EVENT REVIEW Women And Film In Africa

The Women And Film In Africa event took place on the 19th and 20th November 2011 at the University of Westminster in London, and brought together a select group of academics and filmmakers from across the globe. They all shared the key aims of the conference: to highlight the work of African Women in film, both in front of and behind the camera; to discuss the challenges – and to celebrate the successes.

"Yaba Badoe captivated the delegates with her hauntingly vivid description of her first visit to the Witches’ Camp in Gambaga, Northern Ghana."

The first day was bookended by two keynote speeches from Yaba Badoe and Jihan El-Tahri, both female African filmmakers. Badoe captivated the delegates with her hauntingly vivid description of her first visit to the Witches’ Camp in Gambaga, Northern Ghana, which became the subject of her documentary. She also offered an insight into the kinds of difficulties a solo, independent filmmaker faces when trying to turn an all-consuming idea into a documentary, from trying to get permission from obstructive civil servants to film to getting the funding to actually be able to film.

Jihan El-Tahri spoke energetically and passionately, confronting the audience with somewhat controversial issues.

Jihan El-Tahri, meanwhile, spoke energetically and passionately, confronting the audience with somewhat controversial issues. Her deep dislike of labels and the way that people try to put her in a box is nevertheless coupled with a businesslike approach of packaging her film ideas in a way that will appeal to commissioners while still allowing her to tell the story she wants to tell. She spoke directly and honestly, moving away from identification with a particular geographical area or social position, and explained how she was making it work in a tough industry – on her own terms.

The rest of the time was occupied with panel discussions, featuring a range of filmmakers and academics, who spoke on a range of subjects, including the rise of Nollywood (the Nigerian film industry), female directors in East African cinema and the representation of women in African film, amongst many others. There were two discussion streams running in parallel, meaning that the groups were smaller and real – often heated – debates got going in every session. African cinema is a burgeoning industry – or, more accurately, a group of industries – and there are still many challenges to face, particularly regarding the role of women as key proponents of it.

While there was a diverse range of participants with differing perspectives and priorities, they were all firm advocates of African film and female filmmakers. They all want to see this area of the film industry grow and succeed. If there’s one thing this area needs, it is greater exposure. At the moment, it’s still very much a speciality market – Jihan El Tahri had a point when she spoke about getting film by African women out into the public sphere by whatever means possible. Hopefully, there will be more and more opportunities for the wider world to engage with African cinema and the women who contribute to it. Certainly, it feels like African cinema is on the brink of a very exciting and dynamic era, a feeling evidenced by Yaba Badoe’s extraordinary film, The Witches Of Gambaga.

"The film gives an extraordinary insight into a hidden society, closely guarded and mired in layers of ancient beliefs and complex social and familial issues."

The Witches Of Gambaga

The Witches Of Gambaga was one of the films screened at the event as a showcase for African female filmmaking.

Yaba Badoe’s 55-minute documentary is the culmination of several years’ worth of research into the Witches’ Camp of Gambaga in Ghana. Living under the protection of a male chief, the women at the camp have all sought sanctuary there after being condemned as witches and facing death should they stay in their own villages. Most of the women are middle-aged, and many were successful, outspoken and independent before being driven from their homes. The majority of the women also accept their status as a witch without argument and even admit to committing acts of witchcraft. In return for protection from the chief, the women must work for him, collecting firewood and water, farming the land, and a myriad of other tasks which keep them busy from dawn to dusk. They have lost their families, their jobs and their properties. Some arrive with injuries inflicted on them by family members or other villagers. And the foolproof test to decide whether or not a woman is a witch? It depends on how a fowl dies.

She knows when to hold back and let the film speak for itself.

The film gives an extraordinary insight into a hidden society, closely guarded and mired in layers of ancient beliefs and complex social and familial issues. Badoe’s skill lies in stripping back these layers with deftness and tact, revealing a basis founded on little more than a deep-seated fear of women. She weaves together interviews with the women in the witches’ camp with a range of people on the outside, footage of the women’s lives, both inside and outside the camp, and evidence of a commonly-accepted and often-manipulated Ghanaian belief in witchcraft.

The film is simply shot, focussing on the women and the sorts of daily-tasks that they undertake at the camp. A few shots show more comprehensive images of the camp, villages and the town of Gambaga. Some scenes are dizzying close-ups of beans being shaken or water being poured, but these are surprisingly effective in their context – accompanying the giddying back-stories of some of the women, beaten and fleeing to the witches’ camp. The overall approach is very organic, which suits the film entirely.

Badoe’s pieces-to-camera occasionally make the film feel a little disjointed, but her cohesive narrative gives the film its structure, and this is what provides the vital link between the audience and the entire situation of the witches’ camp. She is at once on the outside and inside of the situation, able to analyse and explain the often perplexing statements of the women and the reticent responses of the chief while also able to form real relationships with the women. However, she knows when to hold back and let the film speak for itself and allows the audience to draw their own conclusions.

It is rare that a film, particularly such a short one, has such a profound effect on an audience, leaving them in stunned silence for a moment before an outpouring of questions and comments begins, but that is exactly what happened. This is the greatest value and success of Badoe’s film: the connection it makes between the Witches’ Camp in Gambaga and the viewers, whoever they are and wherever they might be. This is a story that needed to be told – and it is hard to imagine anyone else doing it such justice.

Recommended World Cinema Titles

For more world cinema features, click here, and remember to join the discussion with fellow foreign film fans on our facebook page.

By Katy Stewart

Katy Stewart is a freelance writer with a passion for film and travel. She has
a degree in French and Spanish and has a special interest in films in these l…