| Great gesture: The latest film of veteran Senegalese film
director, Ousmane Sembene, has met with huge applause. But "Faat
Kine" was not entered in the competition. It's thought Sembene
doesn't want to upstage new talent. Although he's been around a long
time, this grandfather of African films has tackled a modern theme:
women defying male tradition and supremacy. It spans three generations
of women.
Chad loses out: Like all big occasions, FESPACO has had
its share of misunderstandings and confusion. The first Chadian
film ever to be shortlisted in the competition now stands no chance
of winning the big prize, the Yennenga Stallion - because its director,
Issa Coleo, is stuck in Chad along with his film. Three other shortlisted
film-makers have still to turn up.
Plane confusion: Problems with Air Afrique flights have hit
a further 35 or so film makers who wanted to attend Fespaco. Most
people planned to fly with their films as luggage rather than incur
expensive freight charges by forwarding them ahead. One director,
Senegal's Mansour Sora Wade, had to make his trip from Niger to
Ouagadougou by car.
Creating a stir: Three films captured the hearts of cinema-goers:
There
was another virtual stampede at the second screening of "Sya,
le Reve du Python"
(The Dream of the Python) on Wednesday. The film is directed by
39-year-old local boy Dani Kouyaté.
5,000 people turned up outside the cinema.
Cheick Omar Sissoko met with rapturous applause for his film, "Battu".
Tipped to win the top prize, the Yennenga Stallion (Etalon de Yennenga),
the film has a cast of hundreds of beggars. By the way the title
"Battu" means 'begging bowl' in Wolof, and 'beaten'
in French.
In the comedy camp, a film by Congo's Camille Moueka, "Voyage
a Ouaga" had the audiences laughing all the way. The film
charts the journey of a hapless French man through West Africa,
when his wife wants him home.
Business opportunity: This, the biggest festival of African
cinema in the world, is also the key market place for African film
industry. BBC's Jim Corrigall, in Ouagadougou, assesses the chances
of African films attracting a wider audience around the world:
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to the highlights of FESPACO 2001
