Quartiers Lointains : Season 8
RÉSISTANCES
Resistance has often been talked about in the context of war, civil or military. But everyday revolt, the refusal to submit to what is imposed on us in a family, political, religious or cultural setting, is also a form of resistance. Whether they are based in the North or the West of the continent, the protagonists of the four short films in this 8th season of Quartiers Lointains approach, politically and poetically, several forms of tenacity and insurrection against the established order.
Our patron: Joel Karekezi
After graduating as a director from the Cinecours film school in 2008, Joel Karekezi shot his first short, The Pardon (Le Pardon), in 2009 with support from Maisha Film Lab. Winner of the Golden Impala at the Amakula film festival in Uganda and named best short at the Silicon Valley African Short Film Festival in 2010, The Pardon has screened at festivals around the world. His first feature, Imbabazi (The Pardon), received a development grant from the Göteborg International Film Festival, won the Nile Grand Prix 2014 at the Luxor African Film Festival and Best Director at the International Images Film Festival for Women 2014. In 2012, his screenplay The Mercy of the Jungle won the CFI prize for most promising project at the Durban Film Mart and the STEP development prize at Luxor. It was selected at Cannes for La Fabrique des cinémas du monde 2013, Locarno Open Doors 2014, Atelier Grand Nord 2015, the Namur production forum 2015 and the Rencontre de Coproduction Francophone in Paris 2015. Winner of the Étalon d’or de Yennenga at FESPACO 2019, the film received the Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival — New Directors Competition 2018 and the Grand Prix at PAFF 2020.
The films
L'envoyée de Dieu by Amina Abdoulaye Mamani
Fiction - 2023 - Niger/Burkina Faso/Rwanda - 23 min - Diam Production/Karekezi Film Production/Tabou Production
Synopsis
Around here, God’s envoy is chosen at random and subjected to funeral rites. Fatima, twelve, is left in a market, wearing an explosive belt set for ten minutes to kill the enemies of Allah. For nine minutes, it is an inner journey during which she moves from present to past. Fatima remembers that her mother sells in this market.
Biography
Amina Abdoulaye Mamani is Nigerien. She is a director and producer at Diam Production in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). She began in cinema with the Forum Africain du Film Documentaire in Niamey (Niger). After three years studying audiovisual directing at IFTIC in Niamey (Niger), she won Best School Documentary at FESPACO 2013 with her graduation documentary Le Hawan idi. In 2014, she completed a 12-month writing residency and directing training at Cinédoc-films (Annecy/France), where she made Le silence des papiers, selected at the Festival des Cinémas d’Afrique du Pays d’Apt (France). In 2018, after lengthy research, she signed Sur les traces de Mamani Abdoulaye, her first feature documentary, selected and awarded internationally and broadcast on TV5 Monde. In 2020, she trained in production at CINEKAP in Dakar (Senegal). Amina has just completed her first fiction short, L’envoyée de Dieu, pre-bought by TV5 Monde, which had its world premiere at FESPACO 2023, where it won four special prizes and two special mentions.
Film career
Association des amis du Cinéma de Lion-sur-Mer in Normandy 2024 – Gravelot d’Or; FIFF Cotonou 2024 – Amazone d’Or; RIFIC 2023 – Grand Prix; Festival Dakar Court 2023 – Best Actress; Festival Ciné Regards Africains 2023 – Prix du Public; Ouaga Côté Court 2023 – Prix Waka Myria; Festival des Cinémas d’Afrique du Pays d’Apt 2023 – Mention Spéciale; Festival du film Francophone de Namur 2023 – Best Cinematography; Afrika Film Festival Köln 2023 – Prix du Public; Vues d’Afrique 2023 – Prix Droit de la personne, Best Actress, Best Medium-Length Short; FESPACO 2023 – Prix spécial UEMOA, Prix spécial du Fonds Gambere Ernest, Prix de la chance de la LONAB, Prix de la Conférence épiscopale Burkina-Niger, Mention spéciale Prix Conseil de l’Entente, Special mention, short-film jury
Le Médaillon by Ruth Hunduma
Documentary - 2023 - United Kingdom/Ethiopia - 23 min - Story Compound
Synopsis
A single piece of jewellery can hold the history of several generations. Ruth was barely a teenager when her mother gave her a gold medallion engraved with the portrait of Nefertiti. Together, they return to Ethiopia and explore her mother’s story as a survivor of the Red Terror. In the midst of a new civil war, they revisit a country rich in history and culture.
