Compétition Internationale 2023 | Quibdó África

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SÉLECTION QAFF 2023

COMPÉTITION INTERNATIONALE

The Black Christ By Monica Manganelli United States / 2022 / 15' A visionary poem and meditation on the worst massacre of racial violence in American History happened in Tulsa (Oklahoma) in 1921, against the black community of Greenwood. Narrated through 14 chapters as the Stations of the Cross (Via Crucis), inspired by the Countee Cullen poem and surreal artists Magritte and Max Ernst. A visual poem, a spiritual journey where the boundaries between Memory (real-archival footage) and Imagination...	Africa cradle of mindkind By Benita Jacques Canada / 2022 / 108' For a long time, Benita Jacques has always had questions about her origins to which she never got any answers from her parents. Today, the young mother from Montreal wants to bring answers to her children who ask her the same questions that she herself could not have. So, she decided to leave for Africa, in search of her origins. Her journey took her to West Africa and began at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal, which hosts the exhibition	Terra Mater By Kantarama Gahigiri Rwanda / 2023 / 9'46 For our land and bones. At the end of the world. Technology and waste, in our lands, our systems, our bones. Wandering our spaces, she cannot help but wonder, where is the space for healing?
African Glory By Thierry Siegried Bugaud France / 2023 / 63' Did the first African to reach the Americas arrive as a king and not a slave? West Africa in the 13th century saw the rise of a vast empire — the Manden Empire. 180 years before Christopher Columbus, its emperor Abu Bakr II set off to cross the Atlantic with an armada of 2,000 ships. He never returned. Drawing on both fact and fiction, this film sets out to restore the Manden civilisation to its rightful place in history.	Lend me your voice By Claudine Shenge Ndimbira South Africa / 2022 / 20' Akili, a Congolese woman, lived as a refugee in Burundi before coming to Rwanda. Her journey has seen her family displaced and separated and she herself has been held and tortured in prison at risk of death. Through her resilience and the fighting spirit she found herself a place in the world through boxing until misogyny took that away from her also. By telling her story, she tries to deal with all the loss she’s experienced.	Juwaa By Nganji Mutiri Belgium / 2021 / 85' Years after a traumatic night in Congo, a son (Amani) and a mother (Riziki) are reunited in Belgium. Shot in Kinshasa and in Brussels, JUWAA is a subtlety powerful drama based on African characters rarely seen on screens.
Boxed By Wanjiru Njendu United States / 2019 / 6'09 A fictionalized short film based on the true story of the terrifying daring escape of Henry "Box" Brown, an enslaved man who used creativity to escape from slavery in 1849 by mailing himself to freedom.	The fall of Phaeton By Aurélie Filain France /2022 / 11'46 Saint-Denis, Reunion Island. Wilson, a teenager, lives in a working-class neighborhood. One morning, his mother's dog, Payanké, ran away. Wilson, with his dad's bike, goes looking for the dog and discovers a reality he did not seek.	Twin lakes haven By Mbabazi Philbert Aimé Rwanda / 2022 / 24' In a lone house by the twin lakes in northern Rwanda, a young mysterious woman spends a few days with a couple. Along her short stay, her growing ties with one of them slowly pulls them together.
Xalé By Moussa SENE ABSA Senegal / 2022 / 101' Awa, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, is happily living her teenage years alongside her twin brother Adama who dreams of Europe. When their grandmother dies, her aunt Fatou and her uncle Atoumane promise to marry in order to preserve the family union. But Fatou does not love Atoumane and the latter, tired of waiting to consummate his marriage, commits an act from which there is no going back.	Mulika Maisha Maene RD Congo / 2022 / 14' An ‘afronaut’ emerges from the wreckage of his spaceship in the volcanic crater of Mount Nyiragongo. As he descends into the city below, encountering the people of present-day Goma, he begins to understand what he must do to change the future for his people.	La Traversée By Irene TASSEMBEDO Burkina Faso / 2021 / 111' After many years of hard work in Italy, Djibi returned to Burkina Faso with a full pocket but a heavy secret. Put in contact with a group of young people whose sole purpose is to leave for Europe, he undertakes to secretly prepare them for this crossing, which he himself has made: intensive physical and intellectual preparation, without concession, almost military...
