Cinéma Africain et Créole: Immersion Française à Montréal
French Language Immersion in the Context of Francophone Cinema and Video
Mode d'emploi/Practical Information
- French Program
- Film Program
- Cultural Events
- The Francophone -African Film Connection
- Synopsis of Films for 1997
- Workshops with the Film Makers
- Organization and Staff:
- Vue d'Afrique
French Program
The entire program is conducted in French. Classes meet every morning from 9:00 to 10:30 am followed by the Filmmaker Workshop-Discussion. The first part is a review of basic French structure and vocabulary designed to help participants understand as much as possible of the films they are seeing and be able to discuss them in the workshop that follows. Laure Quidal will lead the class and will be joined by other staff to facilitate the discussion which follows with the visiting filmmaker (see Filmmaker Workshops). The leaders of these discussions are experts on Africa and filmmakers presenting their work at the Festival. The films are an excellent language learning resource, even for people with limited comprehension. These experiences: ear training, aural and visual association, the repetition of subjects within the films and afterwards in the discussion, interviews with filmmakers, and informal discussions, all reinforce acquisition and confidence in expressing ideas. For those with developed French skills, the language is a tool for discovering original source material through films and video and for participating in an international dialog with possibilities for enhanced cultural exchange.
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Film Program
There are at lease three cinemas. The Centre ONF and the Cinémathèque Québécoise are on the same block in the Quartier Latin near the Université de Québec à Montréal at Metro Berri. Each of the theaters has 35mm,16mm, and the latest digital and analog, line-doubled, large screen video projection. All have exquisite sound systems. The Québécois really put a lot into these screening facilities so the viewing environment is superb and very comfortable. Films are presented every afternoon and evening. There is a Festival Catalog which describes the films and gives detailed information about the production and a Festival Schedule that lists all times and locations.
Several general types of films are presented. The afternoon program includes:
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courts métrages (short features) made in Africa and the Caribbean by African/Creole producers;
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documentaries, reportage, video clips and video art pieces produced by Africans for African television;
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'Le Regard sur l'Afrique:' documentaries and analysis of contemporary issues in Africa and the Francophone world (including Cambodia and Vietnam) made by European and Canadian television and independent producers.
Since there are almost twenty films offered each day with only a little replay, you have to make some choices about what is most interesting to you. I usually see one two-hour program in the afternoon and then one in the evening. On the other hand, I have been known to sit through eight hours of film a day. You'll have a catalog of the festival describing all the films and the filmmakers. We'll also have additional information to help you see the films most appropriate to your interests.
Evening screenings : These usually include one full-length feature film by African producers or European/Canadian/African collaboration projects and one of the more highly-produced courts-métrages. Each participant receives a full pass to all films, plus reserved seating for evening films.
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Cultural Events
Vues d'Afrique organizes a series of concerts and performances as well as a conference area with all the Canadian NGO's who do educational / service work in Africa and the Caribbean. This Rallye-Expos is located at the Place des Arts, a huge underground city, part park, part mall. It's next to the Museum of Art and is another resource for recreation, cooling out, or making contacts with others interested in the same things you are.
In 1997, ten galleries presented exhibits of painting, textile arts, sculpture and photography which offered ample opportunity for journeys around Montreal. Visits to ethnic restaurants and markets also opened up a colorful, living, multi ethnic Francophone experience that made French even more a tool for cultural exploration. Daily concerts included Senegalese dance theater, Nigerian percussion and dance, World Beat music and dance, and throbbing Moroccan Gnawa trance music concerts. Colloquia, one on literature and one for media workers addressed a number of topics from the role of media in emerging democracies to Caribbean literature and identity.
You can get from the hotel to the cinemas either by walking or using the Metro. Walking takes you from the edge of Montreal's Chinatown through the shopping and entertainment district along rue Ste. Catherine into the university section of the "Quartier Latin" where the cinemas are mostly located along with many art galleries, bookstores, restaurants and cafes. The fifteen minute walk from the hotel to the cinemas is a multicultural trip and a good refreshment, in itself.
