News : The cinema of Jean Marie Teno in the spotlight at the French Institute of Yaoundé and Douala

Jean Marie Teno‘s cinema could stand alone as a genre in Cameroonian cinema. An eclectic, political, committed, whistleblower and enunciator cinema (according to the words of the director), which unfortunately suffers from little visibility with the Cameroonian public and even more from the young generation of local film lovers and filmmakers. Yet this cinema gleans prizes and recognition elsewhere. The film cycle devoted to the Cameroonian filmmaker by the French Institute of Cameroon gives the possibility to many to discover (for the youngest) and to rediscover (for the old) some of his works which draw in the local and pan-African socio-political realities. This retrospective will go from February 23 to 26, 2022 at the French Institute of Yaoundé and from February 28 to March 02, 2022 at the French Institute of Douala.

Seven of the director’s films will be screened during this retrospective. Seven films that talk about football, politics, cultural heritage, colonization, back to basics… in short, various subjects deeply rooted in the local sociology and history. During the 4 days that this film cycle will last, we will find among others: Mister Foot (1992), La Tête dans les Nuages (1994), Clando (1996), Chef! (1999), Le Malentendu Colonial (2004). And to mark the occasion, the director’s first work – Bikutsi Water Blues (1988) – and his latest work – Le Futur dans le retro (2018) – will be screened at the opening of this retrospective. When writing your magazine, we would have liked to see A Leaf in the Wind, a poignant documentary by the director, released in 2013, which tells the story of Ernestine Ouandié, daughter of Cameroonian independence activist Ernest Ouandié. Maybe it will be another time!

Rostand Wandja