MEDI1TV Afrique : Zoom sur le festival international de l’improvisation avec Sonia Okacha - 05/04/2025
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00:00And it's a great pleasure to have you on Amesia on TV for this new Escalculture at the heart of Africa.
00:16In a few moments we will talk about cinema, especially with this hit, this film, Coup de Poing,
00:22based on the story of Suleiman. We will also talk about cinema another time when we go out.
00:27Agenda with this focus on Ivorian cinema, which is taking place right now in Paris.
00:32But first of all, let's welcome our guest of the day.
00:40And today we have the immense pleasure of welcoming the actress Sonia Okacha.
00:47She is with us. Hello Sonia.
00:51Hello.
00:53Thank you for being with us on Mediain TV for Africa in Culture.
00:58And today we welcome you to talk about this event.
01:03We are at its 6th edition, the International Festival of Improvisation until April 5th.
01:11Many countries will be present.
01:17Also a novelty that we will talk about in a few moments.
01:20But first of all, it is true that improvisation is a very specific genre.
01:25And for a long time, the National Improvisation Troop has been working to make this genre known to the public.
01:34How does it go on a daily basis with the Moroccan public?
01:42Well, as you said, improvisation is a very specific genre.
01:48It differs from theatre and cinema, but it is still complementary.
01:53And the advantage is that with the public, we have a real interaction.
01:57The public usually chooses the themes, the scripts.
02:01Sometimes, when it comes to matches, they vote for the teams they were chosen for.
02:09And so there is something like that, where we are really close to the public.
02:13It's theatre, but live, on the spot, without preparation.
02:20And that's what's most impressive.
02:23It's a bit like throwing yourself into the arena, if I dare say so.
02:28And so for this 6th edition, can you tell us a little about the program, Sonia?
02:34What is waiting for the Moroccan public in Rabaye, Casablanca?
02:39Exactly. So there are three days of festivals.
02:43As you said, this is the 6th edition.
02:46And since its creation, it has become an essential meeting every year.
02:53We welcome teams, each time prestigious.
02:57This year, there will be four countries represented.
03:00France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Morocco, of course, with the team.
03:05And during these three days, we will be in Casablanca and Rabaye.
03:10Tomorrow, so it starts tomorrow.
03:12Opening tomorrow at the Cultural Complex of Anfar.
03:15Then, with two shows organized, two matches, in fact,
03:20where the teams will face each other, in quotes.
03:23The second evening will be in Rabaye, at the French Institute of Rabaye.
03:28And the last evening at the Café de Casablanca.
03:31Where each time, the idea is to promote this discipline
03:35and to show all the palette it offers.
03:37And so there will be matches, but there will also be cabarets,
03:40totally improvised theatrical pieces, so long formats.
03:44And as you said, we have small surprises in reserve this year,
03:49with stand-up that will be put to the test.
03:52Exactly. And it's true that stand-up,
03:55we know that we have a lot of talent,
03:59whether in the Maghreb or in Africa.
04:02It's a genre that comes from the United States mainly,
04:06and that has democratized little by little.
04:10And here in Morocco, you who are on the field, Sonia,
04:15do we have the same vision of stand-up?
04:19Or are we more in a one-man show?
04:23Because it's true that Moroccans have a particular sense of humor.
04:27Our life is a bit humorous somewhere.
04:31It's a bit of a second nature.
04:33Do we have the same link as Westerners?
04:38I think that stand-up has a growing momentum in the world.
04:43That is, as you said, it came from the United States.
04:46But it's true that now there are a lot of stand-up artists
04:49who are developing a bit everywhere,
04:51especially in France and Morocco too.
04:54It's a genre that is in full swing.
04:57I think the difference is that the public,
05:00as you said, the public is particularly sensitive.
05:03We have this culture of stand-up, of jokes.
05:08We have amusers in the squares of the Medina.
05:14So I think that historically speaking,
05:16we have a greater sensitivity to stand-up,
05:20to the people who put themselves on stage.
