Lagos Film Review

iREP 2016 Daily Coverage Vol. 3

Odugbemi and his team must By Agnes Atsuah Dreams On Water have spent time building a rap- MAKOKO: YOUNG FU- port with everyone involved as TURES AFLOAT, a 30-minute there is a calmness that is pre- film by director and producer sent even in classroom scenes Femi Odugbemi, is not about a full of school children. mostly ignored people's cry for help rather it is a beautiful film The soundtrack of this film, about a place that is rarely, if while fitting, takes a little too ever, associated with beauty. The long to hit its crescendo and director almost approaches Ma- does not change fast enough koko - a Lagos settlement on thereby affecting the pacing. water - like a photographer, re- There are a few repetitive estab- sulting in interesting angles and lishing shots, but they are so composition. well done and easily forgivable. Everything from the wide- by Aderemi Adegbite sweeping shots of children Odugbemi's Makoko is softer, there is never a second’s doubt his story and experiences in an headed to school in colourful more hopeful, positive without as to the location of the film. honest manner that makes his uniforms on narrow canoes to sugar-coating the everyday strug- love and dedication to educat- the even wider shots of local Perhaps this is done on purpose gles of its residents and offers a ing children evident. fishermen at sea, and overhead to prevent the film straying small yet profound look into from its main topic and theme ones of the floating city is clearly Other narrators are not only the floating city without resort- in a place that is almost over- done with a gentle eye for colour relatable and genuine but also ing to charity advertising tech- flowing with various interesting and character in unexpected contribute their own stories and niques. project ideas. The film's main places. Although this can some- hopes in different languages narrator - director of Whanyina times make some scenes imper- that succeed in not feeling School Noah Shemede, delivers sonal and slightly detached but dulled by subtitles.

By Jite Efemuaye African funds for African documentaries

What will happen if funding According to him, close to 80% more likely to find African coun- is in fact no system that fosters from foreign donors for making of documentaries filmed in Af- tries going into agreements with collaboration, which translates African documentary films dries rica are funded from foreign non-African countries to make into different countries working up? This was the most impor- sources, mainly Europe. This in documentaries. “South Africa in seeming isolation, unaware of tant question raised at the itself is an issue as it puts power has nine or ten co-production what is happening documentary discussion on Documentary in the hands of the donor and treaties with Europe and Canada film-wise in neighbouring coun- Funding with Steven Markovitz takes away some independence and Australia but not a single co- tries. This can be blamed on the at the 2016 iREP Film Festival from the filmmaker. production treaty with an Afri- absence of a distribution net- on Friday. The idea of African documen- can country. In reality though, we don’t need treaties to co- work. Markovitz is a South African tary films made by Africans and produce,” Markowitz said. film and television producer funded by Africans is not a far- While online platforms could who has worked all over Africa fetched one, but is fraught with According to him, South Africa work, Markowitz expressed the producing documentary series a number of challenges: collabo- is not the only country guilty of opinion that such already exist and fiction films. ration being one of them. It is this “non-collaboration”. There story continues on P2 African funds for African Do you remember? By Dare Dan documentaries Story from P1

but are faced by the same challenges stated above: African countries are unaware of one another’s platforms. A unified online platform that curates films from all over the continent and makes them available online could solve two problems: distribu- tion and funding, Markowitz added. Films could either be made available at a small charge or goodwill donations should be encouraged to support the films. Until such a time when this happens, Afri- cans will continue to look outside for funding to make their documentary films while working towards having a robust African fund. Unveiling the iREP Foundation

By Amarachukwu Iwuala Most times we simply do not let go of memo- producing a logical and profound outcome ries because we feel they owe us. In the film towards the quest for identity. The pictures The highlight of the opening cocktail at MAKING OF HISTORY by Constanze Fis- in question are of the original sites of the the 2016 iREP Festival was the unveiling chbeck and Daniel Kötter, memory is heavily prison camps, and of ships and fences as the of the Foundation for the Promotion of indebted to a people who have lived in an Fischbecks arrive the shores of Tanzania. Documentary Film in Africa (FPDFA), epoch that decidedly dictated their fates. In tasking memory from living archives, the which is expected to oversee the expansion For these ones, whose lives were kited by gov- directors through pictures and direct ques- of the iREP vision through a 7-point ernment forces in exchange for other lives tions, create an ambience not just for their agenda that includes an academy and during the Second World War, or whose lives subjects but for an audience to exercise iREP TV. take a sudden and sharp turn as they open memory and engage history. The interludes their arms to foreigners, there is a score to of silence, and sounds of nature are, in Africa Magic plus other corporate and settle with history. themselves psychological; nature is left to individual partners were extolled for their support and the Lagos State Government Fischbeck and Kötter take a simple yet grip- guide the procedure. The pictures are al- through the Honourable Commissioner of ping and deeply emotional route to negotiat- most protected from human institutions and Information, Steve Ayorinde, indicated ing the path of their subjects within an era. In activities as the filmmakers cook up ‘memory that platforms like iREP would be worthy 45 minutes, Fischbeck retraces the path of her culture’ in their protagonists. partners as the state prepares for its 50th grandparents, who were German civilian pris- The present-day school pupils are not left anniversary in 2017. oners of war. They were replaced by Jewish out of the memory exercise. “I would build a prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration fence as high as possible; and of iron," a nine camp and took a later detour to Tanzania -year old says when asked what he would where they began a religious mission school in change in his school. It is obvious from his Kigarama. response that there is a connection between a boarding school in Tanzania and the his- In the film, 92-year old Kolutindo Sospater, torical site of the concentration camp in baptized by the older Fischbecks in Kigarama, Bergen- Belsen that his fence would not have and 90-year old Elisheva Auerbach, one of the comprehended. so-called exchanged Jews from Bergen-Belsen, In the final scene, a ship is seen approaching go down memory lane. Elementary questions an island and above, the words louder than such as, “What do you see in the picture?” all that has been said in the film, I hear, “Do begin a journey 50 years back in time, in turn See backpage for more images you remember?” African Popstars Made in China By Adefoyeke Ajao

