Africa Film Festival

The 2001 film by Apolline Traoré of Burkina Faso, is about four women who sweep across Africa as its protagonists journey through Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin on their way to Nigeria. While the quarter of independent women travel across the various country borders they must consistently free themselves from the men who stand in their way and stave off other challenges to get where they are going.

The film is one hour and 45 minutes long, and is in French with English subtitle.

Festival director Asha Lovelace said the festival, from July 24 - 30, has over 20 films to be screened at various venues, and was thankful to the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts for the grant received to assist in the weeklong festival.

“The festival is always a week before Emancipation and it is an addition to the existing Emancipation celebration that we have.

We are now in the third year, showcasing films from Africa highlighted in different segments,” Lovelace said.

The Movie Maxi segment is where the films are taken into different communities. Last evening, the festival was launched at the Brian Lara Promenade with that segment, and the screening of the Nigerian movie, Just Not Married.

Another segment, the AFTT Classics will be held at UWI, St Augustine when Lovelace said they would normally feature one of the pioneers or founding fathers of African cinema and this year they have chosen the works of Med Hondo of Mauritania.

“We will be screening two of his films Soleil O (1973) and West Indies (1979), that have been out of commission for quite a number of years. We were happy and lucky to have gotten them from the film-maker himself,” Lovelace said.

This year there is also Nollywatch, a day specifically dedicated to films from Nollywood, Nigeria, currently the second largest film industry in the world, with Bollywood being the largest.

“One of the films is A Trip to Jamaica that is said to be the highest-grossing Nollywood film to date. So we are very excited about that one. Then in the contemporary African films, we have a range of genres from comedy, to drama, documentary to animation, short films, features...

films from all over Africa.

We try in our programming to be as diverse as possible with regards to the programming so that it will appeal to our audience,” Lovelace said.

AFTT is an annual film festival that showcases the very best of contemporary and classic films from the African continent.

Asked how she got into the promoting of African movies in this region Lovelace said: “I am the regional secretary for FEPACI – Pan African Federation of Film-makers. I am the regional secretary for the regional diaspora.

So as a result of that, I meet with film-makers every year and get an update in the industry.

I am also invited quite often to be part of the jury in FESPAC O, Africa’s biggest Film Festival held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and one of the most significant African film festivals. To be quite frank, I just like African movies, I took a particular liking to African films. I dare say, if we want to develop our film industry here, we need to take a look at what is happening in the African film industry because they face similar challenges as we do in film-making, but they are handling it well.” As it stands, the African film industry is dynamic and relevant, and its film-makers continue to pursue an approach to film-making that is in sync with and reflective of their own cultural environment. Out of this has emerged an aesthetic that reflects the tone, landscape, colour, complexity and beauty of Africa. Lovelace said: “Through AFTT we are opening the doors for a solid and mutually beneficial alliance with this diverse and magnificent world of African Film.” FULL AFTT SCHEDULE

July 24 - Opening night, Central Bank Auditorium
7pm - Frontiéres, Burkina Faso

July 25 - African Classics - The UWI Film Programme Studio
7 pm - Soleil O, Mauritania

July 26 - AFTT Jr - The Little Carib Theatre
11am - Boutik, Mauritius Orisha’s Journey, Ghana Hair That Moves, S Africa
12pm - K3nt & Kat3, Uganda
7pm - West Indies, Mauritania (The UWI Film Programme Studio)

July 27 - Nollywatch - The Little Carib Theatre
12pm - The Dance Movie Project, Nigeria
2.30pm - Yellow Cassava, Nigeria
5.30pm - Three Wise Men, Nigeria
8pm - A Trip To Jamaica

July 28 - AFTT Main programme - The Little Carib Theatre
2.30pm - Rod Zegwi Dan Pikan, Mauritius
2.30pm - Kemtiyu, Senegal
5.30pm - Mr Johnson, Nigeria
5.30pm - Hissein Habre, Chad
8pm - This Migrant Business, Kenya 8 m - Train of Salt & Sugar, Mozambique

July 29 - AFTT Main programme - The Little Carib Theatre
2.30pm - Asha, Kenya
2.30pm - Pearl of Africa, Uganda
5.30pm - Brooklyn to Benin, Benin
5.30pm - House of Nwapa, Nigeria
8pm - Lodgers, Nigeria
8pm - The Giant is Falling, S Africa

July 30 - AFTT Main programme- The Little Carib Theatre
2.30pm - Victor, Nigeria
2.30pm - Kati Kati, Kenya
5.30pm - Mtindo, Kenya
5.30pm - Mimosas, Morocco
8pm - Vaya, South Africa