Five UK film festivals celebrate 'From Africa, with Love'
This year five UK African film festivals will present a rich programme of films that promises to immerse viewers in African love across time and space.
'From Africa, With Love' is presented by the UK African Film Festivals (Africa in Motion Film Festival, Afrika Eye, Cambridge African Film Festival, Film Africa, Watch Africa Film Festival), part of BFI LOVE bfi.org.uk/love, in partnership with Plusnet.
With films to fall in love with, and films to break your heart, this eclectic programme of African Love films will be presented in three strands:
- • Love Brewed in an African Pot rekindles date night with a taste of love by marrying a passion for food with a passion for film in a romantic dine-and-view setting. Enjoy a hearty serving of fine fare and love affairs with films such as Jenna Cato Bass' quirky 'Love the One You Love' (South Africa, 2014), and top Ethiopian director Hermon Hailay's 'Price of Love' (2015).
• Love in Conflict looks at love in times of adversity, dealing with the sometimes near-impossible circumstances under which love can flourish, as well as those situations in which love simply cannot overcome the odds. Films in this strand include 'Kanyekanye' (South Africa, 2013), a short about star-crossed lovers in a divided town. 'Breathe Umphefumlo' (South Africa, 2015) looks at the corporeal battle against tuberculosis in impoverished Khayelitsha.
• Romantic Views explores the cultural perceptions and interpretations of love across Africa. Religion, class, tradition and the collision with modernity are just some of the forces that define the way love is understood (and sometimes misunderstood) throughout the continent. This strand, looks at the unique place of love in African life, manifested in marriage, dowries, courting rituals and the challenges of unconventional love, includes both classics and fresh new cinema.
These include classic films, such as Djibril Diop Mambety's iconic 'Hyenas' (Senegal, 1992) and Egypt's answer to Hitchcock, 'Cairo Station' (Egypt, 1958). Other films in this strand include the beautiful 'Stories of our Lives' (2014), which explores LGBT issues Kenya, and the playful 'O Grand Kilapy' (Angola, 2012).A complete list of screenings and further information on the films can be found here.
