FESPACO 2019: Moving Toward Resurrection

Abstract

FESPACO 2019:Moving Toward Resurrection Olivier Barlet (bio) Translated by Chloe Farrell The twenty-sixth edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) was intended to be both a celebration of the festival's fiftieth anniversary and an attempt at rejuvenation. In the following, we take a critical look at the twenty films of the feature-length film competition. Other articles are to follow concerning the documentary films and the conference. For this twenty-sixth edition and fiftieth anniversary of the festival, it was essential to celebrate with fanfare that which has endured and continued to embody a Pan-African idea of cinema. And this is what came to pass. Self-congratulation was the norm when it came to the speeches given and the fireworks of the opening ceremony. An awareness of the steady decline since 2009, the year of the "Fespachaos," was nevertheless noticeable. The sponsors lobbied for artistic supervision of the programming and the conference prepared by Gaston Kaboré focused on the festival's sustainability. Of course, the goal was to save this festival, which is so essential to the visibility and quality of African cinema. There were, however, recurring organizational problems with the festival. Linked with bureaucracy and cash-flow issues, they were a detriment to the management of transportation and of housing for the guests. Faced with an influx of guests, the partnership with Morocco Air did not go as planned. Many festivalgoers did not receive their tickets in time or if they did, they received them very last minute. The distribution of badges was again chaotic, and the catalog (finished and correctly printed this time) was late. But this was not the root of the problem. Indeed, the fear is that FESPACO is no longer capable of taking into account—in terms of cinema—that which is most pressing in Africa today. It is clear that a rupture of this sort with the socially engaged cinema of the older generation, from Ousmane Sembène to Djibril Diop Mambéty, would be just as harmful to FESPACO as to the consistency of African filmmaking itself, considering that the festival plays an essential role in showcasing Pan-African talent. [End Page 320] Notably, the attendance of Western journalists this year was limited and was accompanied by a certain disaffection from the inhabitants of Ouagadougou themselves, considering that the entry price remained set at one thousand Fcfa, the general pass was twenty-five thousand Fcfa (about $43 USD), and that the language question had not been resolved. It was seen in a lack of subtitles in French, but it also begged the question of which version should be shown at a professional festival, given that the IMACA (International Market for African Cinema and Audiovisuals)1 does not yet organize English language screenings for international buyers, as is done in more established festivals. Yet a growing number of free, open-air screenings in Ouagadougou's neighborhoods and in nine cities in Burkina Faso have been established, thanks to the organization Cinéma numérique ambulant (Traveling Digital Cinema), with the hope of reestablishing the festival's widespread success. The selection at FESPACO 2019—clearly superior to 2017's disaster—was nonetheless rife with ambiguity reflected in the list of award winners. As a rule, programming is concerned with balance and diversity. Considering that FESPACO is biennial, it pulls from two years of cinematic production and ultimately has a wide range of choices for the selection. This year, advisers from various countries were called upon, yet artistic standards remained unclear. For example, I Am Not a Witch (dir. Rungano Nyoni, 2017, Zambia) was demoted to Panorama,2 and many excellent films—often superior to those in competition—were not selected. Notably, from Algeria: En attendant les hirondelles / Until the Birds Return (dir. Karim Moussaoui, 2017), Les Bienheureux / The Blessed (dir. Sofia Djama, 2017), Revolution Zendj / Zendj Revolution (dir. Tariq Teguia, 2013), Vent divin / Divine Wind (dir. Merzak Allouache, 2018); from Egypt: Yomeddine (dir. Abu Bakr Shawky, 2018), Sheikh Jackson (dir. Amr Salama, 2017), Les Derniers jours d'une ville / The Last Days of a City (dir. Tamer El Said, 2016); from Morocco: Sofia (dir. Meryem Benm...