| More Women to delve into film directing Will Yaounde women’s film festival be platform? |
| Thursday, 04 March 2010 09:43 |
|
Usually, they would prepare the beautiful costumes and make sure the actors are properly clad in them. They would display their make-up prowess on actors' faces, giving out just what the director desires. Perhaps, their most significant role is "welfare". Since actors and directors are red carpet personalities, the women make sure they are well fed, taking into consideration quantity and quality. Unfortunately, the role of women, for over 40 years has not gone beyond these. They have hardly stood behind the cameras to call the shots. Ask why it is an issue. It is established that directing is the most prestigious aspect of filmmaking. So, does it mean when it is juicy, women should be left out, whereas, directing is something they too can do? This is a reflection that has inspired GIC VIDEO STAR, a film common initiative group, mostly made up students of the Performing Arts and Cinematography Department of the University of Yaounde I. To get women on board and encourage them to direct films, the CIG is organizing a festival to their honour. Dubbed Mis Me Binga, the festival will take place in Yaounde from 4 to 8 March 2010, with three major aspects: a round-table conference to discuss strides women have made and how far they could go, film projects and film contest. Dozens of films (including some from English-speaking Cameroon), directed and produced by women have been lined up for projection at the Goethe-Institut, the French Cultural Centre and the Nkomkana Youth Centre in Yaounde. Also on the programme will be films from other countries including Namibia, Germany, Israel, Finland, Spain, Canada and Japan. Sixteen of the films lined up for projection will contest in three chosen categories: best fiction, best documentary and best actress. At a press conference last week in Yaounde, organizers of Mis Me Binga hoped the initiative would change the current phase of film making, not only in Cameroon, but in the Central African sub region and the rest of Africa. "We think women have potentials that must be exploited. So why shouldn't they get behind the cameras and direct the films?" GIC Video Star's Martial Nguea questioned rhetorically. To him, Mis Me Binga which has come to stay should face the challenge and get female filmmakers out of the doldrums of unpopularity as far as directing is concerned. Otherwise, Nguea didn't why in 40, the country would only boast of about 15 female filmmakers, producing not more than two films per decade. "We think the time has come to redress the situation," the young film maker said. The first edition of Mis Me Binga is now a reality, thanks to partners including the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Women's Affair and the Family, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Goethe-Institut Kamerun and French Cultural Centre. Media partners such as Vox Africa, Vision 4 and Radio Campus have also been prominent. Some films on the Mis Me Binga schedule: · Sister in Law (Cameroon) by Kim Longintho & Florence Ayissi · Bongfen (Cameroon) by Sunjo Petra · The Last Bus (Germany) by Maria Hensse · Nairobi Love Story (Gernmany) by Maria Weber · Lily Festival (Japan) by Sachi Hamanu · Rape (Cameroon) by Naah Joyce · Cries at Night (Namibia) by Oshesheni Hiveluah KAM by Astrid Atodji · La Divorce (Gabon) by Manouchka Labouba · Dans l'Ombre d'une autre (Cameroon) by Francine Kemegni |
It was difficult to find a single fervent African listener of the BBC who could resist the charm of Komla Dumor. So too was it to zap when the... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 20 Jan 2014 Hits:6543 STAR CORNER
Every year in March, women put on their caps of reflection. Their reflections are varied and span across a wide range of topical issues they deem are affecting... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 03 Feb 2016 Hits:10123 MOVIES
More than ever, the Cameroonian diaspora has demonstrated an admirable determination to fuel the country's film industry in this era of stiff competition. While the US and UK have been... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Comments(1) 12 Feb 2012 Hits:9106 MOVIES
It could be foreseen that the Cameroon Entertainment Awards, CEA, billed for June will be the biggest Cameroonian showbiz event taking place in the USA in 2012. While some observers... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Comments(3) 02 Feb 2012 Hits:11789 STAR CORNER
The music genre, soukous-mako is definitely as interesting as the name sounds. The blend of the irresistible Congolese brand of the yesteryears and the Cameroonian makossa which transcended boundaries, lifting... Read more
Titus Banyoh Be the first to comment! 21 Oct 2014 Hits:38104 STAR CORNER
From childhood, Banadzem Emily Kinaka has had interest in writing. She has written her own stories some of which she hopes will be eventually adopted into cinema. Her love for... Read more
Abigail Njim Noella Be the first to comment! 16 Mar 2010 Hits:8145 STAR CORNER
Cameroonians who practice the craft of filmmaking have been enjoined to restore order in their ‘house’ and present themselves as an organized group. It is only by doing so,... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 30 Mar 2015 Hits:7790 MOVIES
