Arts & Festivals for November-December 2023
Afrika Eye & other great events can help us navigate these dark times
Dear readers, friends and newcomers,
This month, I carry on with a heavy heart.
As a journalist writing on both Africa and South West Asia, I cannot be unaffected by the current world events, including terrible acts of violence, war, and massacres against civilians in Sudan, in the Sahel (Burkina Faso and Mali notably), and in Gaza of course.
As the information overload increases, a flow of disinformation and propaganda has launched another war on and in social media.
So much, that it is harder to know what to read or listen to, and many people I know continue to turn a blind eye, from their comfortable lives in Western capitals.
So, we, writers, activists, researchers, have to be clever and offer better content.
Have to work in a full time job as a news journalist this year, like I did from 2006 to 2014, I have less time to participate in cultural events but I still believe they are vital. To bring depth, knowledge, distance and intelligence. To help people process complex emotions. And to shy away from despair.
Afrika Eye
14-19 November 2023
Bristol, various venues
(Watershed, Arnolfini, Cube Multiplex, Trinity Centre…)
“Seventeen years on from the first Afrika Eye, we’re as excited as ever to be bringing a packed programme of films, from and about Africa, to venues across Bristol,” the organisers wrote.
The chosen films for this edition “dig deep into political issues, transcend the mundane, highlight the creative spirit and touch hearts and minds.”
They come from Mozambique, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Zambia and DR Congo.
The festival also includes director’s interviews and guest speakers.
The whole programme here: https://www.afrikaeye.org.uk/
On Saturday 18 November, I’ll be speaking at one of the event, about a film directed by the woman filmmaker from Burkina Faso Apolline Traoré: ‘Sira’.
Her “gripping story of struggle and survival is set in the Sahel follows a young woman named Sira, a strong and confident young nomad Fulani on the way to her wedding, when her family are attacked by Islamist terrorists with tragic results.
“The story of her survival, in which the female veil becomes an instrument of resistance, represents a feminist counterpoint to current reporting from the region.”
Set against the harsh and mesmerising desert backdrop, the story highlights Nassifatou Cissé’s performance as Sira, compelling and shocking.
You can book from here: https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/12240/afrika-eye-sira
If interested, you can also read about the context in my latest article about Burkina:
Dozens of towns in Burkina Faso besieged by jihadists: report
Armed groups are committing war crimes and human rights abuses as they besiege towns across Burkina Faso, the rights group Amnesty International has warned in a report.
In November still, a festival of Arab films will take place in the eastern suburbs of Paris:
Festival du film franco arabe
Noisy le Sec
2023
The Franco-Arab Film Festival is taking place in the town of Noisy-le-Sec and the Le Trianon cinema, to offer “a true artistic immersion and a cinematic journey in the Arab world,” organisers say.
Sponsored by filmmaker Costa-Gavras, the Festival is an annual event organised by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the city of Noisy-le-Sec in partnership and by Le Trianon, Est-Ensemble territorial public cinema, in collaboration with the French Institute of Jordan in Amman, the Royal Film Commission of Jordan and the municipality of Amman.
The Noisy-le-Sec Franco-Arab Film Festival was born in 2011, out of a desire to create bridges between cultures to promote understanding, discovery and exchange.
Africolor
17 November - 24 December 2023
Paris-East (93)
Music from Africa and the Caribbean in the popular side of Paris’ suburbs.
Bristol Palestine Film Festival
2-10 December 2023
Bristol
The Bristol Palestine Film Festival is back in 2023 with a diverse lineup of the very best in contemporary Palestinian cinema, arts and culture. As well as a diverse range of films, for the first time they are hosting an evening of live spoken word with popular local poetry night Raise the Bar.
“We acknowledge the difficult circumstances of this year’s events in Israel and Palestine, and we remain committed to our founding aim of showcasing Palestinian cinema and culture,” the organisers wrote. “We hope that this year’s festival will provide a space for commemoration, reflection and discussion, and we believe in giving a platform for Palestinian stories, culture and traditions.”
There would be many more to mention.
For now, I just want to send this post as an invitation, and to keep it short.
I’ll be back with reports, writing, insight, and other news.
In the meantime, if you want to read a brighter story, here is one:
Hope after sadness: Moroccan art illuminates the light of Atlas Mountains plight
Morocco leads the way when it comes to contemporary African art. At the 1-54 fair in London, Moroccan artists have used their platform to raise awareness for the Atlas Mountains villages, still recovering from a devastating earthquake in September.
Read here: https://www.newarab.com/features/moroccan-art-illuminates-light-atlas-mountains-plight
-
Thanks for reading as usual.
Stay strong and keep caring…
With best wishes,
melissa
-
Melissa Chemam
Journalist & Art Writer
@ RFI English, New Arab, ART UK...
Site: https://sites.google.com/view/melissachemam
Newsletter:
