5 New Films to Watch Out For, N°28

Here’s another pick of five interesting-looking new films that have come out recently. Born This Way is a film by Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullmann about gay activists and members of “Alternatives Cameroun,” the first LGBT organization in Cameroon — a cause made all the more urgent by the recent killing of Camfaids director and activist Eric Lembembe. You’ll also recognize lawyer (and AIAC’s “woman of the year”) Alice Nkom:

El Gusto is Safinez Bousbia’s film about an Algerian group of Jewish and Muslim musicians who were separated by history over 50 years ago and have been reunited some years ago to share once again their passion for Chaabi music. They have since gone on to record albums with Damon Albarn and Sodi:

Aya de Yopougon, the film interpretation of Marguerite Abouet’s popular graphic novel set in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, has been a long time coming. The animated film draws from the first two volumes of the series she collaborated on with graphic artist Clément Oubrerie, also the co-director of the film:

Incarcerated Knowledge is a documentary by AIAC’er Dylan Valley who has followed a man, Peter, from the first day of his release from South Africa’s most notorious prison. Having foresworn his membership of the powerful ‘28s’ gang, Peter is intent to reintegrate himself back into his community through his passion for Hip-Hop:

And The New World is a story written and directed by Jaap van Heusden about a Dutch woman (Bianca Krijgsman) whose life is changed by an Ivorian refugee (Issaka Sawadogo) who is held “in transit” at the detention center for asylum seekers where she works as a cleaner. Here’s a clip:

Further Reading

Energy for whom?

Behind the fanfare of the Africa Climate Summit, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline shows how neocolonial extraction still drives Africa’s energy future.

The sound of revolt

On his third album, Afro-Portuguese artist Scúru Fitchádu fuses ancestral wisdom with urban revolt, turning memory and militancy into a soundtrack for resistance.

O som da revolta

No seu terceiro álbum, o artista afro-português Scúru Fitchádu funde a sabedoria ancestral com a revolta urbana, transformando memória e militância em uma trilha sonora para a resistência.

Biya forever

As Cameroon nears its presidential elections, a disintegrated opposition paves the way for the world’s oldest leader to claim a fresh mandate.

From Cornell to conscience

Hounded out of the United States for his pro-Palestine activism, Momodou Taal insists that the struggle is global, drawing strength from Malcolm X, faith, and solidarity across borders.

After the uprising

Following two years of mass protest, Kenya stands at a crossroads. A new generation of organizers is confronting an old question: how do you turn revolt into lasting change? Sungu Oyoo joins the AIAC podcast to discuss the vision of Kenya’s radical left.

Redrawing liberation

From Gaza to Africa, colonial cartography has turned land into property and people into populations to be managed. True liberation means dismantling this order, not redrawing its lines.