MEDI1TV Afrique : Cinéma, littérature et art en Afrique - 05/10/2024
Category
🗞
NewsTranscription
00:00It's always with great pleasure that I meet you again on Medein TV for our Escale Culture
00:16in the heart of Africa and besides in a few moments we will talk about cinema with
00:21Empty Grave, a superb documentary on memory, on this desire for unfulfilled mourning and
00:30on colonialism. We will talk about it in a few moments. We will also talk about literature
00:36and art with the world of Haida Mouloney. But first of all, place to our guest of the day.
00:41And today we are talking about poetry, we are talking about an animated film with an extremely talented young woman.
00:53She has it in the blood, Sofya El-Khiyar is with us. She is therefore the patron of the animated film for this month
00:59and the opportunity to receive her on our set and to talk about this very, very beautiful universe. Hello Sofya.
01:06Hello Emna, thank you for inviting me. It is a great pleasure to be here with you.
01:12The pleasure is shared, as I said at the moment, you are my queen, therefore compared to me, dedicated to animated films.
01:20As part of Avec l'Institut, the French will have the opportunity to talk about it, but it is true that
01:26the animated film is a whole universe and it is rare for us to receive directors of animated films.
01:36In addition, you are a woman and it is a very masculine environment, it must be admitted, the cinema in general.
01:42How did this desire come about? I don't think we become directors of animated films by chance.
01:49How did this vocation come about in you, Sofya?
01:53Well, I've been drawing since I was a little girl, so it's really me, the pictorial language.
02:01I discovered the job of an animated filmmaker when I was a teenager, by meeting animators whose job it was.
02:14It made me aware of the reality of this job.
02:18What I liked at first was the possibility of giving body and life to these drawings.
02:24There is something a bit of the order of the magician.
02:28What I also liked was the possibility, through this art, to be able to mix all forms of art.
02:36I draw, but I was also very interested in music, I write a lot.
02:41I think it's really a very vast universe where we have an infinite number of possible creations.
02:51And Sofya, in your animated films, a lot of poetry, also a lot of female characters, like in I Am Mon Carlon des Papillons.
03:00What are the themes that touch you the most?
03:06And if there is a guideline in your films, which one would it be?
03:13It's always difficult, I find, to summarize an artistic body.
03:18In general, critics of art or cinema always do better than us.
03:25But I would still say that there are elements that come back often.
03:29There is memory, nostalgia, these are themes that are quite present and that are there, I think.
03:35Because I traveled a lot, I lived in several regions of the world.
03:40And there is always this relationship to memory, to nostalgia, to Morocco, to my family, etc.
03:46So there are things of this art order that come back a lot.
03:49I think there is also a very strong dreamlike universe.
03:52Because I was, I think, a child who was a lot in his dreams.
03:56I drew a lot in my room, I read a lot.
04:00And so there is really this relationship to dreams and the inner world that is very strong.
04:04And that I try to let it show a little in my films.
04:09And when you talk about the inner child of this child,
04:12isn't it also a way not to leave him in a corner, not to forget him?
04:17Because I imagine it's a very long process of creation, several stages.
04:23Do you need this child? Is it him who speaks through you?
04:30Yes, completely. I think there is this in a lot of animated films.
04:34And it's this part, I think, that also affects the viewer.
04:38It allows a kind of inner child to resurface.
04:44And in fact, what goes with the child is a rather wonderful ability.
04:47And that's what I'm trying to keep, to transcribe in my films.
04:54Often there are a lot of metaphors and symbolism that are taken from the tale.
04:58There are references to The Thousand and One Nights, to the Moroccan tale,
05:03to engraving, to flowers, to ecology, etc.
05:08And so, in fact, it's all these very essential metaphors
05:11that we sometimes find in the universe of the tale
05:13and that I reappropriate in the animated film,
05:17but to tell deeper subjects.
05:21And what we would also like to know,
05:23Sofia, you are the queen of animated films.
05:28It's until October 18th, if I'm not mistaken.
05:33It started on October 1st.
05:35Can you tell us about it?
05:36Because you're going to present several of your films,
05:39but also the meeting with the audience.
05:42It must be something very interesting, very nourishing as well.
05:45Can you tell us about it?
05:49Yes, of course.
05:50In fact, the month of October internationally
05:53is the month dedicated to animated films.
05:56So there will be several different projections,
05:59and it is in this context that I do my tour.
06:02And so the idea really was to arrive with a corpus of my short films.
06:06So I present four of my short films to the Moroccan audience,
06:10but in a plurality of cities,
06:13to really have this exchange,
06:15both with the general public, but also with the younger generation
06:18who may be interested in this medium.
06:21And I must say that every time I present my films in Morocco,
06:25because I have often presented them internationally,
06:28I find that there is something quite magical.
06:30Because, of course, there is this Moroccan culture
06:33that is infused in my films,
06:35I find that the exchange and sharing with the Moroccan audience
06:38is much more touching.
06:40And it always makes me feel something special.
06:44And what is the reaction, the emotion
06:47that comes back most often to the Moroccan audience,
06:50at all ages?
06:51Is there something that comes back quite often?
06:55The reactions are diverse depending on the short films that I present.
06:59For example, in my short film Ayem,
07:01which we saw an excerpt from,
07:03I think it's a short film that touches
07:05a kind of Moroccan collective memory,
07:07because I really tell...
07:09It's really inspired by anecdotes that my grandmother told me.
07:13And so it's really three generations of Moroccan women
07:16who tell anecdotes during the Ilkbir.
07:18So there is something quite universal in this short film.
07:21There are other short films that touch on something more,
07:24perhaps of the feminine order.
07:27So I get a lot of feedback from young women
07:30who tell me, thank you for capturing
07:33a feminine vision of the world
07:37that we are not used to seeing in this form in the cinema.
07:41So really, it depends, I think,
07:43from one short film to another,
07:45but that's part of the feedback I get.
07:48And Sofia, how do you see animation cinema?
07:54For you, as you said earlier,
07:56it's an art that combines all arts, like cinema.
07:59But isn't it, beyond that, a poetry,
08:02a sub-genre of poetry in its entirety?
08:06Yes, completely.
08:07It is also the objective, through this tour,
08:10to make people discover animation short films.
08:13Because it's something that remains
08:15inaccessible to the general public.
08:17But you have to know that in animation cinema,
08:19the most beautiful jewels, I think,
08:21it's not really the feature film, it's the short film.
08:24And it's kind of poems in themselves,
08:27visual poems, because in fact,
08:29they are free expressions
08:31where you can really express yourself with the material.
08:34So at the same time with animated paint
08:36in some of my short films,
08:38there is modeling clay, cut paper.
08:41So it's this multiplicity of materials
08:44that gives a strong dreamlike, visual universe,
08:49and which is supported by a poetry
08:51that comes through writing, music, etc.
08:54And we're not going to keep you any longer.
08:58Last question, because you're in the middle of a shoot
09:00and you have a very important appointment.
09:02Last question, are you preparing anything?
09:07Is there anything new coming up?
09:11After this shoot, I still have two exhibitions
09:16because I also exhibit my work.
09:19As I said, for me, it's not just about cinema.
09:22I really focus on plastic arts and cinema
09:24because I really have all this material,
09:26these original paintings taken from each of my films.
09:29So I have exhibitions in preparation.
09:31And I'm writing a next film that will be quite ambitious.
09:36So I'm in the middle of a writing process as well.
09:42Well, good luck and good inspiration.
09:44Thank you very much, Sophia El-Reyali, for being with us.
09:46It was a pleasure.
09:48Thank you very much.
09:50And the audience can discover these short films
09:53during several dates of the tour.