05:22And now we're going to have two quality stand-up artists
05:26who are part of the Mad Comedy Club.
05:28So it's also another way of promoting our art.
05:35Improvisation, but not just that.
05:37Another genre, stand-up, humor.
05:40And Sonia, to come back to stand-up,
05:46what is the difference with,
05:49so that people who are not necessarily familiar with this genre,
05:53what is the difference between pure improvisation and stand-up
05:57or even a one-man show?
05:59That is, it is a rather hybrid genre
06:02and that we sometimes have trouble labeling.
06:06Improvisation is really theater,
06:10but without text, without scenery, without costumes.
06:13And from a given theme,
06:15from a genre that can be imposed,
06:17for example, in the way of Shakespeare,
06:20or sing or rhyme,
06:22we create a scene,
06:26a more or less long situation,
06:28depending on the formats, etc.
06:30Stand-up is still a different genre
06:33because there it is written.
06:35We are not in improvisation.
06:36There may be a part of improvisation in stand-up,
06:39when we interact with the audience,
06:41when we play with him,
06:43but these are written sketches.
06:47The one-man show is still different
06:50because there it is a single scene,
06:52so in general it is quite long,
06:54where we are on interpretations of people.
06:57A stand-upper will talk about his daily life,
07:00he will talk to the first person
07:02and will state funny situations,
07:07which have a comic side.
07:11In the one-man show,
07:12we are on performance,
07:15where we will play different actors.
07:17I think that everyone has in mind,
07:19for example, the show of Gad Elmaleh,
07:21his first show,
07:23where he plays different characters,
07:25Baba Yair,
07:26the teacher of the Florentine Courts,
07:28Madame Taisy.
07:31In the one-man show,
07:33we play different characters,
07:35with a conductor who plays the show.
07:40For you, Sonia,
07:42you are an actress in the cinema,
07:46you are also an actress in the theatre.
07:49You improvise with all this experience.
07:55What is the most difficult genre for you?
07:58What is the most difficult,
08:00the most complex to explore as an actress?
08:06I want to say,
08:08these are totally different disciplines,
08:12but complementary.
08:14And it is true that,
08:15from my training,
08:16which is a theatrical training,
08:18and then I came to the cinema,
08:20so there is something like that,
08:22where theatre and cinema
08:25is a genre that I know,
08:27that I knew.
08:28When I discovered improv,
08:29there was this somewhat challenging dimension,
08:32in the sense that there is no text.
08:34I am someone who tends
08:36to prepare a lot in advance,
08:37to prepare my roles,
08:38and there it is true
08:39that you can't prepare anything.
08:42So there was a challenging side
08:45in this discipline.
08:47Now it's different,
08:49it's really very different,
08:51and I can't...
08:55In a play, for example,
08:57you are not allowed to make a mistake.
08:58If you forget your text,
08:59it's a disaster.
09:00In improv, you can always catch up,
09:03because you are never alone,
09:04you always have a team with you,
09:07and that's the principle of improvisation.
09:09Everything is valid
09:11as long as it is validated by others,
09:13or it can be caught up by others.
09:15In theatre,
09:17and in cinema,
09:18we have several takes,
09:19so it's still different,
09:21but for example,
09:22in theatre, you are not allowed to make a mistake,
09:24which is a long-term job.
09:26So it's really three different disciplines
09:28that call for different skills.
09:34So for my part,
09:35the discovery of improv
09:36made me discover it afterwards,
09:38and so it's true that there was
09:39a challenging side like that.
09:42Now it's not necessarily
09:45the most difficult discipline,
09:47in the sense that everyone can improvise,
09:49everyone can be good,
09:51and it doesn't matter.
09:52Everything is OK in improv.
09:54Everything is OK,
09:55and with this 6th edition
09:58of the International Festival of Improvisation
10:01in Rabat and Casablanca
10:03until April 5th.
