By Ogova Ondego
Published October 8, 2015
African film festivals in the United Kingdom are between October 5 and November 21, 2015 showing African films on love.
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The festivals participating in the UK-wide programe dubbed ‘From Africa, with Love’ and supported by the British Film Institute are Africa in Motion (Glasgow and Edinburgh); Afrika Eye (Bristol); Cambridge African Film Festival (Cambridge); Watch Africa (Cardiff) and Film Africa (London).
The films are presented in three strands: Love Brewed in an African Pot, Love in Conflict, and Romantic Views.
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While Love Brewed in an African Pot “rekindles date night with a taste of love by marrying a passion for food with a passion for film in a romantic dine-and-view setting” and Love in Conflict “looks at love in times of adversity, dealing with the sometimes near-impossible circumstances under which love can flourish, as well as those situations in which love simply cannot overcome the odds”, Romantic Views “explores the cultural perceptions and interpretations of love across Africa, “a media release from Africa in Motion (AiM) says. “Religion, class, tradition and the collision with modernity are just some of the forces that define the way love is understood (and sometimes misunderstood) throughout the continent.”
The Romantic Views strand, AiM says, “looks at the unique place of love in African life, manifested in marriage, dowries, courting rituals, and the challenges of unconventional love.”
Among the films showcased in the programme are HYENES/Hyenas (By Djibril Diop Mambety, Senegal, 110 minutes, 1992), BAB EL HADID/Cairo Station (By Youssef Chahine, Egypt, 95 minutes, 1958), STORIES OF OUR LIVES (By Jim Chuchu, Kenya, 7 minutes, 2014), O GRANDE KILAPY/The Great Kilapy (By Zézé Gamboa, Angola, 102 minutes, 2012), LOVE THE ONE YOU LOVE (By Jenna Cato Bass, 105 minutes, South Africa, 2014), YEFIKIR WAGAWE/Price of Love (By Hermon Hailay, Ethiopia, 100 minutes, 2015), and KANYE KANYE (By Miklas Manneke, South Africa, 2 minutes, 2013).
From Africa, With Love is presented by the UK African Film Festivals, part of BFI LOVE bfi.org.uk/love, in partnership with Plusnet.