New York African Film Festival Celebrates 30th Anniversary
New York African Film Festival Celebrates 30th Anniversary
In celebration of this year's African Film Festival, here are 6 must-see films from their prestigious Shorts Programme.
Under the banner "Streaming Rivers: The Past into the Present," the New York African Film Festival(NYAFF) returns virtually this December with a spotlight on the cinema of two nations: Nigeria and the Sudan. Presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) and African Film Festival (AFF), this year's regional NYAFF will screen six features and eight short films in the FLC Virtual Cinema, as the AFF celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The festival will transport audiences to the Sudan and Nigeria, two nations whose film industries were disrupted in their nascency — in Nigeria by an economic decline in the late 1970s and early 1980s and in Sudan by the dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir whose 30-year grip on the country was ended by the 2019 uprising. In recent years, Sudan's film industry has been revived by an emerging crop of filmmakers, who are also dedicated to restoring the works of the veterans on whose shoulders they stand. Nollywood can claim the mantle of being Africa's homegrown film industry, which has influenced filmmakers globally and provided the template for other nations to jump-start their own nascent motion picture businesses.
The festival's Shorts Programme boasts a number of varied and enthralling short films from across the continent and the world. According to the festival, "The Shorts Programme is composed of works by filmmakers who are challenging the notion of home, space and where in the world Africa is." Furthermore, "Taboo subjects are tackled within the realms of gender, sexuality, liberation, redefining the evolving phrase "tradition versus modernity" and from the point of view of younger generations."
Below are 6 short films that are a definite must-see and are part of the festival's Shorts Programme.
1. 'A Cemetery of Doves' (2019)
Still taken from YouTube.
This short film is about love, heartbreak and navigating the world as a queer individual. A teenager's declaration of love for an older man is met with rejection and he subsequently struggles with heartbreak and fear for his safety and future in a society which is intolerant of the LGBTQ community.
This short film is an oldie but certainly a goodie. Coffee Colored Children is a lyrical and unsettling film which conveys the experience of children of mixed racial heritage. It certainly tackles the issue of identity and the experiences that come with that particular identity in an exquisite manner.
This short film was adapted from a short story written by Italian writer, Alberto Moravia. What initially begins as a playful and seemingly innocuous game, descends into a confrontation between a divorced single mother and her little daughter.
Love in Submission has all the makings of an excellent suspense film. In the white-picket-fence suburbs of central New Jersey, two Muslim women who come from very different backgrounds and are meeting for the first time, discover they are already inextricably bound by an explosive secret.
This short film highlights the work of Sarra Idris, a young woman and prominent grassroots activist, who kept the world informed during the Sudanese revolution of 2018/2019 which eventually led to the ousting of longtime dictator, Omar al-Bashir.
Troublemaker tells the story of a young boy who learns that all actions have consequences. Set in Eastern Nigeria, the coming-of-age film explores violence, masculinity and the effects that war has on multiple generations within a community.
The awards, which were held at the Dakar Arena, saw the likes of Nigerian superstar Davido take home three trophies in one night as he won the Best African Collaboration, Best Duo or Group in African Electro, and Best Male Artiste in African Inspirational Music categories.
Egyptian rapper Marwan Moussa followed closely, nabbing two wins for Best African Rapper/Lyricist and Best Duo or Group in African Hip Hop.
In other notable moments, Senegalese icons Youssou N’dour, Baaba Maal, and Ismaël Lô were given the AFRIMA Legend Award, which is selected by the awards' international executive committee.
All of the winners across the remaining 39 categories for the 8th AFRIMA in Senegal were decided by popular vote across a pool of 9,067 submitted entries.
South Africa's Costa Titch and Frrench-Congolese artist Dadju lead the group, with each artist earning six nominations. Burna Boy, KIzz Daniel, Tiwa Savage and Fireboy DML bagged nominations each.
This year, the organization received its highest number of entries ever recorded since the award show began in 2014. The award show's jury chose 382 nominations across 39 musical categories, to underscore five African regions and the musical talents that represent those regions.
South African jury member Adam Tiran, said that he was confident that he and other members had made the right selections this year for talent.
“We are confident in our selection this year, after carefully reviewing all 9,076 entries. We are sure this is an accurate and inclusive representation of where the African music industry currently is," said Tiran. "We have put in the effort to ensure that AFRIMA’s nominations remain as credible and authentic as always.”
