Film
Afrika Eye: Africa’s Best Shorts
- Director
- Various
- Certificate
- TBA
- Running Time
- 90 mins
The Afrika Eye festival’s selection of four of the best recent short films to come out of Africa. Here’s their summary of the line-up:
Pumzi
Director: Wanuri Kahiu, Kenya, 2009, 20 mins, English
is needed now More than ever
One of the most celebrated films to come out of Africa in recent years, Pumzi is also one of the first African ‘sci-fi’ films. It is 35 years after World War III – The Water War. Africans are living in a climate-controlled museum and all of nature is extinct. Shot with a soft, surreal palette and with a mesmerising central performance, Pumzi’s eeriness is enhanced by Siddhartha Barnhoorn’s electronic compositions.
Mwansa the Great
Director: Rungano Nyoni, Zambia/UK, 2011, 23 min, English
Mwansa the Great tells the story of an eight-year-old boy who aspires to be a hero. This gracefully shot film is universal in its exploration of childhood and the power of the imagination and has collected several international awards.
Tinye So (The House of Truth)
Director: Daouda Coulibaly, Mali/France, 2011, 25 min, Bambara with English subtitles
Tinye So is a breathtaking cinematic poem about the wrath of ancestors, angered by how the Bambara belief systems in Mali are not respected by the new generation. Underscored by the music of composers Manjul and Ahmed Fofana, it won the Bronze Award in the Short Film Section at Fespaco 2011.
A Place For Myself
Director: Marie Clementine Dusabejambo, Rwanda, 2016, 21 mins, Kinyarwanda with English subtitles
A Place For Myself takes us into the world of Elikia, a young Rwandan girl suffering from albinism. When Elikia starts primary school, she endures discrimination and stigma as her classmates highlight her difference as a problem rather than a special trait.