Positioning Mauritius as the place to be
Mauritius Cinema Week takes a reel look at the country as a film location, writes Helen Herimbi
THE driver closes my door and, after the thud, Chaka Demus and Pliers wail about Maxine with the pretty face and bad character. It’s a warm day on the island and just a few hours before the inaugural Mauritius Cinema Week kicks off.
We drive to a hotel in Moka and the picturesque mountains hugging a city that is a mixture of dilapidated housing and KFC billboards reminds me of the drive from the Cape Town airport into the city.
Mauritius is known for being the number one honeymoon destination. But the aim of the country’s Board of Investment is to promote the Film Rebate Scheme, create an economic opportunity for Mauritians and make this an attractive place to shoot films.
What I discover once my driver, Anouk, has turned down the French radio station is that for years, the Bollywood industry has used Mauritius as a location. Anouk tells me that in his country, they speak French, Creole and mostly English. It’s clear that diversity is sewn into the fabric of the country, but it will be interesting to find out if people outside of India flock to Mauritius to bring films to life.
That’s essentially the point of Mauritius Cinema Week. Over three days, venues such as the Plaza Theatre and the French Institut in Rose-Hill played host to a plethora of master classes.
The topics for these sessions included the art and craft of scriptwriting with British screenwriter Guy Hibbert, as well as directing fact and fiction with the likes of Rakeysh Omprakash, while Rani Mukerji recounted the evolution of an actress’s roles in modern Indian cinema.
It was interesting to listen to SS Rajamouli speak about the line drawn in the sand between him and his father. Although his father often writes the films Rajamouli directs, they make a clear distinction between family time and when Rajamouli is the boss.
Over these three days, 24 films were shown. Although subtitled “East Meets West”, the common thread in the films shown was independence.
This was a nod to Mauritius celebrating 50 years of independence next year. As a result, current and old films were screened.
They included Amistad, Baahubali: The Beginning, Black, Cry Freedom, 12 Years A Slave, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, A United Kingdom, Viceroy’s House and Baahubali: The Conclusion. Over 10 000 tickets were issued to the public, all of them for free. While I am unsure exactly how many people ended up watching the films, I can confirm that the cinema closest to my hotel had a big board up at the entrance announcing that all tickets for all screenings of the Mauritius Cinema Week were completely sold out.
Fortunately for those of us who were invited to this inaugural week, even if one couldn’t watch the films, one could at least interact with the cast and creators of several films.
There were events every night that aimed to promote networking in beautiful places like Ile de Deux Cocos and the Chateau de Labour donnis.
Over at the Trianon Convention Centre, the Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award Ceremony was held to celebrate two great actresses: Emmanuelle Beart, who started acting in France in the 1970s, as well as India’s own Rani Mukerji. The ceremony was attended by the likes of Sanjay Khan, Justin Chadwick and our very own Sthandiwe Kgoroge. Sthandiwe’s husband and actor, Tony Kgoroge, joined her at master classes.
The Mauritius Cinema Week looks set to position the island as the place to be. Guy Heeley, who produced the upcoming film Serenity, which was shot in Mauritius this year, had nothing but positive things to say about the event. Going forward, it will be interesting to see more Mauritians involved in the week and even beyond that.
Visit www.mauritiuscinemaweek.mu for more information