Benin
A powerful symbol at the closing ceremony of the 4th edition of the International Women’s Film Festival in Benin’s economic capital, Cotonou.
Young girl drummers played at the Place de l’Amazone, an esplanade named after the legendary female warriors of the Kingdom of Dahomey, an icon of strong women.
Launched in 2019, FIFF Cotonou highlights the talent of African female directors, with the biennial event bringing together more than 1,000 festivalgoers from across the continent.
Personalities and celebrities from African cinema come to share their experiences and expertise. In Cotonou, Benin’s economic capital, this edition celebrated the creativity of women filmmakers from across the continent.
The programme featured 18 short films in competition from 14 African countries offering an outstanding selection of the voice of African women on temporary issues such as grief, blackmail, revenge, and resilience.
The FIFF awards, named ‘Amazones’ in tribute to the Beninese warrior women, recognised three exceptional talents.
The Amazon Award for Best Documentary went to “Les Chaînes du Deuil” (The Chains of Mourning) by Beninese director Dorcas Ganmagba.
This poignant film denounces the inhumane conditions imposed on women in mourning in certain communities in southern Benin.
‘It’s very hard to take away someone’s right to wash, go out, comb their hair. They take everything away from her. They leave her in a situation that is almost humiliating, when she is already going through a tragedy,’ says Ganmagba.
The award for Best Performance went to “Mia”, a fiction film by Burkinabe director Hana Halia Lebo Traoré.
It’s a powerful drama about a teenager who discovers that her boyfriend filmed her in the bedroom and is using the video for to blackmail her.
“I’m talking about this teenage girl who looks guilty but isn’t. Often, we take risks because we want to live life at a thousand miles an hour, but we remain faithful to the values our parents instilled in us,” says Traoré.
“As for the rest of the film, it’s the mirror I hold up to society so that everyone can take a look at themselves,” she explains.
Finally, the Golden Amazon, the grand prize, went to “The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí”, an ironic comedy by Nigerian director Abesssi Akhamie.
Centred on a brilliant but overlooked woman scholar who is humiliated when she discovers that her fiancé is engaged to someone else, the film transforms distress into a daring revenge.
“A very, very important aspect of the story is that this is a female-centred protagonist, and she is humiliated when her fiancé becomes engaged to someone else, and she is very distraught that she has put so much time into the relationship’” says Akhamie.
“Typically, a lot of people might just cry and feel down about it. But with this character, what I also love about her is she stands up and she says, ‘No, I’m going to go there and I’m going to get my revenge’,” she says.
The great Amazone de Cotonou and all African cinema lovers will have to wait until 2028 for the return of these warriors of the silver screen.
In the meantime, FIFF Cotonou continues to inspire and promote the female voices of the continent.
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