West African countries led the charge with a total of 134 nominations, and this was followed by the Eastern African region, whose artists came to 69 nominations. Southern African artists followed behind with 68 nominations and Central African artists had 52 nominations, while Northern African artists had an entry totaling to 49 nominations. The global region for this year's award show representing non-Africans pulled in 10 nominations.
The nominations fall into a variety of categories, according to Angela Martins, Head of Culture, African Union Commission on the Jury:
“The nominees list comprising 29 continental award categories and 10 regional award categories released for public voting on www.afrima.org. The remaining category for the “Legend Award” will be announced at the awards. Also, we brought back the “Best Soundtrack in a Movie, Series or Documentary” category, this year, due to the availability of quality entries for this year’s edition. Recall that we had to suspend it, last year, due to a shortage of quality entries, said Martins. “Overall, we are very proud and confident in our work, and we would continue to intensify our efforts to ensure AFRIMA remains the ultimate recognition of African music globally in line with its vision.”
See the full list of winners below.
Here are all the winners at the 8th All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA)
REGIONAL WINNERS
Best Female Artiste in Western Africa
Asa
Ocean
Nigeria
Gyakie
Something
Ghana
Josey Ft. Bonigo (Winner)
Zambeleman
Cote d'Ivoire
Manamba Kante
Bhouloun Djouri
Guinea
Oumou Sangare
Wassulu Don
Mali
Simi
Woman
Nigeria
Soraia Ramos
BKBN
Cape Verde
Tems
Crazy Tings
Nigeria
Tiwa Savage Ft. Brandy
Somebody's Son
Nigeria
Viviane CHIDID Ft. Bass Thioung
Sweet Game
Senegal
Best Male Artiste in Southern Africa
A-Reece
Couldn't Have Said It Better, Pt.3
South Africa
Blxckie feat A-Reece
Sneaky
South Africa
DJ Tarico Ft. DJ Consequence, Nelson Tivane & Preck
Number One
Mozambique
Gemini Major Ft. Ayra Starr
Ooh Lala
Malawi
Focalistic X Madumane and Mellow & Sleazy feat. DJ Maphorisa
16 Days No Sleep
South Africa
Kabza De Small Ft. DJ Maphorisa
Abalele
South Africa
Musketeers Ft. Azmo
Danko feat. Azmo
Namibia
Master KG x Wanitwa Mos Ft. Nkosazana Daughter, Basetsana, Obeey Amor
Dali Nguwe
South Africa
Winky D (Winner)
Happy Again
Zimbabwe
Zakes Bantwini Ft. Kasango
Osama
South Africa
Best Female Artiste in Southern Africa
DJ Yessonia Ft. Boohle
Ngifuna Wena
Namibia
DJ Zinhle Ft. Black Motion, Kabza De Small & Nokwazi
Siyabonga
South Africa
Kamo Mphela
Ghost
South Africa
Makhadzi (Winner)
Mama
South Africa
Nadia Nakai Ft. Lucasraps
Not The Same
South Africa
Nomfundo Moh Ft. ShaSha & Ami Faku
Phakade Lami
South Africa
ShaSha Ft. Kamo Mphela & Felo Le Tee
iPiano
Zimbabwe
Simmy
We Were Here
South Africa
Tamy Moyo
Sare
Zimbabwe
Uncle Waffles & Tony Duardo Ft. Sino Msolo & Boibizza
Tanzania
South Africa
Best Male Artiste in Northern Africa
A.L.A (Winner)
30
Tunisia
Ali Loka
Matkhafesh Yamma
Egypt
Ahmed Saad Ft. 3enba & Double Zuksh
AlMoulouk
Egypt
DJ Snake
Disco Maghreb
Algeria
Draganov
Chichi
Morocco
El Grande Toto
Salade Coco
Morocco
Marwan Moussa
Batal 3alam
Egypt
Snor
Kasseta
Morocco
Soolking
Suavemente
Algeria
Wegz
Albakht
Egypt
Best Female Artiste in Northern Africa
Faouzia (Winner)
RIP Love
Morocco