10:04Thank you very much, Sonia,
10:06for being with us.
10:07It was a pleasure.
10:09It's me.
10:10Thank you for your invitation,
10:11and we are looking forward to seeing you.
10:14The appointment is made.
10:15Thank you very much.
10:16See you soon.
10:23After talking about improvisation,
10:25theatre again,
10:26let's talk about literature
10:28with one of the greatest names
10:29in African literature,
10:31the Haitian René Dépestre,
10:33who made appear in 1953
10:34one of his first collections of poems
10:37entitled Vegetation de Clarté.
10:39So close to the Negritude movement,
10:41he had managed to convince
10:43especially Aimé Césaire
10:44to preface his publication.
10:48René Dépestre, I think,
10:49wrote the titular figure of Negritude
10:52as a governor of La Rosée.
10:55He is the poet of freshness,
10:57of the sap that rises,
10:58of life that flourishes,
10:59of the river of hope
11:00that irrigates the land of the present
11:02and the work of men.
11:04More than 70 years have passed
11:06for many years
11:07and have seen the Haitian
11:09impose himself as one of the most important
11:11poets in the French-speaking world.
11:14Let's watch.
11:16I would have liked to be present
11:18by your side in Montpellier.
11:20Unfortunately, given my old age,
11:23since I have just turned 90,
11:26I cannot move.
11:28I no longer leave the unions,
11:30but I know that I will be very well replaced
11:34by friends like Mackenzie Orsell
11:38or like James Noel,
11:40two young Haitian writers.
11:42I am very happy to be represented
11:44by young Haitian writers
11:46because since the end of the 1920s,
11:49we have been forming a fabric of creation,
11:52a literary fabric,
11:54without discontinuity.
11:56There was the generation of 1928
11:59with Paris Marx,
12:01with Jacques Roumain,
12:03with Jean Brière,
12:04with Carl Boix,
12:06with Clément Magloire.
12:07These are our elders,
12:10in the 20th century,
12:11who were authors,
12:13all very original.
12:15And Jacques Roumain,
12:17singularly,
12:18is the author of a masterpiece
12:20called Le Gouverneur de la Rosée,
12:22which is one of the best books
12:24written in the French-speaking world.
12:26And then my generation arrived.
12:29We followed these elders.
12:31We were also,
12:33Jacques-Stéphane Alexis and me in particular,
12:36men of action.
12:38Like Jacques Roumain,
12:40he was like Paris Marx.
12:42So we were,
12:44we had,
12:46like your sisters,
12:47men of action.
12:49The anthology Journal of a Marine Animal
12:51by René Dépès,
12:52which has just been published
12:54by Gallimard,
12:55prefaced by the young Haitian poet
12:57Jean d'Améry,
12:58who traces through a choice of poems
13:00the path of this singular poet
13:02who led him from the native island
13:04to the world,
13:05in particular to Havana,
13:06then to France,
13:07where Dépès settled
13:09in the 1970s,
13:10fleeing the dictatorship in his country
13:12at the age of 97,
13:13the author of an immense work
13:14shared between poets.
13:16My new essay,
13:17René Dépès would undoubtedly be
13:19Haiti's best-known poet,
13:21perhaps also the most admired.
13:23As evidenced by the very beautiful preface
13:25signed by Jean d'Améry,
13:27a young poet who was exiled in France.
13:30The latter begins his preface
13:32by recalling the circumstances
13:34of his discovery of the Dépès work
13:36when I turn my head
13:37and look into the dark sky
13:39of my adolescence.
13:41I see the dark silhouette
13:42of a singular star.
13:43I find the first incandescent glow
13:46of a star,
13:47René Dépès,
13:48my professor of light.
13:50This is what the preface adds.
14:02To speak of interior landscapes,
14:06I must go back to my childhood,
14:09because my father had a particular idea.
14:14He said that,
14:16apart from the parents we had around us,
14:19there were other relatives in life.
