African Film Series 2012 | Washington University in St. Louis

Friday, March 23 at 7 p.m.
DIRTY LAUNDRY Stephen Abbott & Eduan van Jaarsveldt, South Africa, 2010, 16 minutes The movie tells the story of Roger who is busy doing his laundry at The Wishy Washy. It is meant to be a routine laundry-washing event, but tonight there's something strange in the laundromat's water. Winner, Best Short Film, Durban International Film Festival, 2011; Winner, Outstanding International Short, ReelWorld Film Festival (Toronto), 2011	UNE FEMME PAS COMME DES AUTRES (AN UNCOMMON WOMAN) Abdoulaye Dao, Burkina Faso, 2009, 101 minutes Mina, a very successful businesswoman, decides, much to her current husband's chagrin, to take a second husband in an environment where polyandry is taboo but not polygamy. Best Film, ECRAN NOIR (Cameroon), 2011; Best TV Fiction, FESPACO, 2009
Youth Matinee: Saturday, March 24 at 1 p.m.
BINO AND FINO—NIGERIA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY & MAMA MAMA'S SOUP Adama Waziri, Nigeria, 2011, 13 minutes Bino and Fino is a cartoon series about a brother and sister who live with their grandparents 'Mama' and 'Papa' in a modern-day city in Africa. L'ARBRE AUX ESPRITS Cilia Sawadogo, Canada/Burkina Faso, 2005, 45 minutes This marvelous film for all ages combines West African and North American storytelling, focusing on spirits and nature. Kodou and Tano meet Ayoka, the spirit of a tree that is soon to be cut down. The children know that without the magical baobab, the passage to the surface is forever closed and the spirit of rain will never be able to come back to the surface. Q&A by filmmaker Sawadogo will follow the youth matinee screening.	Featuring Cilia Sawadogo, Guest Artist Cilia Sawadogo immigrated to Montreal from Burkina Faso to study Communications and Film Animation at Concordia University before beginning her career as an animator. As director, writer and animator, she has received numerous awards for films she directed at the National Film Board of Canada or independently including L'Arbre aux Esprits. Sawadogo has also produced animated clips for Sesame Street. She is currently the director of animation at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University. One of her goals is to help further opportunities for African women to make films and be more valued in the film industry, both in Africa and elsewhere. Sawadogo will introduce her film L'Arbre aux Esprits at Saturday's youth matinee and will answer questions following the screening.
Saturday, March 24 at 7 p.m.
LEZARE (FOR TODAY) Zelalem Woldemariam Ezare, Ethiopia, 2010, 14 minutes Lezare is a revealing and touching story about a homeless boy in a small village in southern Ethiopia. A powerful message about global warming and shortsightedness. Winner, Best Short Film, Tarifa African Film Festival (Spain)	A TRIP TO ALGIERS Abdelkrim Bahloul, Algeria/ France, 2010, 97 minutes In 1962, a young woman has lost everything during the war for independence in Algeria. A Frenchman leaving the country offers her and her six children his former home, leaving her to deal with an unscrupulous government official. Best Screenplay, Namur 25th International French-Language Film Festival, 2010; Best Actress, Angoulême French-language Film Festival, 2010; Best Actress, FESPACO, 2011; Best Screenplay, FESPACO, 2011
Sunday, March 25 at 7 p.m.
MWANSA THE GREAT Rungano Nyoni, Zambia, 2011, 23 minutes Follow the life of an imaginative boy, Mwansa, who lives in a small traditional village outside Lusaka. He transforms everyday mundane tasks into adventurous quests. Best Short Film, Austin Film Festival, 2011; Best Short Film, Naoussa International Film Festival (Greece)	A SCREAMING MAN (UN HOMME QUI CRIE) Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Chad/ France/Belgium, 2010, 88 minutes A quiet, tender, and wrenching story of an individual at the intersection of the personal and the political. Adam, a former swimming champion, is a pool attendant at a hotel in Chad who has become less and less relevant and increasingly in the shadow of his son Abdel. Meanwhile rebel forces are attacking the government and the authorities demand that everyone contribute to the "war effort." Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival, 2010; Silver Hugo, Best Screenplay, 46th Chicago International Film Festival, 2010; Best French Language Film (outside of France), Lumiere Awards, 2011; Silver Prize, FESPACO, 2011

MAC

Sponsored by African & African American Studies and Film & Media Studies in Arts & Sciences and African Students Association of Washington University. It is funded in part by a grant from the Women's Society of Washington University. Financial assistance for this project has also been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

The event is also supported by the Saint Louis Art Museum; Saturday¹s films are co-presented with the Saint Louis Metropolitan Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Uncommon Woman is provided courtesy of ArtMattan Films; Mwansa the Great and Dirty Laundry are provided courtesy of Africa First of Focus Features. L¹Arbre aux Esprits was provided by the filmmaker. All other films are part of the African Film Festival National Traveling Series, organized by the African Film Festival, Inc. This series has been made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, Lambent Foundation, Bradley Family Foundation and Websignia. Special thanks to Mahen Bonetti, director, and Toccarra Thomas, program coordinator for their assistance and support.