Jaylann
Oui Oui
Morocco
Kenza Morsli Ft. DJ Adel
Moustahil
Algeria
Lyna Mahyem
Mal De Toi
Algeria
Manal
Makhelaw Magalou
Morocco
Marwa Loud & Moha K
Ghir Ntiya
Morocco
Ruby
Namet Nenna
Egypt
Rym
Stylo Warqa
Morocco
Best Male Artiste in Central Africa
C4 Pedro
Posa
Angola
Dadju
Ambassadeur
DRC
Fally Ipupa (Winner)
Bloqué
DRC
Innoss'B
Mortel-06
DRC
Gaz Mawete
500
DRC
Matias Damasio
Como Antes
Angola
Ninho
Jefe
DRC
Roga Roga & Extra Musica
Bokoko
DRC
Tayc
Dodo
Cameroon
Tenor Ft. Innoss'B
Mami Wata
Cameroon
Best Male Artiste in Eastern Africa
Addis Legesse
Enja
Ethiopia
Bien (& Aaron Rimbui)
Bald Men Anthem
Kenya
Diamond Platnumz Ft. Zuchu
Mtasubiri
Tanzania
Eddy Kenzo
Songa
Uganda
Kassmasse (Winner)
Sewasew
Ethiopia
King Saha
Zakayo
Uganda
Marioo Ft. Jovial
Mi Amor
Tanzania
Mbosso Ft. Costa Titch & Phantom Steeze
Moyo
Tanzania
Nyashinski Ft. Femi One
Properly
Kenya
Rayvanny Ft. Vjollca
Pele Pele
Tanzania
Best Female Artiste in Eastern Africa
Betty G
Addis Semay
Ethiopia
Frida Amani
Fala Mimi
Tanzania
Hewan Gebrewold
Shemuna
Ethiopia
Muthaka (Winner)
Sorry
Kenya
Nandy
Siwezi
Tanzania
Nikita Kering
Last Name
Kenya
Rosa Ree
Watatubu
Tanzania
Spice Diana Ft. DJ Seven
Tujuoge
Uganda
Tanasha Donna
Maradonna
Kenya
Zuchu Ft. Bontle Smith & Tyler
Kitu
Tanzania
CONTINENTAL WINNER
Song of the year
Black Sherif
Kwaku The Traveller
Ghana
Burna Boy
Last Last
Nigeria
Costa Titch feat. Banaba Des, Alfa Kat, Man T, Sdida, C’Buda M
Big Flexa
South Africa
Dadju
Ambassaduer
DRC
Didi B (Winner)
Tala
Cote d'Ivoire
DJ Snake
Disco Maghreb
Algeria
Fireboy DML feat. Ed Sheeran
Peru (Remix)
NIgeria
Kizz Daniel feat. Tekno
Buga
Nigeria
Marioo feat. Jovial
Mi Amor
Tanzania
Rema
Calm Down
Nigeria
Soolking
Suavemente
Algeria
Wegz
Elbakht
Egypt
Album of the year
Brymo
9: Esan
Nigeria
Burna Boy (Winner)
Love Damini
Nigeria
Dadju
Cullilan
DRC
Diamond Platnumz
First of All
Tanzania
Didi B
History
Cote d'Ivoire
Kabza De Small
KOA II
South Africa
Nomfundo Moh
Amagama
South Africa
Oumou Sangare
Timbuktu
Mali
Soolking
Sans Visa
Algeria
Rema
Raves & Roses
Nigeria
Producer of the year
C4 Pedro
Posa C4 Pedro
Angola
CKay & BMH
Emiliana by CKay
Nigeria
Kimambobeats
Mi Amor by Marioo feat. Jovial
Tanzania
Nyadjiko & Dadju
Ambassaduer by Dadju
DRC
Rahal
Elbakht by Wegz
Egypt
Reward Beats
Buga by Kizz Daniel feat. Tekno
Nigeria
Sdida & Man T
Big Flexa by Costa Titch
South Africa
Serge Beynaud
C'est Dose by Serge Beynaud
Cote d'Ivoire
Shizzi (Winner)
Peru (Remix) by Fireboy DML
Nigeria
Stan-E Kibulu & William Grigahcine
Disco Magrehb by DJ Snake
Algeria
A Artist of the Year
Burna Boy (Winner)
Last Last
Nigeria
CKay
Emiliana
Nigeria
Dadju
Ambassaduer
DRC
Diamond Platnumz feat. Zuchu
Mtasubiri
Tanzania
Fireboy DML feat. Ed Sheeran
Peru (Remix)
Nigeria
Kabza De Small feat. DJ Maphorisa, Ami Faku
Asibe Happy
South Africa
Manal
Makhelaw Magalou
Morroco
Tiwa Savage feat. Brandy
Somebody's Son
Nigeria
Wegz
Elbakht
Egypt
Zakes Batwini feat. Kasango
Osama
South Africa
Songwriter of the Year
Bridget Blue & Jibiril Blessing
Woman by Bridget Blue
Kenya
Daniel Baron
How To Feel by Daniel Baron
South Africa
Iba One (Winner)
Hommage a mes parents
Mali
Lloyiso Mandlovandile Gigana, Luke Goliath
Seasons by Lloyiso
South Africa
Martin Obudho, Muthaka
Sorry
Kenya
Matias Damasio
Como Antes
Angola
Mordecai 'Dex' Mwini
Reason by Wanavokali Ft. H_art the Band
