John Kani’s Nothing But the Truth was awarded the Silver Stallion Prize as well as the Ousmane Sembene Prize for Peace at the recent FESPACO (Pan African Film & Television Festival of Ouagadougou) in Burkina Faso.
Another South African production, Khalo Matabane’s When We Were Black, was named best television series. Ralph Ziman’s feature film, Jerusalema, won best actor (Rapulana Seiphemo), best editing and best cinematography.
Egyptian filmmaker Jihan El-Tahri won best documentary for her film about South Africa’s ruling ANC party, Behind the Rainbow.
FESPACO’s grand prize, the Golden Yennenga Stallion for best film, was presented to Ethiopian-born director, Haile Gerima, for Teza. This is a historical drama set in the time of Ethiopia’s dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. It reportedly took Gerima 15 years to make the film.
Other FESPACO winners were:
Best Short Film – Sektou (They have Stopped Talking) – Khalid Benaissa (Algeria)
Best Documentary – Nos Lieux Interdits (Our Forbidden Places) – Leila Kilani (Morocco)
Best Sreenplay – L’Absence – Mama Keita (Guinea)
Best Actress – Les Jardins de Samira – Sana Mousiane (Morocco)
Best Set – Adieu Mères – Morocco
Best Music – Adieu Mères – Morocco