Dorlis By Enricka MH France / 2021 / 25' Nora, a 15-year-old Martiniquan teenager, has to follow her mother and 6-year-old little sister, Mélissa, to the north of the island, to live at Henri’s, her grand-father, paralyzed since a recent stroke. They settle at the old man’s to provide him daily assistance. But very soon, the atmosphere of the house and Henri’s presence make Nora’s childhood memories resurface, embodied in the fear of an aggressive evil mind…	Bottled Spirits By Elizabeth Carter / United States / 2023 / 34'15 50-something Louise is a native of West Oakland, California; a community once known as the Harlem of the West, and which gave birth to the Black Panther Party. Gentrification has turned her beloved community into unfriendly and unrecognizable territory and the weight of being Black in America now threatens to crush her. She straps on the daily armor of alcohol, cigarettes and a sharp tongue to block out the constant ache of losing everything...	The Golden Generation By Kieran Kenlock, Kwame Wilson, Steven Apampa, Yaf Downes Netherlands / 2023 / 13'57 After nearly three years of work, navigating a global pandemic, and pretty much learning on the job, we’re proud to launch our debut short film, or vibe as we like to call it, 'The Golden Generation!'
Aje and Bruja By Nosa Igbinedion Nigeria / 2023 / 12'38 In this supernatural thriller two women who wield the ancient African spiritual power of the 'Aje' (Powerful mothers) go on a mission to avenge women tortured by a sadistic serial killer.	Conguito By David Ontoria / Spain / 2022 / 15' Malik suffers racist harrasment and bullying in his school. Maider is his only friend but she also turns her back on him. Malik's parents will try to help him change his situation. Malik just wants his friend back.	Unkind Cut By Marc G. Pitre / United States / 2023 / 13'57 A vasectomy consultation goes awry as an unsure man faces a quirky doctor and aggressive medical staff who don't want him to remain intact.
Homeshoppers' Paradise By Nancy Mac Granaky-Quaye Germany / 2022 / 90' Lisa, a rebellious Black punk, lives with her gang in a trailer park. There, she has found her family. They are united by the conviction that we live in a capitalist world in which exploitation and profit maximisation are the root cause of all evil. However, this fixed ideology soon becomes a stumbling block for Lisa.	Akesi and the loss of the Bateke Kingdom By Saïd Abitar, Curt Fortin Germany / 2022 / 14' Part II of the "Akesi and the Congo River" series, Akesi and the Loss of the Bateke Kingdom explores the history of Congo and the deception that led to its occupation by French and Belgium colonizers. Akesi watches from afar as history unfolds, unable to influence change with his modern knowledge.	Akesi and teh fight for independance By Curt Fortin, Saïd Abitar Germany / 2022 / 14'50 Part III of "Akesi and the Congo River", "Akesi and the Fight for Independence" is the final installation of this series. Rounding off his life lessons with one of hope and strength, Akesi learns about Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, and how his resilience led to the independence of his homeland in 1960.
Cracks By Rufin Mbou Mikima R.Congo / 2021 / 7'43 Paty, a young prostitute, is looking for the last plan that will protect her from need and allow her to hang up.	Akesi and the secret of the forest By Saïd Abitar, Curt Fortin Germany / 2022 /13'37 Part I of the trilogy "Akesi and the Congo River", "Akesi and the secrets of the forest" introduces Akesi in his hometown of Brazzaville. Trying to make sense of his brother’s death, Akesi is led to the river, where a mystical journey unfolds. Seeing how the tribes celebrate those they’ve lost allows Akesi to make peace with his grief and enter a new state of understanding the cultures that surround him.	Travesia By Alexandre de Freitas / Brazil / 2023 / 14'57 "Travessia" is a contemporary dance performance that revives the Black diaspora, from the horrors of the water-covered dungeon - the slave ship - drifting through to the present day. It has been 134 years of freedom, but Black people are still chained to many shackles in Brazil. The Black, poor, and favela-dwelling people are the concrete result of the Brazilian structural racism, fostered day after day for years of injustice and non-reparations.