Kenya
Olawale Olofo'ro
Fura Sára by Brymo
Nigeria
Rokia Kone, Garret Lee
Kurunba
Mali
Sidy Diop
Ngalam
Senegal
Winner
Breakout Breakout Artist of the Year
Asake (Winner)
Peace Be Unto You (PBUY)
Nigeria
Camidoh
Sugarcane (Remix) feat. Darkoo, King Promise, Mayorkun
Ghana
Costa Titch
Ma Gang feat Champuru Makhenzo, Phantom Steeze, ManT, Sdida & C'BUDA M
South Africa
Daliwonga
Abo Mvelo feat. Mellow And Sleazy & M.J
South Africa
El Grande Toto
Salade Coco
Morroco
Fior 2 Bior
Godo Godo
Cote d'Ivoire
Hewan Gebrewold
Shemuna
Ethiopia
Marwan Moussa (Winner)
Batal 3alam
Egypt
Nomfundo Moh
Phakade Lami feat. ShaSha & Ami Faku
South Africa
Pheelz
Finesse feat. BNXN
Nigeria
Most Promising Artist
Ans-T Crazy (Winner)
10 Na ifari feat. Ibro Gnamet
Guinea
Dafencii
King Alhalaba
Sudan
Fave
Baby Riddim
Nigeria
Frida Amani
Fala Mimi
Tanzania
Jeeba
Lamou Saff
Senegal
Khanyisa
Bheka Mina Ngedwa feat Tsiki XII, Marcus MC and Lady Du
South Africa
Kikimoteleba
Tigini feat. Franglish
Cote d'Ivoire
Lloyiso
Speak
South Africa
Magixx
Love Don't Cost A Dime feat. Ayra Starr
Nigeria
Zara Williams
Posa feat. C4 Pedro
DRC
African Fans Favourite
Bello Falcao
Dibango Dibanga
Cote d'Ivoire
Ch'cco, Mellow, Sleazy
Nkao Tempela
South Africa
Goya Menor & Nektunez
Ameno Amapiano
Ghana & Nigeria
Joeboy
Sip (Alchohol)
Nigeria
Lojay X Sarz feat. Chris Brown
Monalisa (Remix)
Nigeria
Mavins; Ayra Starr, Boy Spyce, Crayon, LADIPOE, Magixx
The South African filmmaker's documentary feature, which is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, is a deeply personal film that touches on her life growing up in the Transkei, before it was incorporated into post-apartheid South Africa.
When the credits roll on Milisuthando Bongela’s documentary feature, Milisuthando, among those listed, along with the lighting director and song composers, are the names of her ancestors. For the South African director, it was important that her first film was indeed made in communion with those who came before her.
“They were always consulted,” she tells OkayAfrica. “I would talk to my ancestors about my ideas. I would say, ‘Okay, this is the direction we want to go in.’ Even in terms of the fundraising aspect of the film, we involved them. This is what was fun and groundbreaking about making a film as a South African in 2021 [when she finished shooting it], is that our knowledge systems have said that you involve your ancestors in absolutely everything that you do. And we did”
And so it is that Milisuthando makes its debut into the world at the Sundance Film Festival, having been selected for its World Documentary Competition section. The film, which Bongela started eight years ago when she was a fashion blogger, consultant and columnist, began life as an exploration of hair and identity. But over the years, she dug deeper to come up with a deeply personal visual essay into how apartheid shaped the way she sees herself.
Milisuthando traces Bongela’s childhood, through her relationship with her grandmother, in the so-called independent homeland of the Transkei, which was dissolved into South Africa when apartheid ended, to her family’s move to Joburg, and the interracial friendships she’s developed over the years. All of which, to probe the constructs she grew up within, and how those have impacted her sense of self.