From the opening performances featuring Guinean singers and percussion through the closing dance party at the Frontenac and all the films, discussions, performances, exhibits in between; there was a spirit of excitement and enthusiasm at the opportunity to participate in a world cultural event with the scope of intelligence, depth, feeling and sheer sensual stimulation that the festival in conjunction with our program offered.
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The Francophone-African Film Connection... A Day at Vues d'Afrique:
Our program runs within the film festival and is unique in that it integrates language and film as two poles of a learning-cultural experience. You may be using the films to improve your French skills or using or renewing your French to access the films as source material, inspiration, or just enjoying them. If you're like me, more at the intermediate level (kind of always stepping into a new linguistic unknown) you'll find that your abilities will really improve fast. All the different elements of Penobscot School's intensive approach, from class to discussion to films and community activities, reinforce what you learn and increase your confidence to use it, so you can do more either with the films or language or both.
We stay at the same hotel as the visiting African filmmakers, so there is ample opportunity to meet and talk individually and in groups any time of day. At 11 am each day, after French class, we convene for a presentation by a filmmaker. They will discuss their film, filmmaking in general, their life in art, (many of them are also accomplished in other art forms) cultural aspects and issues pertinent to their regions; and of course, as always...what you thought about their work and how to make it more accessible. The discussion continues through lunch. With certain filmmakers we will have the option to do scene analysis of their films as a way to go deeper into their material.
The afternoon films often contain fascinating material from Africa as well as some of the most valuable source material for people working in related professions such as anthropology, Africana studies, music, the arts, women's studies, health, development, etc. For example: there was a video from Mali that followed villagers on a ritual to renew a fertility shrine that included a hunting quest and an encounter with a deviner. You get to see and experience these things that are just not accessible anywhere else, like how West African communities deal with schizophrenia, or a child's view inside an Islamic grade school, or how Senegalese women get their man or the women's support Tontines of West Africa.
The evening programs usually contain one feature-length film and one of the more highly-produced courts métrages. These films often utilize many regional artists, from painters to musicians and writers; and the intensification of local creative talent makes for a very vivid understanding of the cultures and issues of the people there. A film from Zimbabwe last year achieved an astonishingly creative integration of the art forms of the country to tell the story of contemporary Zimbabwe with a minimum of language. I often feel that a good twenty-minute film tells me more about a country than reading the New York Times for six months. The films from Algeria and Morocco and Egypt are constantly addressing important issues such as religion, gender relations in developing Arab countries, and reconciling relations between colonial and colonized...to name but a few.
Some of the films are more intentionally art or entertainment. A film from Senegal on Toure Kunda was probably the best music documentary I have seen in ten years. Some are just great, human dramas. One film, a collaboration between Cuba and Martinique (that's right...Cuba and Martinique) was a murder mystery set in pre-revolutionary Cuba in which the music and dance of the Rhumba were both part of the artistic design of the film as well as a character or force in the film. Beautiful acting, shot in black and white, great music and dance, terrific script...a very memorable and enjoyable film. And all in French...!
Afternoon or evening, "Our table" at a nearby cafe will also be a place where participants can stop in for breaks. It's a warm, quiet place, good for writing and reading, meeting people for after-film discussions, light meals, late-night get-together; and place to invite filmmakers or other people you meet for a drink.
I find these films truly inspire and expand my thinking and creative work. And, the additional contact with filmmakers, the opportunity to share experiences and expertise within an interesting group composed of people from different professions and backgrounds, is our vision of what an ideal, adult learning environment can be. I hope you can join us... .
