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The first edition of La Semaine du Cinéma ended in Yaoundé on 4 April. During 6 days, the festival offered to the cinephiles of the Cameroonian capital a selection of Afro-French films. In this article we take stock of these 6 days of screenings and workshops.
The first edition of La Semaine du Cinéma kicked off at Canal Olympia in Yaounde on 30 March. With an opening ceremony marked by the performance of several artists, the presence of several people and the screening of 4 films, the festival team kicked off a week rich in activities and screenings for the great pleasure of Yaounde’s film lovers. The motivation behind this event is to “give the talents of the continent the means to express themselves” according to the general delegate of the festival, Hervé Moukoko.
A good fifty films were on the programme for this edition of La Semaine du Cinéma. Between documentaries, short films and feature films, the public had a wide range of choices. If on a technical and artistic level the gap was sometimes big from one film to another sometimes calling into question the selection of films, the stories nevertheless managed to captivate by drawing on the local realities specific to Africa.
Spirituality was one of the most recurrent themes. With films such as Fifonsi by Keveen Da Silva, Ibeji by Barnabas Udoh, La Mort ce Cadeau de la Vie by Madeleine Autet, Time by Hervé Moukoko, etc., The directors of these films have tried to alert film lovers to the presence of the spiritual in their daily lives. Alongside spirituality, there were also themes such as family and friendship. In this register, the public appreciated films such as Sin and the Guerre des Sexes (series) by Saimun William Kum, One Week by Rostand Wandja, La Hchouma by Achraf Ajraoui and many others. Two films particularly attracted the attention of the public, Time by Hervé Moukoko, a horror film that surprised many and Run by Rodrigue Fotso. With this film Rodrigue Fotso signs a 100% Cameroonian action film carried by a trio of quality actresses: Passy Ngah, Aissa Njayou, Marylene Evengue.
On the activity side, the public was able to benefit from several workshops and master classes. One of the most popular was the masterclass of Cameroonian actress Tatiana Matip. In the rather particular style that characterizes her, she led a two-day masterclass in acting at the Sita Bella cinema in Yaoundé. An opportunity for the one that was revealed to the public in 2006 thanks to the film Confidences by Cyrille Masso, to share her long years of experience with young aspiring actors.
On the whole, the festival enabled the public to reconnect with the films for a week. Even if we can deplore some inconveniences such as the location of the film screenings, which was not the most adequate, the festival team, through its commitment and dynamism, gave everything to make this a great experience for film lovers.
Rostand Wandja – Lydie Pierre Nsakamo
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