But the doc is more than just a strikingly honest and exquisitely crafted look into parts of one person’s life; it’s the chance for other South Africans – and indeed other human beings born into the various unequal systems that operate in this world – to be in dialogue with where we come from and who we come from, and how an honest contemplation of this is necessary to inform a future that is truly more inclusive and loving and kind.
'Milisuthando' is the debut documentary feature from Milisuthando Bongela that's premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Photo: The Sundance Institute
Bongela uses elements like archival footage of South Africans in notable moments of recent history, for example news footage of the first Black children to go to a previously whites-only school (known back then as Model C) and incorporates interviews with her own friends, in this case, about their experiences at these schools. In doing so, she uncovers aspects of post-apartheid that aren’t talked about enough, through an acute, emotive lens.
Poetic words and carefully-placed melodies convey the complicated nuances that filled the Mandela era. Bongela’s tapestry is rich, her colors vivid, and her touch ever so gently guided by those she calls into her space to inform and nurture her and her work. It’s a documentary that holds the promise of a filmmaker to follow and champion as she continues on her path.
Bongela, who was an inaugural fellow of the 2020 Adobe Women at Sundance Fellowship, spoke to OkayAfrica about the long road towards making the film.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You ground the film in your childhood memories, of growing up in a so-called independent homeland, the Transkei -- this is a part of South Africa's history that we don’t often see talked about. Why was this important to you?
The disjunction was always that I didn't see my own history represented. So when I switched on the TV, it was always people who grew up in eKasi (in the township) – Soweto, Khayelitsha – those were the stories that were represented. And at some point, as a child, I also thought I grew up eKasi. But I remember in 2013, at Nelson Mandela's house, before the funeral, my friends and I went there and we were all kind of singing with the group the song, My mother was a kitchen girl, My father was a garden boy. And I remember singing the song but in my heart, I was like, that is not true of me, and, do I have a right to have a right to sing the song? Because my history is different. My mother wasn't a kitchen girl, my father wasn't a garden boy. What were they? And why is it that my father had a desk job and typed on a computer and he had a briefcase, and why is it that my mother wore high heels and perfume? I grew up around people who were doctors and accountants and lawyers, and these were just our family, friends, you know?
And so the idea of the Transkei -- and we have not explored the homeland histories at all, in South Africa -- me exploring that was a way of validating my own experience to say, in South Africa's narrative of apartheid and transition to democracy, where do I fit in? Where did the homelands fit in? Why is it that when I was growing up as a child, when we wrote our nationality on forms, we were Transkein? And I was like, what happened to that?
I studied journalism but I've never been interested in the square facts. The facts don’t help us understand why things are the way that they are. And so I was trying to make sense of where I came from. When did I leave this place? And why did we leave this place? And when did whiteness become a reality in my life? And that was in 1992, when we left and moved into a white neighborhood. It's not an autobiographical story, but it borrows a lot from the trajectory of my own life.
Meet the Artist 2023: Milisuthando Bongela on “Milisuthando”
It took 8 years to make, what was your process as you worked?
It took a very long time because, having never studied film, but being a huge fan, I was always like, I should follow the traditional structure, I should respect the form and respect the known structure, especially if I'm coming from the outside. But every time we tried to push the story in that direction of having like a three-act structure and me narrate everything and explain everything to the audience, it just never felt right. So the process involved a lot of faith in myself. For my editor, for my cinematographer, for my producer, we are unashamed about how much faith we've had to have in trusting the direction we wanted to go in the film. The nonlinear kind of jumping between time and not using my voice in that way that tells the audience but invites the audience into a world where they can also discover. So the process was quite sacred.
It mirrored a lot of my own personal practices, in terms of the way I grew up, and again, that was a huge leap cinematically because I've never really seen that on screen, and I don't know but I just I knew we had something special on our hands and that it took a long time to explore and invalidate that. But in the end, I think we were like, Yeah, this film is unique regarding where it comes from, but most importantly, what it has to say about the subjects. I feel like South Africans are qualified to talk about race and to explore race because of our history. There's a lot to be heard from that part of the world that I want to share with the rest of the world.
So the structure also had to kind of break with traditional form. And just lastly, I am interested in the question of what is South African cinema in the 21st century? Being newbies at it, as Black people making films, as Black women making films, as women making films. We haven't been allowed to touch this technology, we haven't been allowed to engage cameras for a long time, and so now that we're here, how is it going to change?
In 'Milisuthando,' director Milisuthando Bongela explores her childhood and what it meant to move from the Transkei to Johannesburg in post-apartheid South Africa.