If you have questions about how your specific interests may be addressed by the film side of our program, I'd be happy to talk with you by phone or via e-mail.
by Ben Levine, Documentary Video Producer and Co-Founder of Accès Cinéma Africain
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To give you a flavor of what was available, I mention just a few before looking at some of the cross cultural themes that may be relevant to your specialized interests:
General:
"La Colline Oubliée" by Abderrahmane Bouguermouh - An exciting feature from Algeria, notable as the first film ever produced in the Berber language! Rich in cultural anthropology of the Kabile Mountain peoples, it includes memorable scenes of ritual, dance, and everyday life as well as being a history of the Berber people and an exploration of gender relations in their changing world.
"Quand les Étoiles Rencontrent La Mer" - by Raymond Rajaonarivelo -The first feature film from Madagascar (in the Malagash language subtitled in French). A beautifully rich entrance into a culture virtually unknown in the West where myth and materialism are still one.
"Taxcarte" - by Joseph Kumbela - A short film (un court metrage) by a Zairian filmmaker; an uproariously funny look at interracial gender relations and communications technology on a Paris street corner.
"Abyssine Swing" - by Anais Prosaic - a music video tour de force of traditional and pop music in contemporary Ethiopia (including Tigré and Etrea). "Melodies de femmes" - Florentine Yameogo (Burkino Faso) and "Deux villes au rythme de la culture" - (Benin Television) - two video documents that explore everyday ritual choral music in the African context of work, death, life and love.
A complete retrospective of the films of the great Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine
By themes and areas of interest the following were especially important subjects at this years Festival:
Women's Studies, Gender and Identity research, Urban-Rural Development Issues:
The independence of women in traditional societies was especially important this year as seen in the following films: (North Africa) "Miel et Cendres" - by Nadia Fares of Tunisia and "Mon Coeur est Temoin" - by Quebecer Louise Carre, one a feature and one a documentary and both tracing a variety of stories about women's independence as well as violence against women. Two very powerful and very beautifully produced films.
(West Africa) "Tableau Ferraille" - by Moussa Sene Absa (Senegal)- treats polygamy and economic power in urban West Africa with stellar acting and powerful world beat sound track! ; "Mossane" - Safi Faye - (first feature film from a West African, Senegalese, woman director!)"Idylle" - by Dominique Fares (Senegal) and "Mousso" - by Cheikh Ndiaye (Senegal)
. These three provocative films all looked at changing gender relations as women define and act independently of male dominance. "Mossane" was a particularly well-produced, moving experience of traditional village life and the conflict of romantic love with patriarchy and the traditional economic expectations of marriage. And lastly, a disturbing document from Togolese film maker / jurist Anne Laure Folly on the effects of the Angola Civil war on women and children entitled "Les Oubliées".
African (Africana) Studies, Literature, Black Identity:
While most films treat identity issues as an inherent part of subject, character or story structure, this year, in particular, are noted Guadeloupean documentarian Sarah Moldoror's "Léon G. Damas", a gorgeous documentary on the first poet of Négritude that included stunning editing of Damas's native Guyane as well as interviews with Aimé Césaire and Léopold Senghor. César Paes's "Le Bouillon d'Awara " explored creole identity in the Caribbean basin. "Sweet Mickey for President" by Mariette Monpierre and Jean-Pierre Brax looked at a Haitian musician in New York and the chemistry of machismo. "Impressions de l'Afrique ...du Sud" by Karim Dridi looked at changing identity South Africa.
Politics , History and Development :
Many films inherently or indirectly reflect the effects of colonialism, neocolonialism, or neo-liberalism. The following addressed political economy directly... "Jean Ziegler, le bonheur d'etre Suisse" - Swiss filmmaker Ana Ruiz's documentary on the effects of banking practices and restructuring on developing economies from the perspective of radical Socialist Jean Ziegler. "De Gaulle, Brazzaville et l'Afrique" - by Charles Ndouma (Congo) traces the history of post war politics in Europe and the fall of the French empire in Algeria and Vietnam on the "independence" of French West Africa and its continuing effects.
