Films to Watch at Vancouver's VIFF Centre in February

What is African Cinema Now!?

FEGOR

This program is centered around contemporary African cinema and the lack that we felt in African cinema in Vancouver. We want to be able to fill in some of those gaps and give people an opportunity to engage in new ways, because a lot of these films fall through the cracks and are never shown beyond one or two festivals.

We also want to explore: what are the long-lasting effects that colonization has had on the continent, and how is capitalism shaping these narratives? And how are people finding a visual language and stories to engage with this, and think about how to move towards a just world?

KIKA

I see it as a very timely response to decades-worth of films that built this continental industry, because even within the continent there’s many sub-industries, and African Cinema Now! sheds light on all of them as a whole. I also see it as a call to Vancouver and I guess the Pacific North to engage with these films the way they do other global cinema. Vancouver is conscious about its engagement with cinema from Asia, from Europe… and African cinema deserves that form of engagement as well.

Programming of African cinema — in general tends to engage with films from the 60s and the 70s, which are all great, but this series is about what people are creating, producing and releasing today. This is what our voice and visual language looks like in this moment.

What brought you two together for the Akojo Film Collective?

KIKA

Around this time last year, we were doing similar but individual programs [at the VIFF Centre], and we recognized we had similar visions and interests in African cinema. We had a conversation following the tail end of her series where we were like, let’s join forces.

FEGOR

I think a deep shared love for Nigerian cinema is the beginning point for why we are working together. Kika has written amazing work about Nigerian cinema. So it just made sense, because there’s so many stereotypes and ways people look at African cinema, to more than one person that was programming to avoid internal biases. It’s perfect that it’s both of us thinking together.

What is the main connecting theme of the upcoming program, Dreaming of Elsewhere?

FEGOR

Many Africans all over the world are thinking about this idea of escape, of finding community and home far from where you’re born or where you’ve grown up. And we wanted to experience it in multiple ways — narratives of people leaving, people trying to leave home, or people finding themselves in places that were not originally their destination.

KIKA

It’s exploring this push and pull that we all have, not just Africans, of always longing for something else, for something more. In Nigeria there’s this urgent thirst to leave home and go somewhere else. And it’s moving people to do crazy things to fulfill this desire. But then on the flip side of that, there are the people who have relocated and keep reiterating, we want to come back home.

FEGOR

The mechanisms of capitalism that push us towards this kind of displacement are always at work. It’s always making us think that there is this elsewhere that we’re moving towards that would be better. Meanwhile, capitalism still ends up framing your life anywhere you are.

KIKA

Another core of this program is making sure the visuals of the continent are on screen. We want audiences to be able to build intimate connections to these African cities.

What qualities did you look for when selecting the films, and did you ever disagree on which films should be included? Which films were unanimously agreed upon right from the start?

KIKA

I’m usually looking for a film with a heartbeat, anything that invokes strong emotions in the viewer. If the film has both good visuals and also a very heartful story, that’s it for me. In terms of disagreements, we had a few respectful disagreements on what films to include, not necessarily on the direction the series should go on, because that’s something that we decided together. But we had disagreed on a few films due to stylistic preferences.

FEGOR

I look for films that are respectful, interesting, innovative, and are invested in storytelling. A film we agreed [right away] on was The Pirogue. We both watched it, and were immediately like yes. And we also picked Mother of George pretty quickly. It has stunning visuals and it’s a familiar story in an unfamiliar space.

For each of you — if someone could only attend two films from Dreaming of Elsewhere, what would you recommend?

KIKA

My two films would be The Pirogue and Dilli Dark. And I say The Pirogue for two reasons. One, it’s a beautiful film. It’s magnificent. And two, because of access. We want to create access to these wonderful films that are made and just disappear. The Pirogue is difficult to find on streaming platforms. There are little to no traces of it online. So this is a great chance to see the film. Then Dilli Dark because of how fresh it is, and it’s a story and an experience not typically shared. I have no idea when or if it will have a theatrical release or a streaming release. So this is your one chance to see it in Vancouver, on the big screen.

FEGOR

For me, The Pirogue is definitely one that people should see for much of the same reasons that Kika mentioned. My second one would be Chez Jolie Coiffure, because I think it’s interesting to see and learn and be intimate with the lives of immigrant women. And Rosine Mbakam, who made this film, is invested in these kinds of stories, and has multiple films and documentaries in that style. And I find that the real person she follows is compelling, and I have a deep soft spot for quiet, contemplative characters.

What can audiences expect from future screenings after the Dreaming of Elsewhere program?

FEGOR

We want you to be able to see films that you have passion for. Over these next few years, we want to explore stories have to do with women, that have to do with queer folks, that have to do with children exploring complex narratives and realities.

KIKA

They can expect an exciting array of films! There are so many threads to pull on from an expansive industry-wide catalogue that keeps growing. I’m excited for people to have a theatrical experience for these films. A lot of my favorite African films, I watched them on my laptop, and it’s not the same as seeing it on the big screen. I’m very excited to give people in Vancouver the opportunity to experience it.

You can hear more from Fegor and Kika during film introductions at the first screening of each film in African Cinema Now!

Akojo Film Collective consists of Kika Memeh and Ogheneofegor Obuwoma, both curators and programmers based in Vancouver on the Coast Salish lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. They share an interest in contemporary African cinema and the numerous possibilities it holds as a way of understanding modern realities born from the African continent’s colonial past.