Photo: The Sundance Institute
There’s an incredibly vulnerable and honest conversation about whiteness with your producer Marion Isaacs in the film - one of the most powerful in the film. What was behind your decision to include that?
Because it was happening, because it was real, because that's exactly what we were going through. And in our pitching forums and stuff when we were still fundraising for the film, we realized early on that we have to be honest about our own relationship. Historically, the producers in South Africa are usually always white women and the directors are always, not always but sometimes, Black. And I'm always interested in the power dynamics between these roles, and because Marion and I are friends, and our friendship is built very much on long conversations, thorough conversations, vulnerable conversations about everything, and obviously, this is a documentary that's based on real life, it would have been dishonest not to include what was going on behind the scenes.
It was about my own relationship as a Black person to my racialization, and how a lot of the times as Black people, especially when we get together, we're always in this position of struggling against, and fighting, and we're always strong, and we're always with our amandla [power] fists up, and I didn't find a lot of space -- I haven't found a lot of public space, even in public discourse -- that represents the other side of that. Which is like, a residual fear, and a trauma, where you're like, Actually, there's a part of me that is afraid of white people. There's a part of me that is afraid of what might happen if I upset a white person. I'm not the only one that carries that. Our parents, as much as they were fighting, as much as they were strong, as much as they were always bold in the face of any kind of atrocity or discrimination, there was also this cowering that I noticed from the people I grew up around whenever our white person appeared. And so, for me, I was like, in my Black consciousness, in my ways of fighting against being racialized in public, what's the shadow side to that? What's the other side? What's the more quiet side and how do I carry my fear? How do I carry these things?
That scene is based on real life. That bathroom scene really genuinely did happen. And we didn't film as it was happening but immediately afterwards. I told Marion to take camera and just record what's happening to me right now because I'm freaking out about the fact that, as close as we are, as much as we talk about these things, and we call ourselves equals, like, are we really equal, actually? I was always interested in the fact that we can't be the only ones carrying pain and trauma. What is white pain? What does white pain look like? That's a real thing. The proverbial oppressor is holding the other end of the stick, and I was very interested in, if we are going to have a friendship -- or can we have a friendship? -- and what are the terms and conditions if so?
Given that you’ve been on this path for a good few years, what kind of advice would you offer to other budding filmmakers, having gotten your film into one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world?
I feel so privileged to be where I am today, to have taken the journey and the course, and the support that we've had from our funders from this festival, from other festivals. It's been absolutely incredible. The advice I have is you really have to serve your story and your voice. That's the most important thing. I know it's really hard, especially in this image-aggressive era that we're in where you see so much stuff on Instagram, so much stuff on Twitter, so much stuff on Netflix, and how stories are being told in very particular ways. And I can see in South Africa, we’re going into a very particularly glossy direction of telling stories.
For me, the thing is, what is the sound of your own voice? What is the shape of your own hand? If you draw, you don't want to mimic another artist. If I’m drawing a still life, what is my hand going to do to this apple? So the most important thing is to be at pains to discover what the sound of your own voice is. Because racism is a thing that's been spoken about since it existed by everybody and anybody who is an artist or who's an African artist or Black artist. So what is it that I'm going to say that can only come from me? When you have that perspective, it then tells you what your lighting is going to look like, it tells you what your set is going to look like, it tells you who exactly. And have the audacity and the gumption to take your idea seriously and to and to fail and have bad ideas. There were many bad ideas. I don't want to call them bad but 'lesser good ideas,' as William Kentridge says. Before we got to the ones that we were finally happy with.
And it's just tenacity, really. Because a lot of people can take cameras and point them to things. A lot of people can write poetry. Other people can edit beautiful, sexy samples of stuff. But the thing that you really need to discover, after your own voice, is the tenacity to continue. And to claim this thing of being an artist. It took me a very long time to say I'm an artist and now I'm like, Yes, I'm an artist.
The Nigerian American director has long used the tools of his multi-hyphenate trade to expand the ways Africans are seen. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, 'Bravo, Burkina!' gives him a larger canvas on which to paint.
Whether it’s employing asylum seekers to model his designs or adding his flair to a piece of pivotal clothing that the late Chadwick Boseman wore in Black Panther, Walé Oyéjidé has always been about using whatever elements he can to push the ways Africans have traditionally been portrayed. What he hinted at in his short film After Migration: Calabria (available on the Criterion Channel), which tells the story of two refugees settling in Italy, he now gets to explore further in the feature debut, Bravo, Burkina!
