colonialism

16

Sunday in Brazzaville – Meet Some of the Capital’s Artists

Sunday in Brazzaville

Sunday in Brazzaville Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Why Watch Sunday in Brazzaville?

  • See documentary of an African country that doesn’t focus on poverty or war
  • Meet 3 of the capital’s artists
  • To see how some of the Republic of Congo’s residents get down
From: Republic of Congo, Africa
Watch: IMDb, JustWatch, Tubi, Hoopla
Next: System K, Burkina Rising, Night of Calypso

50 years after colonialism, Sunday in Brazzaville takes a look at three artists contributing to contemporary Congolese culture in the former capital of Free France. Each of them reforms influences from the West into cultures that are uniquely Congolese.

The three artists in profile represent three different parts of culture:

  1. The Fashion orientated Sapeurs – a group of men and women that live by a gentlemanly code and dress in bright suits. Their code of conduct rules that they must show good manners, be elegant, and always well dressed – deriving their characteristics from wealthy upper class Frenchmen. They’re surprisingly proud of their French heritage, but also sport brightly colored suits that feel uniquely Congolese.
  2. The wrestler representing sport and entertainment. This wrestling has much more in common with the WWE in the U.S. than the greco-Roman wrestling you’ll see at the Olympics. It’s more focused on the spectacle than strength. The wrestler profiled, like the Sapeurs, mixes Congolese elements into the U.S. style wrestling, with magic and live animals becoming his secret weapons.
  3. Lastly there’s our musician, a rapper uncovering life in Brazzaville in his rhymes. Like the Sapeurs and the wrestler, he has been influenced by culture from the West (in this case rap music from the U.S.) and adapted it to depict contemporary Congolese life.

Each of the three artists in Sunday in Brazzaville represent contemporary Congolese culture with all of them adapting elements of Western art for Congolese audiences to give a quick overview of life in Brazzaville. The only thing that would have been nice to see is more of a gender balance in the subjects as the characters profiled are all male.

What to Watch Next

Sunday in Brazzaville is a western made African documentary that doesn’t focus on the exploitative thematic trio of poverty, conflict, and AIDS. Narrated by a Congolese radio host, it reminded me a bit of PRI’s informative and diverse Afropop Worldwide podcast series which looks at a wide range of African music around the world. It also reminded me of some of the vibrant and colorful documentaries coming out of the Republic of Congo’s neighbor the DRC such as System K and Zombies. Or if you’re looking for more overviews of one country’s culture, check out Burkina Rising and Night of Calypso.

17

Tug of War (Tanzania) – Pan African Film Festival 2022

Tug of War

In colonial Zanzibar, a young revolutionary and runaway wife from different parts of the city meet. As their romance grows, so does their revolutionary fervor in this adaptation of Shafi Adam Shafi’s novel.

It’s rare that you see Tanzanian films on the international film festival circuit, especially those that are directed by Tanzanians. The industry in the East African country is dominated by Swahiliwood’s low budget, rapidly made ‘Bongo films,’ which, like the majority of African cinema industries are largely ignored by Western film festivals. So it’s nice to see a Tanzanian representative on the international film festival circuit in Tug of War, even if it isn’t your typical Tanzanian film. Unlike ‘Bongo films,’ Tug of War‘s production quality matches the criteria for Western film festivals, with beautiful cinematography inspired by Wong Kar Wai, good production design, and great acting. It perfectly fits the Western expectations of ‘good’ international cinema.

The warmly patient pace of Tug of War defines the films tone, characters, and relationships. It’s created through the slow motion shots and orange tinted film that the director, Amil Shivji, uses throughout the film, just as Wong Kar Wai did in In the Mood for Love. The slow motion highlights some of the defining moments in the character’s relationships. This is clearest in the shot of Denge and Yasmin’s first glance of each other. Stretching out this fleeting glance captures the longing in that brief look, symbolically starting the embers that starts their romance. These slow motion moments also signify their enlightenment. One shot shows Yasmin pushing against the flow of a moving crowd. At regular speed, the shot might be forgettable, but in slow motion it becomes symbolic of her going against the grain of her family’s expectations and grabbing her own independence. Lastly the slow motion also emphasizes the link between their budding romance and new-found independence with the anti-colonial revolution that stands against both. This is captured in the slow motion scene of red pamphlets falling between them like wedding confetti (as in the image above).

For a beautifully shot, anti-colonial Tanzanian film inspired by Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love, watch Tug of War. It features sumptuously warm cinematography, a slow burning romance, and a fight for independence. This interracial, extra-marital love is anti-colonial. Viva la revolución.

Check back to our Pan African Film Festival 2022 page for more reviews coming out of the 30th edition of the festival.