09:56And then the short films will continue to be shot
09:59without me in several cities,
10:02in Marrakech, Gujda, Jedida, Aknetra, etc.
10:07So I hope to see many of you.
10:10Thank you very much.
10:20And we continue this excursion in culture
10:22with an outstanding artist,
10:24Aida Moulloune, a true Yemeni globetrotter
10:26passing through Cyprus or England.
10:29This young Ethiopian starts with journalism
10:32by questioning the perception of the media
10:36and African-Americans and the African continent.
10:39In 2007, she returned to Addis Abeba
10:41where she continues to live and work as an artist.
10:44She will say, like Picasso,
10:46I want to reinterpret the African tradition.
10:49She will therefore propose very colorful women's paintings,
10:52the result of a long personal reflection.
10:55For the Ethiopian photographer,
10:57the Yemeni and the Westerners
10:59sometimes have a reductive image of our country,
11:01a simplistic view of our tradition, our traditions.
11:04This is what the artist regrets.
11:06She says, I want to show that our art is subtle and sophisticated
11:09and that there is a contemporary art that comes from Africa.
11:12Let's listen to Aida right now.
11:28Body painting, body decoration.
11:30So I've been doing these face paintings
11:32as a form of self-expression for myself
11:35and also to show the contemporary interpretation
11:39of something that's traditional.
11:41The work for me, it's really based on a story
11:44that a friend of mine in India told me
11:46about how his father, who lived in a very rural region,
11:49was so determined to be educated
11:51that he would sit in front of the light post,
11:54which was the only light source for his village,
11:56to do his homework and to study.
11:58And this sort of showed the determination
12:00of someone living in the rural region
12:02and how electricity is important,
12:04not just in the major cities, but also in the rural regions.
12:08The themes in Aida Moulouné's photos
12:10are more universal.
12:12Love, freedom, themes that connect all countries.
12:15Aida Moulouné refuses to be labeled an African artist.
12:19Thanks to her work, Moulouné has set up
12:22a unique and different visual language,
12:25first of all, she has gained experience
12:27as a documentary photographer.
12:29She was attracted by more artistic forms of expression.
12:32Aida Moulouné offers a surrealist art,
12:36with strong graphics and very vivid color palettes
12:39that reflect the impressions of her home country
12:42and her personal history.
12:44Aida is exhibited everywhere.
12:46Her photographs show the world an Ethiopia full of colors,
12:49ancestral tattoos, tribal customs,
12:52women in their purest form.
12:54Against all odds, she decides to return to Ethiopia in 2007
12:59and she creates the first festival dedicated to photography,
13:03the Hades Photo Fest,
13:05which is the most important photo festival in East Africa.
13:14Aida Moulouné, based on her art,
13:16the world is a kind of experience,
13:20her mother told her when she was little,
13:22to remind her that nothing is perfect.
13:24In 2019, Aida became the first black woman
13:27to be the curator of the Nobel Peace Prize exhibition.
13:30She created 10 works for the 2020 edition.
13:34The Nobel Peace Prize 2020
13:36was awarded to the World Food Program.
13:39I try to create images that can be understood
13:42or at least bring a reflection to the viewer,
13:46no matter their social class,
13:48their geographical origin or their level of education.
13:51I am not the type of photographer
13:53who theorizes excessively about my process or my work.
13:56If I can't create a link with my audience,
13:59then my goal has no interest.
14:04And she has this strength
14:06to mix the surrealist side with the symbolic side.
14:11So each of the images has a very precise meaning
14:15and must lead you to reflect on yourself.
14:19You will notice that all these models are feminine.
14:22Let me tell you that she is very attached to the feminine cause.
14:33After an excursion in the world of Aida Moulinet,
14:37we go to the cinema and look at the colonial restitutions,
14:41as illustrated by the documentary
14:44The Empty Grave,
14:46directed by the German Agnès Elisa Wagner
14:49and the Tanzanian Sissi Mlei.
