Ecrans Noirs 2020 : These must-see films during the festival.

The film screenings of the 24th edition of the Ecrans Noirs festival begin this Sunday, November 1, 2020 at the Palais des Sports in Yaoundé. A total of 81 films and series will be screened during the 7 days of the festival. Besides these screenings, several other activities will take place such as press conferences, the film market, the Cameroonian cinema forum, the international conference and training.

Ayila offers you a selection of films that you will absolutely have to watch during the festival. These are 10 feature films that we consider essential because of their thematic, artistic, and technical bias. For times and dates of broadcast can have the program here.

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1. Living in Bondage : breaking free (Nigeria)

2. Oloture (Nigeria)

3. Innocente

4. Cook Off (Zimbabwe)

5. Enterrés (Cameroun)

6. The White Line (namibie)

7. The Fisherman's Diary (Cameroon)

8. Azali (Ghana)

9. Saving Mbango (Cameroon)

10. Hala Madrid (Maroc)

If you are present during black screens we offer 10 feature films from almost all the major regions of Africa. Despite the Covid pandemic, Africa has shown itself to be productive in terms of cinema but above all, African filmmakers have decided to tell stories specific to the continent, stories that address contemporary themes in Africa, stories that speak volumes of our customs of our culture and which offer a different way of seeing the world.

Youth is at the heart of several films on the festival’s program, a youth in search of landmarks, in search of brand and achievement who very often find themselves stuck in complex and difficult situations. Leaving in Bondage: breaking free the Nigerian film directed by actor Ramsey Nouah, which is the remake of the 1992 film, tells us about the life of an ambitious young man who, driven by the desire to become a rich man, lets himself be carried away in a brilliant world where the other side of the coin is bloody. a film that would like to warn the youth against mystical and esoteric circles. For this first feature film as a director, the Nigerian actor does not take a big risk and offers us a simple and refined production with an emphasis on the acting quite effective. Oloture, another Nigerian film in the official selection, takes us into the perverse and violent world of prostitution and human trafficking in Lagos. The film based on a true story tells the story of a journalist who infiltrates a prostitution circuit to understand how it works. In this world young women are the sex objects of politicians and the powerful. Over the course of discoveries and painful experiences, it is no longer for this journalist to write the best article but to make it out alive. The director tries by many sequences and special shots tries to immerse us in this world apart. On several occasions the intention to show this perverse world is confronted with that of remaining modest.

It is not just the youth that attracts the attention of filmmakers on the continent but also childhood and the shocks suffered by children, pedophilia, abuse, forced marriage, etc. A set of things that end up having repercussions in their future life. Buried by Françoise Ellong addresses the issue of pedophilia in the church. Taboo subject but yet very real in Africa. In this second feature film, the Benino-Cameroonian director tells us the story of 4 young people, abused in their childhood by a priest, who find themselves to try to bury this painful past which had an impact on their lives. adult. But the more they try to bury this past, the more difficult they discover new things. the film is behind closed doors in the open, carried by the dialogues of the 4 main protagonists. Azali Released on Netflix is a Ghanaian film directed by Kwabena Gyansah. The film tells the story of a 14 year old girl who finds herself in exile to escape a forced marriage and who finds herself in the world of prostitution in the slums of Accra. The Fisherman’s Diary directed by Enah Johnscott tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who wants to go to school to look like the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in the world. But in the village where she is, the education of girls is a taboo subject, to which is added the fierce opposition of the father to the idea of seeing her continue her studies.

In a world that still vibrates to the rhythm of Black Lives Matters, racism is also one of the themes dealt with by the films in selection. The White Line, directed by Désirée Kayikopo, takes us back to the apartheid era that was prevalent throughout southern Africa. It is the story of an impossible love between a dark room girl and an Afrikaner policeman. A story that highlights the absurdity of these unjust rules which have governed Africa and which continue to rule the world. And speaking of law and justice, the Cameroonian Frank Léa Malle offers us the film Innocente which plunges us into an investigation of a double attempted homicide which must be evaded by agent Mbuntcha. A film that questions the relationship between law, justice and truth.

But life is not just about sad subjects, love, football are also part of these subjects which move Africa. Cook of is a Zimbabwean film directed by Tomas Brickhill, a refreshing romantic comedy that takes us through the daily life of the inhabitants of Harare. Anesu, a single mother, sees her daily life turned upside down when her daughter convinces her to participate in a reality TV show about the kitchen. A film to watch with the family. The Cameroonian Nkanya Nkwai is present in this selection with the film Saving Mbango, a romantic drama which tells the story of John and Mbango who live rather difficult lives and who from the first meeting fall madly in love. They then have to face many situations that will strain their love. the last film in our selection comes from Morocco, Hala Madrid, a dramatic comedy full of surprises. Boulhwajeb, a powerful bearded man and womanizer and big fan of Real Madrid, imposes on the inhabitants of his neighborhood his love for the Madrid club and bans all other footballing affiliations and leads a hunt for Barca supporters. This situation will change when a young local, Barca supporter returns from Spain, each of the 2 men will try to rally as many people as possible to their clan. A film that football lovers will love!