
Cameroonian filmmaker Rosine Mbakam (Chez Jolie Coiffure, Delphine’s Prayers) has distinguished herself for her quietly observational documentary portraits of African women. With Mambar Pierrette, her feature narrative debut, Mbakam turns her documentarian’s eye to the eponymous Pierrette, a gifted seamstress who works to support her young children and mother.
The city of Douala, Cameroon is getting ready for the start of the school year. A long line of customers come to Pierrette to prepare their clothes for upcoming social events and ceremonies. More than a seamstress, she is the confidant of her customers and community. But when it starts pouring and the rain threatens to flood her workshop – one of many misfortunes – Pierrette will have to struggle to stay afloat. Marked by moments of beauty and quiet grace, Mbakam’s naturalistic approach favors a portrait of resilience in the face of adversity and socioeconomic hardship.
Screening in our African Cinema Now! series curated by the Akojo Collective.
Akojo Film Collective says:
Mbakam presents a glimpse into the daily life of Mambar Pierrette, played by her cousin. A quiet but persistent journey through the city of Douala, Cameroon, invites us into the goings-on of Pierrette’s life. Moving through joy and disaster, we are able to quietly follow a film invested in the quotidian pleasures and worries of life as a woman.
An original filmmaker of exquisite sensibility; one of the foremost filmmakers of creative nonfiction working right now.
Richard Brody, The New Yorker
As in Mbakam’s bravura nonfiction, the simplicity and directness of Mambar Pierrette belie a penetrating emotional and political vision.
Devika Girish, Film Comment
A smartly spun tapestry of everyday life.
Screen Daily
Community Partner
UBC Africa Awareness Initiative
Rosine Mbakam
Pierrette Aboheu, Karelle Kenmogne, Cécile Tchana, Fabrice Ndjeuthat
Belgium/Cameroon
2023
In Bamileke, French and Pidgin with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Thursday May 01
Sunday May 04
Tuesday May 06
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Screenwriter
Rosine Mbakam
Cinematography
Fiona Braillon
Editor
Geoffroy Cernaix
Also Playing
Our Lady of the Nile
Veronica and Virginia are inseparable friends at an elite Catholic boarding school, Our Lady of the Nile, but what binds them together is the very thing that separates them forever. We are in Rwanda, 1973, and tribal tensions are simmering ominously.
The Teacher
In this potent thriller, English teacher Basem witnesses the murder of a teenager by a Israeli settler. While the subsequent investigation rolls slowly towards a foregone conclusion, the teacher is caught up in a parallel kidnapping case...
Bob Trevino Likes It
When her toxic, narcissistic dad cuts her out of his life, Lily Trevino looks him up on Facebook and happens across his namesake, Bob (John Leguizamo), a gentle, genial contractor who lives nearby, and who proves an altogether better dad...
The Encampments
When pro-Palestine protests took hold of Columbia last year, the filmmakers were there from the beginning. This documentary charts the mounting tensions between students and the administration, as the protests were picked up across North America.