Gromonmon By Laurent PANTALÉON La Réunion / 2022 / 11'50 In La Réunion, fleeing slaves go to live free in the highlands and build a kingdom : the inner kingdom. In this place where you can meet the invisible world, they will connect with «Granma».	Mesocosms By Welket Bungué Brazil / 2023 /12' In this video-performance we are facing a protected and regenerating biotope, - which, like many other territories in the world, - resists, but will inevitably have to deal with generalized deterioration. Is this a personal critique of the “global denaturing” brought about by hyper-consumerism, and wild capitalism, both perpetrated by humanity?	The last train By Lodi Paul Inga South Africa / 2023 / 9'41 A musician who had come from an uninspiring performance in an empty pub found himself late one evening on the last train to get to his home. His hopes of a peaceful late train ride after a long day are suddenly threatened by a passenger who asks him to play his guitar so he can accompany him with his mbira for an impromptu duet.
Mirror Mirror By Sandulela Asanda South Africa / 2021 / 9' Mirror Mirror is a comedic coming of age story that takes place over a video call between adorkable 17-year-old Luthando and her best friend, Jodie as they try to navigate the mechanics of self-pleasure and what it means to be a woman.	Half Soul By Trabelsi Marwen Tunisia / 2021 / 23'14 In a world materialized and devoid of humanity the sale of souls becomes a very successful business, suicidal offers their souls against a monetary value offered to their family, it is the fantastic story of a father who is obliged to sell his soul to save the life of his dying baby girl.	Negra By Medhin Tewolde Serrano Mexico / 2020 / 71' I was about seven years old the first time someone called me “black” on the street. I turned around to see who they were talking to, until I realized it was me. That day I understood I was black, and the laughter it caused among the people nearby made me think being a black person wasn’t that great… Was this only happening to me? Or did it happen to other black women? “Negra” shows the director in her search of exploring what it means to inhabit...
Colonialism & Yoruba By Badewa Adeseye Ajibade Nigeria / 2022 / 76' We follow the journey of two students, Boluwatife Bababunmi and Saheed Bakare of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, as they embark on a research project on colonialism in Yorubaland and its effect on the Yoruba traditional religion, in order to find a topic for Boluwatife's thesis at the university. They speak with academics, religious leaders and others across Osun State, Nigeria, from Ile-Ife to Osogbo, as they delve deeply into...	The Green Vein By Sara De Sousa Correia / Portugal / 2023 / 90' For centuries, the great empires of West Africa were fed by rivers like the Volta or the Niger - their blue veins. Today, after decades of colonisation, the food resilience of the banks of these rivers is at risk, and endogenous culture is being lost to an increasingly urban and violently industrialised transitional society. Nigeria tells us how far this boat can sink through the voice of Dr Beatrice, but on the banks of the Niger, in Mali...	Mergulho By Marton Olympio, Anderson Jesus / Brasil / 2022 / 15' While preparing for a weekend at the beach, the feelings of a whole family are confronted with the return of their eldest son, who has been away for ten years. Even unintentionally, they are called to dive into their own emotions.
Set Lam By Vincent Fontano France / 2022 / 20' In an insular city’s ghetto, in the midst of a trance ritual, a young girl is paralysed by fear. She is afraid her loved ones may be hurt or even disappear. It is then that her grandmother tells her the strange tale of Edwardo, the first one of his kin to have seen and fought death. The child is captivated, feeling that there is a reason her grandmother is recounting this tale.

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