“It's the best sandbox in which to play,” Oyéjidé tells OkayAfrica about the medium of film. “It’s been the natural evolution of all the work we’ve done over the past decade, and for me, it’s the perfect Venn diagram.” From working with a composer on the score, which harks to his career as a musician, and creating the costume design, which is rooted in his work as founder of menswear label Ikiré Jones, Bravo allows Nigerian-born Oyéjidé to continue the theme of paying homage to the many cultures he’s experienced and to share stories of people who have traveled from one place to another.
Bravo is part of the Sundance Film Festival’s Next section, which spotlights innovative films that are set to shape the future of cinema. It has also been selected to open this year's FESPACO next month. Just as he did in the short, After Migration, Oyéjidé uses sumptuous cinematic images to re-shape the way migration stories are often centered on trauma and suffering. His lens has always been love-centered and steeped in regality, in a passionate effort to re-assign meaning to images that have too easily become the accepted norm, and in this feature film, his mission flourishes.
Photo: The Sundance Institute
Once again, Oyéjidé sets part of the story in Italy, a recurring mise-en-scène for him on account of its visuals and aesthetics, but also, for the role it plays in migration. “It’s prevalent everywhere, but because they are on the forefront of North Africans and West Africans crossing the Mediterranean it’s sort of the perfect staging ground – both from a story standpoint and also from a design standpoint,” he says. “So it's very much where I love to play. And also it looks gorgeous,” he adds.
Shot in two weeks, on two continents, the film was made with the collaboration of the Ethical Fashion Initiative, which introduced Oyéjidé to the weavers of a village just outside Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso who become characters in the film. “It’s set in Burkina Faso and the name is in the title for deliberate reasons, but the idea is that really this boy or child or person could be from anywhere, going to anywhere. It's intended to be a universal global story about the need to leave and the desire to return.”
Oyéjidé spoke to OkayAfrica about how this film, which sees a young boy leave his Burkinabè village, fits into his greater life’s work.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The costumes in Bravo, Burkina! are beautiful - and they once again speak to a different way of seeing migrants - how did you go about creating them for this film?
The through line of all our work has always been with the attempt to depict regality. So you'll often hear me say I have no interest in peddling in trauma. Every artist has their burdens that they carry which inform their work. I happen to be of a generation in which images of persons of African descent were almost always condescending, demeaning, not beautiful, perhaps with some degree of truth, but rarely with a wide enough aperture to show those people depicted as their full selves. With all my work, it is first and foremost, visually beautiful and respectful and regal, despite what is happening with the characters, even at their lowest points, even if they're villainous.
The idea is that you're showing that all these persons, particularly those of African descent – or really anywhere, the idea is that they're stigmatized, marginalized populations – you show them, or I intend to show them, with a vast range of nuance, and specifically, those who are from populations that have been disregarded, I seek to give the beauty and strength that I know that they possess. Because I know these people; they are aunts, cousins, people you know.
So when we're making clothing, the fact that this child might be in a village doesn't mean he looks destitute. This kid looks amazing. The fact that this person is an older man, walking the streets of Italy looking for work, doesn't mean he's not regal, doesn't have elegance. We know all these people. Like, I don't know any cousin of mine who doesn't have pride, who doesn't look stunning, when he or she is walking down the street, regardless of what their financial circumstances or job circumstances may be. The missing link for a lot of these very common immigration stories is that they're often made by a filmmaker who doesn't love the subject.
"When we're making clothing, the fact that this child might be in a village doesn't mean he looks destitute. This kid looks amazing," says Walé Oyéjidé about his approach to the costumes of 'Bravo, Burkina!'
Photo: The Sundance Institute
In all of my work, the reason that people are seen as they are, is because I see them as I see my wife, child, mother, aunt, brother's best friend. I'm looking at them through the lens of love, despite what's happening for them. The clothing really is just one more tool to depict the innate natural regality that all these persons, that we, you and I, know very well, possess. The clothing just helps them accentuate what has always been there, and that is the secret weapon that I have. But the clothing itself would do nothing; the magic really is in the people.
The change I seek to create in the world is what I didn't have when I was younger. I’m hoping to give both myself, and those who come after me the opportunity to see themselves in a way that they know themselves to be, so we don't have to pretend to be somebody else.
Lawyer-turned-designer Walé Oyéjidé is releasing his first feature film into the world, sharing his beautiful but mission-centered work on a new canvas.
