damon Foster and "Mrs. Wheelbarrow" (Senegal, 2002) by Moussa Sene Absa. There will also be three short African films that will also be shown at the festival. All these films touch on an array of topics from political corruption, the criminal underworld, and the effects of war to the coming-of-age experience and a journey for cultural truth.
This year's film entries are definitely stretching the mold on creativity and breaking out of the box of conventional storytelling. These films address many significant subjects and raise awareness through innovative plots, compelling new actors, and stunning cinematography.