Biography
Ruth Hunduma is an Ethiopian-Australian writer, director, photographer, actor and poet. She is the recipient of the John Hay Lobban Prize in English Literature from Birkbeck, University of London, and has been featured in publications such as Dazed and Perfect Magazine. Ruth won Roundhouse Film 2022 as well as the BFI Short Documentary Fund 2022, through which she has now released two films. Her first fiction short, A Band Apart, premiered at the London Independent Film Festival and won Best Short Film (Directors UK Award). As a writer-director, Ruth was shortlisted and accepted onto the Guy Ritchie Creative Access mentorship programme 2021. She was selected to join the Independent Film Trust’s Catalyst programme in 2022 for London’s leading emerging talent. Ruth’s screenplay, Wasteman, was selected for Center Frame’s Get It Made Scheme and is currently in development. Ruth has also written a novel that won The Literary Consultancy’s Free Reads Scheme. She is currently editing her novel. Ruth is based in London.
Film career
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2024 – Prix du Jury Étudiant; San Francisco International Film Festival 2024 – Documentary Short Jury Award; Alexandria Short Film Festival 2024 – Hypatia Golden Award
Astel by Ramata-Toulaye Sy
Fiction - 2021 - France/Senegal - 24 min - La Chauve-Souris/Kazak Productions/Astou Production
Synopsis
It is October, the end of the rainy season in Fouta, a remote region in northern Senegal. Astel (13) accompanies her father into the bush every day. Together they tend their herd of cows. But one day, in the middle of the desert, the young girl’s encounter with a shepherd upends the quiet daily life she shares with her father.
Biography
After completing a Master 1 in Performing Arts with a Cinema and Audiovisual track at Université Paris Nanterre and a Master 2 in Screenwriting at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français, Ramata-Toulaye Sy attended the Ateliers Égalité des Chances at La Fémis in 2009–2010. Admitted to La Fémis in 2011 in the Screenwriting department, she graduated in 2015. Franco-Senegalese, Ramata-Toulaye Sy now works between Dakar and Paris. In 2020, she directed her first short film, Astel, supported by the CNC’s Aide avant réalisation, France 3, Canal+ International and FOPICA in Senegal. The film had its world premiere in the Short Cuts competition in Toronto before its European premiere at FIFF Namur.
Film career
Festival Cinémas d’Afrique 2023 – Prix du court métrage; Festival Cinémas d’Afrique d’Angers 2023 – Mention Spéciale du jury jeune, Prix du Public; Festival de Dakhla 2023 – Grand Prix; OFF Odense Film Festival 2022 – Best Short; Quibdo Africa Film Festival 2022 – Prix de la meilleure photo, Prix de la Meilleure Réalisation; AMAA 2022 – Best Short Film; Cinékids 2022 – Best International Live Action; Aflam 2022 – Prix du scénario; JCC 2022 – Tanit de Bronze; Image et Vie 2022 – Prix du court métrage fiction; Ouaga Côté Court 2022 – Prix de la meilleure image; Festival de ciné Africano 2022 – 1er Prix; Afrique sur Bièvre 2022 – Prix du Public; Dakar Court 2021 – Mention Spéciale du Jury; FIFF Namur 2021 – Prix de la Meilleure photographie; TIFF 2021 – Prix IMDPro Share Her Journey
I Am Afraid To Forget Your Face by Sameh Alaa
Fiction - 2020 - Egypt/France/Qatar/Belgium - 15 min - Les Cigognes Films
Synopsis
Separated from the one he loves for eighty-two days, Adam is ready to do anything to close the distance between them.
Biography
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sameh Alaa studied German literature at Cairo University. Before settling in Europe, he worked as an assistant director on commercials and features. In 2016, he completed a master’s in directing at the EICAR film school in Paris. Sameh’s first short film, Fifteen, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 and won several awards worldwide. In 2019, he directed his first advertising campaign as writer and director. His short film I Am Afraid To Forget Your Face is the first Egyptian film in 50 years to be selected for the official short-film competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’or 2020. Sameh is currently developing his first feature.
Film career
Cannes Film Festival 2020 – Palme d’or du court métrage; Moscow International Film Festival 2020 – Best Short Film; Tacoma Film Festival 2021 – Best Cinematography Short; International Short Film Festival 2021 – Soni d’Oro; El Gouna Film Festival 2020 – Best Arab Film; Burgas International Film Festival 2021 – Best International Short Film
Audience feedback
QL8 screening - Cinéma Utopia Sainte-Bernadette, Montpellier
QL8 screening - INSAAC, Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) 3 April 2025
QL8 screening - Université Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville (Congo)
QL8 screening à l'école ISMA, Cotonou (Bénin) 12 April 2025
QL8 screening - Comoedia de Lyon 10 April 2025
QL8 screening - La Case des Daltons, Lomé (Togo)
Preview Résistances #QL8
Preview Résistances #QL8