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Documentary Competition 2012

It is an exciting time to be in Africa as we see more mobile platforms growing and finally bringing African documentaries to a broad variety of urban and rural populations across the continent and the globe. The documentary genre has established itself on the international cinema circuit and deserves recognition and an enabling environment at home.

Documentary film-making remains the most accessible way to tell a story cinematically. Having grown tremendously in the past decade, this genre gives many young filmmakers the opportunity to express their stories independently and with relative ease through digital technology and lower production costs than feature films. This growth is not just important in the preservation of story but is also important in the cultivation of strong and unique African voices in the documentary genre. This is evident in the documentary programming of the inaugural CNIFF where we see a number of female filmmakers presenting their work in this strand.

With all these stories coming out of the continent, distribution remains the biggest challenge to our filmmakers. In the absence of Cinemas and insufficient access to broadband, most audiences access their information from radio and television and terrestrial broadcasters rarely have the capacity and budgets to acquire compelling documentaries in a timely fashion. Film Festivals, and the proliferation of mobile technology (for short films) remain the best ways for audiences throughout the Continent to access and watch films made by Africans.

It is through redefining the space in which and how these stories are told that the diasporas of voices in African Cinema will be able to reach a wider audience that crosses borders both on the Continent and worldwide.
- Lesedi Oluko Moche, Director, Encounters International Documentary Film Festival.

The films competing in this section are:

Paris My Paradise/ Paris Mon Paradis Walls of Dakar / Aaru Mbédd
Eleanore Yameogo - Burkina Faso/France – 2011 - 67m Aziz Cisse - Senegal - 2012 - 65m

“Head full of dreams but eyes see something very different, reality is ruthless.“

“Dakar is renowned for its prolific art scene and rich visual culture.”
   
Footprints of My Other Mining for Change
Claude Haffner - DRC/France – 2011 - 52m Eric Miyeni - South Africa - 2010 - 72m

“A continent that can no longer rely on the outside world for help.”

“Imperative to watch for those interested in the future of South Africa”
   
Between Heaven & Hell Voyage Of Hope/Espoir Voyage
Clifford Bestall - South Africa - 50m Michel K Zongo - Burkina Faso/France - 2011 - 82m

“A place of exile, survivors reach for the carrot of deliverance.”

“His brother’s ghost still haunts him.”
   
1/2 Revolution An African Awakening / Sababou
Karim El Hakim, Omar Shargawi - Egypt/Denmark - 2011 - 72m Samir Benchikh - France / Ivory Coast - 2012 - 93m

"They fled Egypt with the film material hidden in a pram."
“The long fight for education, justice and culture.”