Leaving and Staying: Perspectives on Mobility in African Film

Screenings

Leaving and Staying: Perspectives on Mobility in African Film

bi'bak, Berlin, Germany
11 Jan 2018 - 15 Mar 2018

Filmstill from Touki Bouki by Djibril Diop Mambéty

‘Leaving and Staying’ is a six-part film series curated by Enoka Ayemba at bi’bak Berlin that will focus less on the stories of leaving, but rather on the decision to stay despite the hard life circumstances and fight for a better live on-site. First screening is taking place on January 11th with the film “The Absence” followed by a Q&A with director Mama Keïta.

Poverty, Overpopulation, Migration – these are the images which often arise in western perceptions of the African continent. The voices of those who arrive in Europe or even the people who are not emigrating are rarely part of the discourse. But in fact those, who are leaving their home countries to start somewhere entirely new are the minority. The six-part film series is focussing less on the stories of leaving, but rather on the decision to stay despite the hard life circumstances and fight for a better life on-site.

The works of African filmmakers from the 1970s till today are illustrating the lives of young people on the African continent. The decision whether to stay or to leave of course is a relevant one in their lives, but other existential questions as well.

Enoka Ayemba is an independent film curator and film critic based in Berlin. He is mostly interested in African cinema, the Nigerian video industry and Ant- colonial movements. Since 2006, he has curated many film programmes, for example African reflections- female directors (Berlin, 2007 together with Philippa Ébéné), Siehst du mich (do you see me)? in the context of 50 years after African independence (Berlin, 2010), African Threads and Laces (Vienna, 2011 together with Katja Wiederspahn), Schwarze Menschen und das Nazi-Regime (Berlin, 2013), Beyond The Maps- African Resistance against Colonial Power (Berlin, 2014/2015) and recently Living together (Yaoundé, nov./dec. 2017). Since January 2017, he leads (together with Marie-Hélène Gutberlet and Brigitta Kuster) the biannual project Cours, cours, camarade, le vieux monde est derrière toi! around the work of the filmmaker Med Hondo (Soleil Ô, Sarraounia, etc.). He is the author of many articles in collective books.

Program

11.01.2018

THE ABSENCE by Mama Keïta

Frankreich/ Guinea/ Senegal 2009, OmeU, 84 min.
Screening followed by a Q&A with the director

25.01.2018

WÚLU by Daouda Coulibaly

Mali/ France/ Senegal 2016, OmeU, 95 min.
Screening followed by a Q&A with the director via Skype

08.02.2018

KUKURANTUMI – THE ROAD TO ACRA by King Boama Darko Ampaw

Ghana 1983, 83 min.
Screening followed by a Q&A with the director

01.03.2018

MAN ON GROUND by Akin Omotoso