Ten African
filmmakers have been selected to participate in a new movie residency in one of
the most historic regions of Japan, working with acclaimed Japanese director
Naomi Kawase, under the auspices of UNESCO.
Kawase and
Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of UNESCO (the United Nations’ cultural
agency), on Feb. 13 announced the names of the 10 winners for the inaugural UNESCO-Nara
Residency for Young African Female Filmmakers, which will run from March 28 to
April 12 in Nara Prefecture - a region renowned for having one of Imperial
Japan’s first capital cities.
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| Audrey Azoulay (L) and Naomi Kawase (R) announce the winners for the UNESCO-Nara Residency. (Photo: UNESCO/C. Alix) |
The chosen filmmakers
are Mayowa Bakare and Uren Makut of Nigeria; Okule Dyosopu and Thishiwe Ziqubu
of South Africa; Awa Gueye and Fama Reyanne Sow of Senegal; Joan Kiragu and Lydia Matata of Kenya; and Delphine Yerbanga and Floriane Zoundi of
Burkina Faso - the country that hosts the biennial FESPACO film festival,
Africa’s largest such event.
The
announcement came in Paris as a meeting was taking place of the Intergovernmental
Committee responsible for overseeing the UNESCO Convention on the Protection
and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (a convention that Japan
has not yet signed).
“We need to
hear a plurality of voices,” Azoulay said. “It is important for the cinema
industry to make the voice of Africa heard, to support the emergence of diverse
cultural expressions, put forth new ideas and emotions, and make sure that
women as creators contribute to a necessary global dialogue for peace, culture
and development.”
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| Naomi Kawase (far right) calls for support for women filmmakers. (Photo: UNESCO/C. Alix) |
Kawase
meanwhile stressed that it was essential to support women working in the film
industry as female directors are often overlooked in the selection for
festivals and awards. For instance, only one woman - Jane Campion of New
Zealand - has won the Palme d’Or top prize at France’s prestigious Cannes Film
Festival.
Kawase is among
a small number of women directors who have received other prizes at Cannes. She
won the Caméra d'Or newcomers’ award, for best new director, in 1997 with her
first 35mm film, Suzaku, and the Grand Prix in 2007 for her fourth
feature The Mourning Forest (Mogari no Mori).
Last year,
Senegalese-French director Mati Diop became the first black woman to have a
film in competition for the Palme d’Or, and her film Atlantics went on
to win the Grand Prix, or the silver medal.
Recent events
show that things are changing, Kawase said, but more needs to be done. “I’m convinced
that working together, we can open a new door,” she said.
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| Naomi Kawase discusses the residency and plans for future initiatives. (Photo: SWAN/McKenzie) |
The ten filmmakers
- selected from some 600 applicants - range in age from 21 to 35 and will be
coached by Kawase and Senegalese female filmmaker Fatou Kandé Senghor, in the
residency’s picturesque village of Tawara, Nara Prefecture. The project is
supported by the Government of Japan and the Japan Foundation, UNESCO said.
“In a way,
being a woman made it easier for me to look closely at my own environment,”
Kawase told reporters at a UNESCO press conference. “Not being in the mainstream
or the centre, women can make new discoveries. In my case, I will create things
from sources within myself. I believe there is something universal in deep
personal experience.”
She added that
the environment of the residency was sure to have a “spiritual” effect on the
filmmakers, as the forests and mountains of the location could be inspiring.
She grew up in the region, and The Mourning Forest was filmed there.
The filmmakers
will develop projects and participate in master classes, filming and debates,
according to UNESCO. Residents will be invited to present their work at the
next Nara International Film Festival (NIFF), taking place Sept. 18 to 22.
Kawase founded this event in 2010, and it now attracts thousands of film fans. –
SWAN
UPDATE: UNESCO has postponed the Residency until further notice, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
UPDATE: UNESCO has postponed the Residency until further notice, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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