A look back at the end of year 2020 film releases in Cameroon

The end of 2020 in Cameroon has been busy in terms of film releases. Several films have been shown in various cinemas in the country. Even if the exact figures are not available, many people have come to discover these films whose screenings have not always been quietest.

In early november 2020 we announced the release of several films in Cameroon for the end of the year. Good news for a cinema in full renaissance where filmmakers are increasingly trying to tell stories rooted in the daily lives of their audiences.

It was the Johnscott Enah’s film, The Fisherman’s Diary that kicked off this wave of film releases in Cameroon with a premiere in “classic eighties” mode on 24 October 2020 at Canal Olympia Bessengué. The film went on to raid the Ecrans Noirs 2020 festival, winning a good part of the awards. Beyond Cameroon, the film has not ceased to win prizes at festivals and awards evenings. Some sources reveal that the film is on track to be the first Cameroonian film to be released on the Netflix platform. Information which, if confirmed, will give an extraordinary visibility to all the filmmakers of the country of Dikongue Pipa.

Also on November 27th, the Douala public was invited to discover Françoise Ellong’s film Enterrés at Canal Olympia Bessengue. The film benefited from an exceptional communication from the cinema and a few days later, the French Institute of Cameroon devoted a retrospective to the work of Françoise Ellong. A nice end of year gift. The film, which deals with a rather strong theme, helped to raise the debate around pedophilia in the church. And in the wake of this, some actors of the film revealed to have been abused in their youth.

On December 04, the public was expected at Canal Olympia Bessengue to discover the film Chariots Of The Gods directed by Anurin Nwunembom, a film with a well-supplied cast. After several weeks of assiduous communication, the screening of the film will finally not take place to the dismay of the public come for the occasion. The film cannot be shown due to the fact that the copy of the film is not ready, some sources reveal. A difficult situation before which the film crew preferred to remain silent. One situation underlines the importance of the existence of a true distribution company to ensure the effective releases of films.

For his new film, Achille Brice embarks us on a dramatic story of a couple that is torn apart because they are unable to have a child. This is the plot of the film When It Ends. It was at the Mountain Hotel in Buea that the premiere of this film took place on December 13. A first marked by the presence of many peoples of Cameroonian English-speaking cinema but also by breathtaking looks. The film crew is still looking for a distributor to release the film in other cities of Cameroon such as Yaoundé and Douala.

Aline was one of the most anticipated films of the end of the year. And for good reason the big communication set in motion to announce the premiere, but also the notoriety of the main actress and producer of the film Murielle Blanche. Everything has therefore been done to attract as many people as possible to the first two in Douala (December 23) in Yaoundé (December 29). Exit the screening, all comments from the public on social media were positive. But on the side of filmmakers and critics it was a whole different story. Several have criticized Aline, directed by Salem Kedy, for the emptiness of her script and the magazine lefilmcamerounais.com went even further by considering that it is a film for non-demanding audiences! The film is announced in other cities of the country but no date is known yet.

The image above is certainly the one that will be remembered the most when we talk about the movie Irrational Love. On her knees, the producer and director of the film Sandrine Ziba better known under the name of Chelsy Suzy asking forgiveness from the public for the failure of the first screening of Douala. And for good reason after almost 2 hours of delay, the film stops after 10 minutes of diffusion for technical reasons. A funny situation that the film crew was nevertheless able to catch up with at the Yaoundé premiere, which went rather well. After asking for forgiveness, the film crew decided to reschedule the film in Douala on February 14, 2021.