Cameroonian director stops by PCC's African film festival
Story by and photos by James Hill.
Jean-Marie Téno, Director
Director Jean-Marie Téno of Cameroon toured Portland, had lunch with volunteers and hosted showings of two documentaries he directed at this year's Cascade Festival of African Films. Téno is considered one of Africa's premiere documentary filmmakers.
In the festival's second week, Téno showed two of his recent films, "The Colonial Misunderstanding," and "Alex's Wedding." The film "Colonial Misunderstanding" is a journey through history that brings to light the complex and problematic relationship between colonialism and missionary activity on the African continent. The film looks to the past as a way of understanding (and finding solutions for) today's neocolonial equivalents.
In "Alex's Wedding," Alex is getting married to his second wife, young Josephine. He is still married to Elise, his first wife of 18 years with whom he has six children. This extraordinary chronicle of a polygamous marriage ceremony captures both its rituals and celebration - and the profound, unspoken subtext of those involved.
After each showing, Téno answered questions about his work and shared insights into colonialism, neo-colonialism and African filmmaking with the audience.
Téno, who is currently a visiting artist at Amherst College in Massachusetts, is known for his insights into Africa's colonial past and post-colonial present. He was born in 1954 in Famleng, Cameroon. In 1977, he moved to France – where he still lives – and studied audiovisual communication, receiving a master's degree from the University of Valenciennes. After working in journalism for a time, he managed to interview director Ousmane Sembène. The veteran director, impressed by Téno's questions, asked him why he was not making films himself. Téno soon took the director's advice to heart and began making short documentaries and fiction shorts.
There is still time to experience PCC's film festival, which attracts more than 4,500 film-goers to a month-long schedule of cinema. The Cascade Festival of African Films, organized entirely by volunteers, is offered to the public free of charge and has shown more than 240 films since its inception in 1991. Venues include Room 104 of the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building at PCC's Cascade Campus (705 N. Killingsworth St), Hollywood Theatre (4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd.) and McMenamins Kennedy School Theatre (5736 N.E. 33rd Ave.).
This year's event brings to Portland more than 20 award-winning African films from every region of the continent. Films will be shown on Friday and Saturday evenings with those films repeated in Thursday afternoon matinees. There are documentary films on Thursday evenings and on four Saturday afternoons, including a Saturday afternoon Family Film Day program. Each evening screening will be followed by a discussion session led by individuals from the area shown in that evening's film or by individuals with expert knowledge of the region.
Remaining 2008 Cascade Festival of African Films Highlights
On Feb. 21, the feature film is "The Devil Came on Horseback," which exposes the tragedy taking place in Darfur, Sudan, as seen through the eyes of an American witness. Former U.S. Marine Capt. Brian Steidle, who as an official military observer, had access to parts of the country that no journalist could penetrate, said he was unprepared for what he witnessed there. Ultimately frustrated by the inaction of the international community, Steidle resigned and returned to the U.S. to expose the images and stories of lives systematically destroyed and to take action to stop it.
In the final week of the festival (Feb. 28 through March 1) Women Filmmakers Week will highlight the work of Sandy Cioffi plus a variety of films by women directors, including films from Burkina Faso, South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania. Of special interest will be the presentation from Cioffi, director of "Sweet Crude," a provocative new film about the oil industry's impact on the people of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
For a complete schedule, visit the official Web site: www.africanfilmfestival.org.