The 29th edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Fespaco) will be held from February 22 to March 1, 2025 in the Burkinabe capital.
This edition will highlight 235 films selected from 1,351 submissions, from 48 countries, thus offering a unique showcase of the richness and diversity of African cinema and its diaspora. Although Cameroon is not represented in the flagship category of feature-length fiction films, which allows you to win the Yennenga Gold Standard, the festival’s highest distinction, it will still be present in four other categories in official competition.
Cameroon is thus represented by the feature-length documentary “Mambar Pierrette”, directed by Rosine Mbakam. This 93-minute film, released in 2023, tells the story of Mambar Pierrette, a seamstress from Douala whose workshop is threatened by flooding as the school year approaches. Between the struggle to provide for her family and the adversity of the natural elements, this film bears witness to the strength and resilience of this woman in the face of daily challenges. “Mambar Pierrette” has already been crowned at the Namur International Francophone Film Festival in Belgium in 2023, while having caused a sensation at the Cinema Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival 2023 and at other international festivals in Canada, London and Marrakech.
Sita Bella
In the short films section, Cameroon is also represented by “Sita Bella, the first” by Eugénie Metala. This 31-minute film, made in 2023, pays tribute to Sita Bella, an icon of Cameroon, the country’s first female journalist and first airline pilot, but also one of the first African filmmakers. The country is also in the running in the Series section with two filmmakers. The first, Narcisse Wandji, a regular at Fespaco, returns with “Monkam”. This film tells the story of an exemplary pastor, Monkam, whose only son, a promising footballer, has a heart condition and must undergo an expensive transplant. When Boko, a dynamic young member of the church, offers to help him through a well-paid job as a delivery man, Monkam discovers that the packages he is transporting contain human organs.
The second film in the Series category is “Scars” by Anurin Nwunembom, a short film released in 2024 that tells the story of the pain of the ritual of excision through the journey of Mariamou, a young girl fleeing her village to escape this practice. “Scars” highlights the conflicts that arise in the community, with Mariamou’s mother standing firmly against the village chief, Bakosso, to protect her daughter. Finally, “Half Heaven”, by Enah Johnscott, represents Cameroon in the Panorama section, a category that concerns films selected for the official selection for their quality, but which do not meet the strict criteria of Fespaco. Winner of multiple awards at the Yaoundé International Festival of Black Screens in 2024, “Half Heaven” tells the story of Kizito, a selfish preacher who goes to a difficult neighborhood in Mboko to validate his eligibility for ordination. There, he begins a relationship with Bisona, a prostitute, which evolves into a complex and transformative love story. This film has also been shortlisted for the Oscars in 2023, a significant recognition on the world cinematic stage.
In 2023, Cameroon had marked its presence with eight films in competition, including two in the fiction feature film category. That year, the country won three special awards, after returning empty-handed in 2021. The supreme victory, the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, however, remains an elusive goal for Cameroon, the country having won this distinction only once before, in 1976, with the film “Muna Moto” (The Child of the Other, in the Duala language) by Jean-Piette Dikongue Pipa.