14:22And among these relatives,
14:24he counted the landscapes.
14:26And once a week,
14:29on Saturdays,
14:31he would take my sisters and me
14:34to watch the sunrise
14:37over the Gulf of Jacmel.
14:39He said that,
14:40in the evenings,
14:42we had at our disposal
14:44the films of Charlot,
14:45which were the films of our childhood.
14:48And then,
14:49there was the cinema of the early morning.
14:52The sun formed,
14:54in the landscape of the Gulf,
14:56a real cinema of the early morning.
14:59It took us there
15:00and we were absolutely amazed.
15:03The notion of amazement came to me
15:06at that moment.
15:08He said that,
15:10we were not only human beings,
15:13but we were also animals,
15:17plants, minerals.
15:20Perhaps this is where my feeling of life,
15:24my feeling of poetry, came from.
15:27Journal d'un animal marin,
15:29the title of this new collection of Dépès' poetry,
15:32the title, by the way,
15:33of a previous volume of poetry
15:36that the author had read in 1964
15:38at the Seyher's edition,
15:39the theme of the marine animal.
15:41It is therefore clear from the reading of the American
15:43Carl Sandburg,
15:44whose quote is in the exercise of the volume
15:47that has just appeared.
15:48Poetry is the journal of a marine animal
15:51that would like to fly.
15:52In other words,
15:53poetry surpasses our terrestrial condition.
15:55It is a bit like the teaching of Dépès' poetry
15:58to the journal of a marine animal.
16:00A choice of poems by René Dépès
16:02that has just appeared at the Gallimard editions.
16:05And through the evocation of the great themes
16:07addressed by the poet in his collections,
16:09the anthology simply traces
16:11the evolution of his thought
16:13and of his literary aesthetic.
16:16I think that Francophony
16:19will play a decisive role
16:22in the rapprochement of outsiders.
16:25Because at the moment,
16:27what the world needs,
16:30if we consider globalization,
16:33globalization is frightening
16:35because many people have the impression
16:38that it is only a financial adventure,
16:41a technological adventure,
16:43a digital revolution
16:45to which a Christian would call
16:50an additional weapon.
16:52There is no additional weapon in globalization.
16:55There is no culture.
16:56There is no proper culture
16:58that is adapted.
17:00Because when there was the bourgeois revolution,
17:03the first industrial revolutions,
17:05they were accompanied
17:07by great intellectual revolutions.
17:09We have to bring viatics,
17:11new ideas
17:13to equip this globalist movement,
17:17globalization,
17:19with its own imagination.
17:22What many young people
17:24do not understand,
17:26neither in France nor in Europe in general,
17:29is that the identity
17:31linked to the notion of being a nation
17:34is no longer enough.
17:42And right now we are talking about cinema
17:44in Africa, in culture,
17:46with the story of Suleiman,
17:48directed by Boris Lutschkin.
17:50The story of Suleiman is one of the great winners
17:52of César with 4 or 5 stars.
17:54This social film
17:56is directed by an actor
17:58who was forced to leave
18:00the French territory.
18:02He was plebiscited by the members of the Academy
18:04for Best Screenplay, Best Male Revelation,
18:06Best Second Role for Nina Meurisse,
18:10Best Editing,
18:12The Story of Suleiman
18:14and the 4th feature film by Boris Lutschkin.
18:16The film is directed by a Guinean
18:18who delivers bicycle meals
18:20in the streets of Paris all day long.
18:22He pedals, he runs right and left all day long.
18:24He is neglected or worse,
18:26despised by clients or restaurateurs
18:28who are in too much of a hurry.
18:30Suleiman will soon have to go through
18:32his interview to obtain an asylum application.
18:34So he unashamedly repeats
18:36the false story he is going to deliver
18:38to get the precious sesame.
18:40Let's watch an excerpt from the ad.
18:42Mr. Sangari,
18:44I am here to listen to you.
18:46What is your story to you?