Photo: The Sundance Institute
The film captures feelings, states of being, of leaving and returning - how did it unfold in your mind as the writer as well as director?
We definitely had it really well scripted, but I think the beauty of this work, particularly when you work, as we like to often work, with both a combination of non-professional actors and professional actors, is that people bring a level of authenticity in themselves. Also, the cultural sensitivity – despite the fact that I'm Nigerian American, these are all cultures, which you need to respect and kind of slow walk towards and let people educate you on their landscape and how they speak, how they eat, how they love and hate each other. I think people inform and bring themselves to the stories in ways that bring much more life than the words you might have on a page.
For example, the Italian artisans are a real father and son in their real space. This is really just us pointing a camera at them and saying, 'Be yourself within this construct narratively, but be yourselves.' It's the same thing in Burkina Faso. These are real weavers, in their real living space with their real issues and their real joys and their real happiness. It's about having the privilege to let people allow themselves to be shown in their own glory, as opposed to dictating and enforcing upon them a preconceived notion. Certainly, I have a point of view and an aesthetic lens, but it's one that seeks to collaborate, and respect those in their natural state of being, and hopefully reflect themselves in ways that they want to be seen.
What's behind the title, 'Bravo, Burkina!'?
I'm interested in making cinema and work that lasts beyond me because all of us will be gone sooner or later. So the question then becomes, if you are going to speak or make, are you wasting people's time or are you adding to the conversation? It is always my interest in adding and informing. It's not to say that this is the greatest work or the best but it is, I believe, a perspective that is unseen and hopefully, a perspective that will be healing. It's exciting to me, the idea that you can have African cinema that doesn't look at all the way people would assume when they hear the phrase.
When you ask a person outside of the continent, where and what is Burkina Faso, if they have an answer, it rarely will be a positive answer. So this is an intentional branding of an African nation. In my culture, in Yoruba culture in West Africa, and it's very prominent in Africa, all names have meaning.
It's my belief that I have a duty to make the world easier for those who come beyond. So when I have the opportunity to speak to the entire globe with art, what am I doing? Am I going to present my culture, my people, my continent in a way that sets us further back? Or am I going to do something that is uplifting -- despite how you feel about this work. Even in the naming, the simple naming, a thing people say with their mouths. Regardless of how the film is received, if nothing else, the title itself is a raised fist or a torch flame, and the hope is the beyond that, beauty permeates.
Senegal's Baaba Maal shares a new song ahead of his upcoming album, Being.
Renowned Senegalese singer and guitaristBaaba Maalhas shared a new single called "Agreement." The song is the fourth track on his upcoming album Being, which is slated to be released on March 31st, 2023.
"Agreement," a percussion-heavy record produced by Johan Hugo, fuses both ancient and modern rhythms, and continues Baaba Maal's ongoing musical quest to connect the past and the present, while making lasting cultural and emotional connections through music.
While discussing the record, Baaba Maal dissects the meaning of the song and explains that it draws inspiration from day-to-day relationships.
“Agreement is about the relationships you make in your life, whether they are with friends, musicians, neighbors, people you love,” says Baaba Maal. ”When you say to people, we are going on this journey through life together, through good times and bad, you should be very sure that you mean it.”
The Senegalese legend continues breaking down the meaning of the song by explaining it through a cultural lens.
“It’s based on a proverb from my community — to say no at the beginning to the idea that we will always be together is much stronger and more noble that beginning a relationship and then cutting it short later, maybe forty years later. Be mature enough to take seriously an agreement you make with someone about the future, about your souls being connected,” says Maal.
After a seven-year music hiatus, "Agreement" is one of Maal's new releases, and he will continue to share his music in the coming months with fans. In addition to releasing his upcoming album, the Poor-born icon will be performing at the Barbican in London, for the first time in 20 years on May 30th, 2023.
Maal'sBeing is a riveting extension of his pioneering, transcendent, and inspiring four-decade legacy that has blended the traditional and the innovative, the acoustic and the electronic over the years. For being, Maal reportedly partnered with long-time producer Johan Hugo, and recorded the body of work in Brooklyn, London and Senegal. Watch the visualizer for "Agreement" below.
Nigeria's renowned Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, scored a nomination at the 2023 Oscars for co-writing ‘Lift Me Up’, one of the songs on 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.'
'Milisuthando' is the debut documentary feature from Milisuthando Bongela that's premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Photo: The Sundance Institute
Photo: The Sundance Institute 
