African cinema is about more than the big productions of Nigeria, Senegal or South Africa. That is the message carried this year by Africlap, the Toulouse festival dedicated to the cinemas of Africa and its diaspora. For its thirteenth edition, running until 14 November, the event has set its course for the continent’s islands, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.
Mauritius, Madagascar, the Comoros, Cape Verde, the Seychelles, Zanzibar and São Tomé and Príncipe are all on the bill. These territories, often missing from major distribution circuits, are revealing a thriving creative scene. In all, 41 films are being screened, 35 of them in competition: fiction, documentaries and short films exploring the social realities, memory and imagination of African societies and their diasporas.
This edition is built around the idea of the archipelago. For the organisers, these islands tell stories of movement, cultural mixing, resistance and creation. It is a reading that echoes the migration routes and multiple identities that have shaped these lands, at the crossroads of African, Asian, Arab and European heritage.
Mauritius has pride of place. The official opening at the Pathé Wilson cinema centred on Simin Zetwal, directed by David Constantin, followed by a Mauritian music and dance performance. Madagascar is also well represented with two notable documentaries. Songs for Madagascar, by César Paes, follows the Madagascar All Stars collective, bringing together Erick Manana, Dama, Jaojoby, Justin Vali and Monika Njava. Mamody, le dernier creuseur de baobabs, by Cyrille Cornu, documents an ancestral practice on the Mahafaly plateau in the island’s south-west, where baobabs are hollowed out to serve as water reservoirs.
The festival’s final days promise to be full. On 12 November, screenings will address women’s rights, environmental issues and the passing on of heritage. The following day will focus on individual and collective memory and trauma. Finally, on 14 November, a professional meeting entitled « Archipelagos of African cinema » will bring together directors, producers and distributors around one central question: how can island, continental and diaspora cinemas talk to and work with each other? Cameroonian filmmaker Jean-Marie Teno and Martinican director Arlette Pacquit are expected to attend.
Founded in 2014 and run by the Africlap association, the festival has become the leading event in south-west France devoted entirely to African cinema. Screenings are spread across the ABC, Pathé Wilson and Le Cratère cinemas, the Espace Diversités Laïcité and the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès, with paid screenings in cinemas and free sessions at the other venues.
By offering a showcase to countries such as the Comoros or São Tomé and Príncipe, whose films rarely travel beyond their borders, Africlap is a reminder that the vitality of African cinema also lies in its diversity. And that even the smallest territories have big stories to tell.