process is tedious and frustrating and their complexion attracts scrutiny from the pub- lic and law enforcement agents. It is also not so easy penetrating the country’s enter- tainment industry. Despite these chal- lenges, they all agree that China is a more enabling environment than their home countries. CHINA REMIX is a deviation from the usual stories of crime and illegal migration that have become the normal descriptions of Africans in the diaspora. Lekowitz and Carli-Jones deserve commendation for focusing the spotlight on those involved by intelligently allowing them to narrate their own stories, focusing on their perform- ances and making ample use of the trio’s Melissa Lekowitz and Dorian Carli-Jones’ through studio sessions, club performances music as the film’s soundtracks - there are CHINA REMIX sets out to overhaul stereo- and downtime with their companions, who no drawn-out or slow-paced scenes. After types. The film chronicles the everyday lives also chip in to make this documentary an watching the enthusiastic indigenous fans of Flame, Ivan and Dibaocha, three African interesting watch. gyrating at the clubs and the remarks of immigrants resident in Guangzhou, China. the Chinese women the subjects are ro- Unlike most of their compatriots who sur- It is not always clear-sailing for the three sub- mantically involved with - especially Di- vive by trading, these three have chosen to jects; the media’s negative portrayal of Afri- baocha’s wife, Cherrish, who speaks Eng- eke a living from music. The film-makers cans and the propagation of negative stereo- lish with a Nigerian accent - you’ll have to follow Nigerians Dibaocha and Flame Rama- types among the Chinese population have agree that Africans actually thrive, accul- dan, a career musician, as well as Ivan frustrating consequences: the immigration turate and facilitate culture exchange in Manivoo, a student of Ugandan origins, the diaspora.

BLACK. QUEER. RADICAL. WOMAN By Dare Dan

Audre Lorde may have been tagged, Carib- documentary that will stand the test of time She is a visiting professor at the Free Uni- bean-American, lesbian, feminist, activist, and inspire many generations has been made. versity of Berlin, Germany - a country go- poet, womanist, and mother among other This documentary captures the most prolific ing through a revamp, a decisive political tags. She may have fallen into the temptation years of a radical. shake-up, at that point in time. of boxing herself as these occur at various times in the course of her life, as a victim of a “I love to learn,” Lorde says in another scene, The Berlin Wall would fall and along this world where classism is king. The system, like spreading her arms, gesturing freedom as a political tremor is a movement that will a machine on fuel, thrives on classifications camera follows her up a Berlin street. change the way Afro-German women are in which hypocrites find greenery. Lorde perceived in the society. Lorde’s altruistic would otherwise be an epitome of freedom. Growing up in the United States of America, and eloquent nature soon attracts differ- Her works and life, as seen in the film Dag- she understands politics and life like any curi- ent generations of men and women, white mar Schultz’s AUDRE LORDE – THE BER- ous person of colour in the USA. She was the and black, old and young. LIN YEARS 1984 to 1992, reflect this. “It is first Black student admitted to Hunter Col- not our differences that divide us. It is our lege High School, an all-girls secondary school After fitfully chronicling the life and times inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate at the time, and this is enough for her bril- of Audre Lorde to the point where she those differences,” she says. liant young mind to start asking questions. finally succumbs to cancer, Schultz shows The answers to her questions reverberate in her in a convivial last scene, dancing away In making the film, Schultz, German activist, the ways she chooses to live her life and more with friends as if resurrecting meaning to author and a close friend to Lorde, takes all profoundly, in breaking the ice of inequali- life even in death. the liberty that depicting such a life de- ties, prejudices and injustices as she senses it mands. Through Lorde’s professional and in her world. The film trails Lorde’s time in private life: interviews, readings, intimate Berlin - in the mid-80s to early 90s. and leisurely discourse, an utterly powerful Photo Splash from iREP Cocktail & Foundation Launch

Lagos Film Review Newsroom

Contributors Amarachukwu Iwuala Agnes Atsuah Oludamilare Kolawole Dan Adefoyeke Ajao Wome Uyeye Oris Aigbokhaevbolo Didi Cheeka Jite Efemuaye

Photographer Opeyemi Balogun

Graphic Designer: Aderemi Adegbite

Editor: Aderinsola Ajao

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