Africa in Motion is Scotland’s annual celebration of African cinema. The programme
this year will be packed with an array of films, director Q&A sessions,
masterclasses, music events, an African TV lounge and children’s workshops.
The theme of Africa in Motion 2015 is connections, exploring the interrelatedness of
the myriad aspects of African experiences. The programme of films and events
engages with the many diverse interpretations of connections – from political
connections, artistic collaborations, generational ties, lost and restored cultural
links, and pan-Africanism.
Highlights include the creatively curated documentary, The Dream of
Shahrazad, that blends together multiple stories of art and activism. The rich
traditions of African storytelling will be further discovered through a documentary
about one of the most prominent female African writers in The Art of Ama
Ata Aidoo. Family ties, kinship and lost relations are the focus of films such
as Dis Ek, Anna (It’s Me, Anna) and
Ayanda, both by South African female filmmaker Sara Blecher.
Audiences will venture down African streets to discover the continent’s cities in
films such as the Egyptian classic Cairo Station and the UK premiere
of the Ugandan feature film The Boda Boda Thieves.
Lost connections with the African continent will be uncovered in the powerful
documentary Bound: African vs. African American. Fragments and
disconnections within contemporary Africa are explored through a strand of
experimental films, including the striking Rwandan feature Things of the
Aimless Wanderer.
The festival will open in Edinburgh on Friday, 23 October, with Senegalese director
Djibril Diop Mambety’s towering masterpiece Hyenes (Hyenas), an
intimate story of love and revenge, and a critique of neo-colonialism and the effects
of consumerism on African cultures. The screening will be followed by an opening
party celebrating the 10th edition at Summerhall, an evening filled with African
beats, circus acts, and African-style cocktails and snacks.
The tenth Africa in Motion Film Festival will be host to a number of UK premieres,
and will be attended by a number of esteemed African filmmakers, including
Philippe Lacote (Run) Sara Blecher (Dis Ek, Anna and
Ayanda), Samba Gadjigo (Sembene!), Kivu Ruhorahoza
(Things of the Aimless Wanderer), and Yaba Badoe (The Art of
Ama Ata Aidoo).
Other significant aspects of this year’s festival include the Nigerian-Scottish Film
Odyssey, which explores the connections between the film industries in Nigeria and
Scotland through red carpet Nollywood film screenings, director Q&A sessions and
an industry day. The newly inaugurated AiM TV Lounge located in the Old
Hairdressers, Glasgow, will present a daily selection of popular African television
shows including soaps, sports shows, mockumentaries, and cooking programmes. In
keeping with the festival theme, a strand entitled ’The Unrepaired Past’ will focus on
connecting the histories of slavery and colonisation to the present. Once again, the
festival will be presenting films outside of the traditional theatrical setting, through
the Nomad Cinema series, which will see films being viewed in a great diversity of
settings, including lecture theatres, community centres, cafes and more.
AiM will also present a special exhibition of photographs on the theme “Ways We
Watch Films in Africa’, which captures the diverse and innovative film-viewing
habits across the African continent. This exhibition is comprised of a selection of
photographs that were submitted to AiM as part of a competition and will be
displayed in Filmhouse, Edinburgh and The Old Hairdressers, Glasgow for the
duration of the festival. Further competition strands include the annual Africa in
Motion Short Film Competition, this year rebranded as the Aduna Award for Best
Short Film, and a brand-new documentary competition strand.
