Vues d’Afrique fest finds many angles on Africa
From feel-good comedy to political protest to family drama, here are 10 entry points to the 33rd Vues d’Afrique festival
The 33rd Vues d’Afrique film festival brings more than 100 films from 37 countries throughout Africa, Europe and the Caribbean to the Cinémathèque québécoise, from Friday through April 23.
For the occasion, the Cinémathèque’s Norman McLaren Hall will be transformed into a festival convergence point, with African food, cocktails and kiosks representing Congo, Guinea and Senegal.
A spotlight on Morocco marks this year’s lineup. To give you a head start on perusing the program, here are 10 films to see at the festival.
La main de Fadma (in Arabic with French subtitles; Friday, April 14 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 16 at 12:30 p.m.). Moroccan director Ahmed El Maanouni won best director at the Tangier Film Festival for this story of a single mother (Fadela Benmoussa) who has sacrificed everything for her children since the death of her husband 25 years ago. When she travels to France to visit her eldest son, she gets caught up in the double life of his 14-year-old daughter.
A Mile in My Shoes (in Arabic with French subtitles; Tuesday, April 18 at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 23 at 6:15 p.m.). Saïd Khallaf’s story of a young street kid who has grown up in misery and decides to take revenge against a society he deems cruel and intolerant. Winner of best feature, best actor and best actress at the Tangier Film Festival.
Jean de dieu (John of God) (in English, French and Lingala with French subtitles; Thursday, April 20 at 3 p.m. and Sunday, April 23 at 12:30 p.m.). Congolese-American filmmaker Sélé M’Poko’s feel-good comedy about a musician who thinks he’s the greatest in the world, until an American filmmaker comes to Kinshasa to do a documentary on him and his talent is put to the test.
Clash (in Arabic with French subtitles; Saturday, April 15 at 8:30 p.m. and Monday, April 17 at 12:30 p.m.). In Cairo in the summer of 2013, the day after President Mohammed Morsi is removed from office, a group of protesters is rounded up in the midst of violent riots. In confinement, they must overcome their differences to find a way out.
Pluie de sueur (in Arabic with French subtitles; Friday, April 21 at 8:45 p.m. and Saturday, April 22 at 10 a.m.). Moroccan-American director Hakim Belabbes’s film won a special jury prize at the Tangier Film Festival. It tells the tale of a farmer who lives with his wife, his sick father and his teenage son. As a drought threatens his crops, the man receives official notice that his land is going to be seized.
Good Luck Algeria (in Arabic with French subtitles; Saturday, April 15 at 6 p.m. and Monday, April 17 at 8:30 p.m.). Farid Bentoumi’s comedy about Samir and Stéphane, childhood friends who share a high-end ski company in France. When the company falls on hard times, they concoct a crazy idea for Samir, an Algerian immigrant, to qualify for the Winter Olympics representing his home country.
Medan Vi Lever (Tant qu’on vit) (in Portuguese, French and Swedish with French subtitles; Saturday, April 22 at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 23 at 3:15 p.m.). Burkina Faso filmmaker Dani Kouyaté’s dramatic comedy tells the story of a Gambian-Swedish mother who one day decides to return to her homeland. Her teenage son Ibbe, who dreams of being a rap star, is not amused as he must tag along to Banjul.
Le train de sel et de sucre (in Portuguese with French subtitles; Friday, April 21 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 23 at 3 p.m.). Set in the midst of Mozambique’s civil war in 1989, Licínio Azevedo’s drama takes place on the train between Nampula and Malawi, where people put their lives in danger to trade bags of salt for bags of sugar. On board are regular traveller Mariamu and her friend Rosa, a nurse and a pair of soldiers who don’t see eye to eye. Winner of best film at the Joburg Film Festival and best director at the Cairo International Film Festival.
Maputo (in Portuguese and Xhosa with French subtitles; Tuesday, April 18 at 8:45 p.m. and Saturday, April 22 at 12:30 p.m.). João Graça and Fábio Ribeiro’s documentary looks at life in Mozambique’s capital city. Among those profiled is Nhez, an aspiring rapper who lives in a shantytown and sells suits to businessmen in the city centre to make ends meet.
De Sherbrooke à Brooks (in French; Saturday, April 15 and Monday, April 17 at 6:15 p.m.). Quebec director Roger Parent’s documentary looks at the movement of Congolese immigrants who arrived in Quebec in the early 2000s and set up in and around Sherbrooke. An increasing number of these families are heading to Western Canada, and a direct line of sorts has been established between Sherbrooke and Brooks, Alta.