Young African filmmaking talent showcased at festival
The short films will be screened on Monday, 30 October 2017, in Edinburgh (at the Filmhouse) and on Tuesday, 31 October 2017, in Glasgow (at the University of Glasgow).
The festival has successfully run its annual Short Film Competition for the past 10 years. This year, the shortlist was selected from over 350 entries, a record in AiM’s history. The competition is central to AiM's commitment to nurturing young African filmmaking talent.
Filmmakers who enter must not have previously made a feature-length film. There is a cash prize of £500 awarded to the jury winner, sponsored by the Scottish Documentary Institute.
The selected films of the Short Film competition are:
CHEBET
Tony Koros, Kenya, 2017: 12m, Swahili with English subtitles, 15. A pregnant woman in the Kenyan highlands decides to take drastic action when she finds her husband passed out in front of their house yet again.
OCCUPATION: KILLER
Walid Ayoub, Morocco, 2017: 23m, Arabic with English subtitles, 15. In order to enter a prestigious journalism contest Sami starts writing a report on Abbas, an atypical killer he has known since childhood.
I PROMISE YOU
Mohamed Yargui, Algeria, 2016: 17m, Arabic with English subtitles, 15. On the rocky paths leading to his home town in Algeria, Allili descends into silence unravelling feelings he has held onto since childhood.
DEM DEM!
Pape Bouname Lopy, Marc Recchia and Christophe Rolin, Senegal, 2017: 25m, Wolof and French with English subtitles, 15. A Senegalese fisherman finds a Belgian passport on a beach in Dakar and decides to use it. He soon crosses paths with N’Zibou, a wise man who measures the clouds and questions the man about his search for identity.
BLACK ROSE
Pascal Aka, Ghana, 2016: 11m, 15. Black Rose is an African film noire that explores the inner thoughts and feelings of a restaurant manager, seeking for a personal escape.
THE DARK BOX
Yemi Jolaoso, Nigeria, 2016: 8m, 15. Fido is all too eager to put his one-minute time machine to use in winning the heart of Kiki, until he discovers the unexpected consequences of his actions.
THE ANT QUEEN
Leila Artese, Algeria, 2016: 15m, Arabic with English subtitles, 15. Amel, a 10-year-old girl, lives with her big sister Fatma and her grandmother. In the harsh reality of everyday life she has to reinvent her world to escape the taboos imposed on it. Her dream is to turn into queen ant to have the freedom to choose her destiny.
Africa in Motion was founded in 2006 and is now preparing for its 12th set in Edinburgh and Glasgow. It aims at bringing the brilliance of African cinema to Scottish audiences, and overcoming the under-representation and marginalisation of African films in British film-going culture. The festival will take place from 27 October to 5 November 2017.
The Scottish Documentary Institute is sponsoring the prize for the Short Film Competition winner. Established in 2004 by Noe Mendelle to nurture documentary filmmakers and audiences in Scotland and beyond, SDI specialises in documentary training, production and distribution, supporting filmmakers through its diverse programme of international activities and high quality training programmes.