Filmmaking:
"D'un Désert, L'Autre" by Sarah Taouss Matton is a documentary about a feature film about Arab women and sex in an Algerian village where the filmmakers are under threat of assassination from Islamic fundamentalists. A tense dramatic, multi - layered documentary interweaving narrative and documentary forms. There are also many unique videos and films which reveal much about the art of film making as well as life in traditional societies. "Donka: radioscopie d'un hôpital africain" - Thiery Michel and "Vivre des Vipères" - by Abdou Ado are two examples of small, odd subjects which open doors to big worlds...
Almost all the films and videos including the video clips reflect an African / Creole approach to art design, lighting, direction, nature photography, story telling, sound design, and a host of other subjects relevant and inspiring to film and video producers, shooters, writers, and directors. You leave the festival full of ideas.
Workshops with filmmakers and specialists:
Every day included a workshop with a specialist or exhibiting filmmaker.
Moussa Sene Absa's workshop following his terrific debut of "Tableau Ferraille" and his opening address concerning African women (they are the future) and polygamy (the west can not understand let alone judge) rocked the festival. Moussa talked about Westerns and Indian Film (Bollywood) as his influences, French film (they talk too much); music and painting (he begins the film writing by composing a song and translating it into a series of paintings) , African film (moving away from a "cinema of the calabash"). Local Senegalese restaurateur Papa Diop catered Senegalese dishes (Yassa and Thieboudjen) and gave a mini course on Senegalese dining tradition. Conversations with Moussa were continual at the hotel and elsewhere after the workshop as were informal contacts with others such as Anne Laure Folly who discussed creating story when the subject (violence) is in itself difficult to witness and so disturbing to the filmmaker that it becomes a personal ordeal; yet the process can also open new directions for work. Abderrahmane Bouguermouh discussed his "La Colline Oubliée" and the Berber culture. Abe Waldstein, an anthropologist, was our resource for understanding cultures and people, and Marie-Clémence Paes discussed interviewing strategies, and the conflict of creating for existing markets as opposed to defining markets with original material.
Extended conversations with filmmakers offered us the opportunity to explore the films as documents that also contain a universe of interrelated subjects. At the same time, many of the film makers had never before screened or discussed their films with Americans and they found the opportunity to meet us as individuals, rather than representatives of an American stereotype, exhilarating and liberating in its own way as it offered hope for broader exchanges.
These workshops offered a new dimension both to the film festival experience and the exploration of specific interest areas using French. This year, with certain filmmakers, we will have the option to do scene analysis of their films as a way to go deeper into their material.
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Organization and Staff:
Accès Cinéma Africain is presented in collaboration with Vues d'Afrique and is offered by Penobscot School, Rockland, Maine, USA. Penobscot School is a non-profit center for language study and international exchange founded in 1986. The school is internationally know for its programs in many languages, including English immersions for adults on the coast of Maine. Visit http://www.languagelearning.org/
Director: Abe Waldstein, Burlington, Vermont
Ph.D. Columbia University, is a development anthropologist. He has lived in Senegal and Togo. He has otherwise traveled and worked on short-term assignments throughout francophone West Africa over the past 30 years. His main interest has been how rural West Africans organize family life to survive.
Co-Founders:
Julia Schulz, Rockland, Maine USA
B.A. French and Anthropology, Hamilton College, M.A. Anthropology, McGill University. Co-Founder and president of Penobscot School. Julia has taught English in France and French in Maine public and private schools and at the University of Maine.
and Ben Levine, M.A, Director, Watching Place Productions - Rockland, Maine USA
Independent documentary video producer and writer who has traveled and filmed in North and West Africa as well as in much of the Caribbean. He helped establish a video studio in Dakar, Senegal in 1989 and has founded and directed production companies in New York City and Portland, Maine. as well as teaching at the University of Maine and Rockport International Film and Video Workshops.
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