14:51Two Tanzanian families go in search of their stolen ancestors.
14:54Their quest leads them to Germany,
14:56where tens of thousands of skulls and bones
14:58from former German colonies
15:00are stored in museums.
15:02A whole human, historical and memorial adventure.
15:04Let's watch an excerpt from the trailer.
15:14I don't have a home
15:18I don't have a home
15:22I don't have a home
15:26I don't have a home
15:30I don't have a home
15:34I don't have a home
15:38I don't have a home
15:42I don't have a home
15:46I don't have a home
15:50I don't have a home
15:54I don't have a home
15:58I don't have a home
16:02I don't have a home
16:06I don't have a home
16:10I'm talking about my history,
16:12but this history has been kept here.
16:22We know that even the Germans will not be safe here.
16:26Because what they did in Turkey
16:28will not be safe in Jordan.
16:30We are talking about one person
16:32from about 10,000 skulls.
16:34And even if you get to Germany,
16:36it will be difficult for you.
16:40God will open the door for us.
16:42Otherwise, we will be trapped.
16:44I think there is something
16:46that cannot be cut.
16:48I think there is something
16:50that cannot be cut.
16:52I think there is something
16:54that cannot be cut.
16:56I think there is something
16:58that cannot be cut.
17:28I think there is something
17:30that cannot be cut.
17:58I think there is something
18:00that cannot be cut.
18:28I think there is something
18:30that cannot be cut.
18:58I think there is something
19:00that cannot be cut.
19:28This novelist is back with her first love,
19:30which was dystopia and science fiction.
19:32These questions also
19:34this time are about the fate of humans
19:36in a dematerialized world
19:38where consciousness is diluted
19:40under the effect of too much
19:42data and applications.
19:44Let's listen to it right now.
19:50Life is ending, this is my next novel.
19:52And it marks for me a literary transition
19:54because I change a bit of register.
19:56After having written
19:58very historical books,
20:00very documented,
20:02now I come back to fiction.
20:04For me it is a great comfort
20:06in a sense to be able to
20:08let my imagination run free.
20:10It allows me to resume
20:12the questions that I had
20:14developed in my previous novels,
20:16namely political
20:18and intellectual questions
20:20about freedom
20:22and eternity.
20:24With this novel,
20:26I wanted to question the reader
20:28and myself with this notion
20:30of eternity.
20:32Do you wish for eternity?
20:34And if you had eternity,
20:36what would you do with it?
20:38In my novel, I chose
20:40a crossroads of characters.
20:42The main protagonist,
20:44Céline, is a bit at the crossroads.
20:46She is in quarantine
20:48and she is seeing her mother
20:50completely delete herself
20:52and then she sees her daughter
20:54taking a wrong direction
20:56because she is obsessed
20:58by screens and
21:00completely withdraws from life.
21:02In another sense,
21:04Céline is confronted with a choice
21:06between her husband, Adrien,
21:08who is completely obsessed
21:10with new technologies
21:12that will allow him,
21:14in his final ambition,
21:16to offer digital eternity
21:18to humanity.
21:20Adrien, by chance,
21:22is a childhood friend
21:24with whom she was very close.
21:26This friend is the complete opposite
21:28of her husband because he is
21:30completely disconnected
21:32from all applications
21:34and digital technology
21:36and he connects to something else
21:38that will try to make Céline discover.
21:40La vie infinie is the title
21:42of Jennifer Richard's novel.
21:44We are here far from the historical
21:46and colonial theme
21:48of these last books.
21:50With this story, the author reconnects
21:52with science fiction
21:54and the anticipation of his first novels
21:56that made him famous 20 years ago.
21:58A novel to discover urgently.
22:00Thank you for being with us
22:02on Hormédiens TV for this new
22:04Escale Culture at the heart of Africa.
22:06See you next week.
22:08Until then, take care.
22:18Subtitling by SUBS Hamburg