Tag: African film

African Metropolis: Six stories from six cities

African Metropolis is a short fiction film series that represents six major African cities in a fresh way. Deemed a “partnership towards new African cinema”, the series was created to promote a new image of African visual art, particularly film. From 40 scripts collected and reviewed, the six filmmakers were chosen from Abidjan, Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi.

(Pic: Supplied)
(Pic: Supplied)

In the shorts, each filmmaker discusses a multitude of issues affecting their hometowns, including gender equality, forced labour and “unnatural love”. Three short films from the series — Berea (South Africa), Homecoming (Kenya) and To Repel Ghosts (Côte d’Ivoire) — will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) from September 5 to September 7. Directors Vincent Moloi (South Africa) and Jim Chuchu (Kenya) will be part of the crowd at the screenings in TIFF.

Head to the African Metropolis website to watch previews of each film.

Aqua Rafiki for Okayafrica.com. With more than half the population in many African nations under 25, the bright continent is currently undergoing an explosion of vibrant new music, fashion, art and political expression. Okayafrica is dedicated to bringing you the latest from Africa’s New Wave.

His To Keep

His To Keep is a short film by Kenyan filmmaker Amirah Tajdin. It is a story about a Kenyan man’s struggle to deal with painful memories of his and others’ resistance efforts to colonialism. When a phone call forces hurtful experiences to the fore, he realises that time does not necessarily heal all wounds. He remembers loved ones he lost and contemplates the meaning of such pain. The movie screened at the CinemAfrica Sweden festival earlier this year.

His To Keep Trailer from Amirah Tajdin on Vimeo.

My mother’s songs

My Mother’s Songs is set in an African landscape and examines inter-generational trauma. The film depicts a series of traumatic experiences through the eyes of several young women who are desperately trying to make sense of their existence. Tanzanian writer and director Erick Msumanje, who was recently awarded the highly-competitive Princess Grace Award for filmmaking, has indeed managed to “push the boundaries of cinematography, aesthetics, and storytelling” with his work.