He has since embarked on a freeze-not journey since he launched the Olopyto idea. Soon after releasing Olopyto, another new creation and stopping over to explain it on Afrikka Radio’s... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 18 Feb 2014 Hits:7412 Latest
Blessed are those who were there, for they witnessed the wonders of the world’s noblest art – the seventh art, in one of its facets called premiere. The guest to... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 25 Sep 2016 Hits:8728 Latest
There is rising anxiety as Cameroonian movie fans await the eventual release of Pink Poison Reloaded, recently shot. Reports say the movie is undergoing post-production in a Nigerian film studio.... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 17 Apr 2013 Hits:7253 MOVIES
One thing about creative artists is that they easily acquire multiple skills. It suffices to take them out of their domain for just a moment, drill them briefly in another... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Comments(3) 12 Feb 2012 Hits:13316 MOVIES
A provocative blend of Smooth Jazz, Classical, African, Reggae, Hip-Hop and R&B, is that of the Talented Musical Duo of the cameroonian Blaise Christian Sitchet "Le Grand Sitch"... Read more
TTS Be the first to comment! 05 May 2011 Hits:9848 INTERVIEWS
Simply put, Ikechukwu Onyeka’s Far, co-produced by Agbor Gilbert Ebot and Mathew Eyong befits the eyes. Its outcome as an excellently woven cinematographic piece should be no news. The unusual... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 20 Oct 2013 Hits:7620 Latest
Emilie Siewe is the company founder, President, and Director of Business Development for Aphrodite Entertainment LLC, a closely held collection of projects which include event planning, Celebrity booking and Management... Read more
TTS Be the first to comment! 28 Oct 2012 Hits:23537 STAR CORNER
Lyrically creative and meaningfully pregnant! This phrase pecks squarely into Busy Body, Naomi Achu’s latest single track whose official video is just a couple of hours old. This time, the... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 31 Dec 2015 Hits:7542 Latest
Serving more than two masters is a leeway to failure. That’s one of life’s basic truths. What about someone who serves three at a blow? What becomes of such a... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 03 Oct 2012 Hits:12428 MOVIES
This writer was just a little school boy, about to go to college when in 1987 a new phenomenon hit TV screens in Cameroon. Television was new in Cameroon and... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 07 Oct 2010 Hits:7918 TELEVISION
“We have just three scenes to go and everything being equal, we’ll shoot them this coming Saturday,” Kang Quintus, the producer of Rage, an up-coming short film announced. The film... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Be the first to comment! 25 Sep 2012 Hits:17718 MOVIES
The producers of Venerated Tradition are back! After several months, working assiduously behind the scenes, Eddie Goffi and Ngwana Films Productions Ltd have emerged with another block buster movie. Beadsmaker... Read more
Ernest Kanjo Comments(1) 05 Mar 2012 Hits:8999 MOVIES
If some Cameroonian youths are aromatizing music and cinema with their God-given skills, others are doing same for fashion designing and modeling. Many more young Cameroonians are picking up the... Read more
TTS Be the first to comment! 02 Feb 2012 Hits:23605 STAR CORNER
Renowned Cameroonian gospel artist, Maybelle Boma will be taking another giant step in the process of moving her career to greater heights. This will happen in the evening of…
The heat is on! That’s the manner in which someone, close to the organization of the Cameroon Entertainment Awards, CEA has described preparations for the second edition of the event.…
Writing for online consumption has undoubtedly become a fascinating practice. It risks becoming an addictive exercise, but for the most parts, positive, especially for career online reporters/bloggers. As time goes…
“My Facebook show comes up every Monday at 12 pm easter time and teaches followers how to become entrepreneurs by kick-starting with zero capital,†Flavine started, as she explained how…
Just like a little joke, KORA 2008 is gradually bringing smiles on the faces of Cameroonian music lovers. That a Cameroonian group is still waxing on strong in the competition…
Africa’s leading air Transportation Company, Ethiopia Airlines has accepted to sponsor a safari trip to Singapore of one of the participants at this week’s Cameroonian bloggers hang-out discussion taking…
At last, he went album! This is undoubtedly what fans of Uncle T are saying. Every other music lover who has had the singular privilege to trail the young artiste’s…
If desperate cries and yelling have not been strong enough to scare the Ebola virus, silent voices from some of Africa’s most influential singers would definitely do the trick.…
Rita knows how much I hate dying minute invitations but she keeps sending them. Someone invites you for a party as though they wanted to send off an extra invitation…
