Award-winning documentary filmmaker Florence Ayisi on her Cardiff Film Festival debut
Author and filmmaking enthusiast Shaunna Harper previews this week’s Cardiff Film Festival and looks at what it means for one of the jury – award-winning documentary filmmaker Florence Ayisi...
“THIS festival has an important place in terms of the cultural and social life of Cardiff. In terms of filmmaking and the creative industries in general, Cardiff is an important location. When the previous Cardiff film festival ceased to exist, I saw this as almost a starvation. This two year old festival has to develop and grow in ways that it will become a permanent fixture of the life of Wales’ Capital City.”
Florence Ayisi tells a compelling story. The cadence in her voice and the obvious passion behind her words make her a charming orator. Fitting, then, that she tells non-fiction stories within the context of her academic research at the University of South Wales (USW).
Born in Buea, Cameroon, and now living in the UK for more than 30 years, Ayisi is an award-winning documentary filmmaker poised to join the jury for this year’s Cardiff International Film Festival. One of her feature documentary films (Zanzibar Soccer Dreams, co-directed with Catalin Brylla, 2016) will be screened during the festival in the out of competition programme. Now in its second year and building momentum, the event will be held in Cardiff Bay’s iconic Pierhead building and also at the Atrium (USW) later this month.
As one of six judges, Florence Ayisi will join Marc Zicree, Kimberley Nixon, Maria Pride, Anurag Kashyap and Keith Williams on the panel, and she will be part of the jury overseeing both the documentary and F-rated categories.
Asked about how she became involved with the festival, she credits festival director Rahil Sayed and his broad vision for a bigger, better, international event, along with the collaboration encouraged by Tom Ware (head of the school of production and performance at the faculty of creative industries, USW) where Ayisi teaches documentary film theory and practice.
“Rahil wanted a collaborative relationship between the festival and the university; a relationship that will encourage and harness new talent and aspiring creative artists from the faculty of creative industries. Tom Ware has been a driving force to establish and develop links between the faculty and the film and television industries in Wales. The festival is a very important partner for the creative work of our students and staff within the faculty,” she says. “Being a filmmaker, festivals are a great platform for disseminating work, and most importantly, for connecting with film audiences.”
Speaking of Rahil, Ayisi credits his “energy and vision” as being the driving force behind establishing and developing the festival.
“Rahil is passionate about cinema,” she says matter-of-factly. “And he is an actor as well. Our university provides a great physical space to host some of the events such as masterclasses. We have film and media production students who will be inspired by the festival’s activities. Our collaboration will enable the festival to continue changing the landscape of the cultural life of Cardiff in many ways.”
Ayisi is also quick to point out that the success of the festival depends as much on film audiences as the people working behind the scenes. She encourages people to come along to experience films from around the world, and also have a chance to engage in Q&A sessions with some of the filmmakers who will be present during the festival.
“The audience makes cinema happen,” she states emphatically. “A film doesn’t come alive until it reaches an audience. It will be nice if people know about it [the festival], if they come and watch and engage. Film audience make festivals a success.”
Asked about the roots of her own career and growing up in a small town in Cameroon, she gushes with pride about the strength and voice of the women in her family and community, and how crucial the role of storytelling was in discovering her love for what she calls “reality” in filmmaking.
“I saw the world around me in terms of storytelling,” she explains. “My mother, my grandmother, my aunties were all very strong in storytelling. Whether it was fables, or just telling us about their lives, their experiences when they were growing up; their manner of telling were fascinating and engaging. I think I was lucky to grow up in a home where storytelling mattered a lot in terms cultural and social consciousness.
“I did not encounter patriarchal domination. That did not affect me. Educating the girl child was as important as educating boys. I went from primary school, to secondary school, to university, and my parents sacrificed a lot for the education of their children, despite their limited financial resources. There was no question or issue around educating girls.”
She celebrates the power and autonomy of the women in her family and neighbourhood who, she says, “could do anything they wanted to”. She says this is one of the reasons why she uses documentary film to celebrate and shine a light on women.
Ayisi was awarded a student scholarship after her first degree (in Cameroon) which brought her to the UK. She says studying film and television “put me in a position where I could start telling stories of my home, the culture and people’s experiences”.
And she explains: “This is why I choose to tell stories about women; women’s lived experiences.”
Ayisi’s documentary work is positive, uplifting and focuses mainly on narratives and experiences about African people that work towards peeling away the skin that often hides the beauty of her homeland and the African continent – to reveal a more optimistic undercurrent. Her work, then, does not perpetuate the harsh reductive stereotypical ideas and images that dominate mainstream media. Rather, her documentaries document and reflect a slice of the reality of the Africa she knows and loves; an affirmation of its people’s beauty, strength and how they rise up to challenges.
“Every society has problems,” she says. “It’s not always about war, disease, famine, corruption and so on. There’s a beauty in Africa, too.
“If you want to capture Wales, there is so much to capture, we cannot focus only on stereotypes that do not reflect other dimensions and visions of a people. That goes for every society.”
When asked whether she believes enough is being done within the film industry, particularly in America, to protect the rights of women in light of the MeToo movement, Ayisi becomes pensive.
“I’m not an expert,” she says. “But just the fact that people are talking about it is powerful enough. Just the fact that social media offers a space for women (and men as well) to express their experiences and opinions is powerful.
“If the cinema becomes a space where people can shout, then it can only be good. The MeToo Movement has opened up a space for dialogue, and the cinema could take this forward in ways that will continue to impact on society in positive and challenging ways.”
Speaking again of the upcoming festival, Ayisi’s passion is clear.
“As a small nation that prides itself with so much cultural heritage and beauty, the Welsh Government is already on board in supporting the festival as a unique and wonderful platform for promoting all that is good about Wales. The Cardiff International Film Festival can only get bigger and better. Hopefully it will soon become an institution.”
■ The festival takes place in the Pierhead building in Cardiff Bay and at the Atrium in Cardiff city centre from today to Sunday. ■ Shaunna Harper is a published author with a strong interest in filmmaking. Originally from Derbyshire, she now lives in Cardiff.