18:50I gave you the account to work.
18:52We have to work, we have to work.
18:54We didn't come to Europe to play.
18:56Turn around.
18:58You are not Emmanuel.
19:00Indeed.
19:02Suleiman,
19:04I need money.
19:06I will pay you at 1pm.
19:08It's for me.
19:10Courage.
19:14Do you want a hand?
19:16Suleiman,
19:18Suleiman,
19:20it's not the 22nd of February,
19:22it's the 19th of February.
19:24Give me two days.
19:26I will tell you the story.
19:32There is a problem with your account.
19:36My friend,
19:38my friend,
19:40I need your account.
19:44Are you okay?
19:46115 Paris, hello.
19:48Can you give me a seat, please?
19:52Don't stress,
19:54stay optimistic.
19:56Please don't push me.
19:58You can push me if you give me the order.
20:00You don't have the right to hit me.
20:02Are you afraid for the interview?
20:04How do you want me to come?
20:06I want my money.
20:08You don't have to be afraid.
20:10You know what you've been through.
20:12And if they arrest me,
20:14can I go to jail?
20:16No, you're not going to jail.
20:18Everything will be fine.
20:20The story of Suleiman is,
20:22first of all,
20:24the story of the actor
20:26Adabou Sangaré,
20:28his main actor,
20:30this 23-year-old Guinean,
20:32is a mechanic,
20:34not a food delivery man.
20:36But when Boris Loggin spotted him
20:38during a wild casting,
20:40he had to leave his home country
20:42to earn money elsewhere
20:44and send his mother
20:46the money needed to heal.
20:48When the feature film is shown
20:50at the Cannes Film Festival,
20:52Adabou Sangaré's profile
20:54is loved by the press and La Croisette.
20:56And as Suleiman Sangaré has no papers,
20:58the Guinean is even forced
21:00to leave French territory
21:02after several refusals of regularization.
21:04The power of his interpretation
21:06upsets the jury of the section
21:08with a certain look
21:10that brings down the price
21:12of the best actor.
21:14The nervous production
21:16also catches the eye
21:18of journalists and festivalgoers.
21:20Critics are unanimous.
21:22The story of Suleiman
21:24is a strong and unique film.
21:26The story of Suleiman
21:28is then that of a low-budget
21:30social film,
21:32signed by a little-known director
21:34who has an unexpected success
21:36profitable in theaters in 2024.
21:38By the way, on January 8,
21:40Adabou Sangaré finally obtained
21:42a one-year stay title.
21:44The members of the César Academy
21:46wished to carry a political message
21:48in a period when debates
21:50on immigration crystallize tensions.
21:52In March, the mechanic Poilourt
21:54obtains the César Prize for Best Actor.
21:56In the aftermath, it is regularized
21:58or when reality
22:00exceeds fiction.
22:06And before we leave,
22:08place for the 4th edition
22:10of the African Cinema Days
22:12which lasts until April 6.
22:14Next time, an edition
22:16to be sure not to miss.
22:18It takes place in Paris
22:20and honors the Ivory Coast
22:22through films, debates
22:24and a Mayweather concert
22:26and the Zogang,
22:28a festival co-organized
22:30by the Cinemathèque Afrique
22:32of the French Institute
22:34which has been restored
22:36as a dustbin of Henri Duparc
22:38and works of young directors.
22:40The festival will also be
22:42a space for reflection
22:44with conferences on the transmission
22:46of cinematographic heritage
22:48and on the place of the Ivory Coast
22:50in the landscape of contemporary
22:52African cinema.
23:04Thank you for watching this video.
23:06If you liked it,
23:08don't forget to like it
23:10and subscribe to our channel.
23:12See you soon!
23:35She falls on the ground,
23:37you step on her.
23:48We are coming to the end
23:50of the African Culture.
23:52Thank you again for being with us.
23:54See you next week.
23:56Until then, take care!
24:04Transcription by ESO. Translation by —