Sisters In Law
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By Daniel Nelson
Prize-winning film-maker Kim Longinotto took it as a challenge when the compere at last years OneWorld Broadcasting Trusts Media awards ceremony said he hoped that the 2005 event would include films with positive images of Africa. It got me thinking, recalls Longinotto. Every film on Africa seemed to be about AIDS or refugees or war. I took it as a direct challenge. The woman she teamed up with for her next film - Florence Ayisi, a Cameroonian who teaches film and video at the University of Wales International Film School felt the same. I have been very concerned about the images I have seen since I came to this country 19 years ago, Ayisi says. Its always poverty, war and other problems: a staple diet of negativity. Of course, those things are there but it bothers that we dont see any other reality. Also, as a woman wanted to make a film about a strong woman. The result, Sisters In Law, will be screened at the London Film Festival on 26 and 28 October. The film follows four court cases that are handled by state prosecutor Vera Ngassa. It is billed as incredibly moving and at times disturbing it spectacularly encompasses courage, hope, and the possibility of change. The cases are harrowing, involving domestic violence, rape and child beating. But Ayisi and Longinotto emphasise that the film shows strong women standing up and fighting for justice, and a judiciary that employs 280 women judges and magistrates. We want people to think a little differently about Africa, Ayisi emphasises. * Telling a different story |
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