Arts writer
WOMEN take centre-stage in many of the films screened by AfriDocs this month, flighting on DStv Channel 190 and GOtv Channel 65 on Thursdays at 7.55pm. The films follow the stories of strong African women, many who face almost insurmountable odds. These stories may be about hardship, but there are also stories of hope, such as the biography of Zambia’s seven-time World Champion Esther Phiri who has become an icon for the country.
The 82-minute Between Rings by Salla Sorri and Jessie Chisi screens this Thursday. This 2014 Zambian documentary highlights Esther Phiri, who has literally had to fight to carve out an independent life on her own terms. In her native Zambia, the seven-time world boxing champion became an icon for anyone who had dreams that were different from the ones that tradition expected from them. And in Between Rings we understand why: she is a deeply charismatic woman with the courage of her convictions.
Phiri first renounced her education to support her family, but has since also renounced the expectations of marriage and family to invest in her meteoric career as a boxer.
Also screening this week is Talking About Rose by Isabel Coixet. This 30-minute 2014 production from Spain sees Juliette Binoche recount the life and death of Rose Lokissim, a prisoner of Hissène Habré, dictator in Chad from 1982 to 1990. Opposed to the dictatorship, arrested, imprisoned, and tortured, Rose proves courageous and indomitable. Parler de Rose is a tribute to her memory and a dark portrait of life under Habré. The film is especially poignant given Habre’s eagerly awaited trial in Senegal this year. It won a Justice Matters Award at the Washington DC Filmfest 2012.
Screening on September 24 will be Last Train Home by Lixin Fan (China, 2009). Every spring, China’s cities are plunged into chaos, as all at once a tidal wave of humanity attempts to return home by train for the Chinese New Year. The wave is made up of millions of migrant factory workers. The homes they seek are the rural families they left behind to seek work in the booming coastal cities. It is an epic spectacle that tells us much about China, a country discarding traditional ways as it hurtles towards modernity and global economic dominance.
The 87-minute film won Best Feature-Length Documentary, aat the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam 2009.
This will be followed by Congo in Four Acts: Ladies in Waiting by Dieudo Hamadi and Divita wa Lusala (DRC, 2010)
In a run-down maternity hospital, a ward of women who recently had their babies wait to be allowed to leave. The problem? They cannot pay their hospital fees. Running time is 24-minutes.
l AfriDocs repeats on Sundays. For the full programme schedule: www.afridocs.net or www.face book.com/AfriDocs You can also follow AfriDocs on twitter: @Afri_Docs