Africa in Motion Double Bill: Documentary Competition

Red Ochre - The Last Guards of the Holy Fire
Dir. Tim Drabandt, Fanon Kabwe | Nambia/Germany 2016 | 31m | Herero with English subtitles | 15

Red Ochre - The Last Guards of the Holy Fire looks at the rapid dying of a centuries old indigenous culture of the Himba tribe in Northern Namibia. Since the 16th century the nomadic people have populated the region around the river Kunene in Northwest Namibia. It a constant struggle for the Himba to keep their traditional way of life in the face of climate change, governmental development projects and the pursuit of westernisation by the younger generations. At the holy fire the tribal elder and chief Hivazako Hembinda tells of the spiritual wealth of a culture that will soon disappear.

Aji-Bi
UK Premiere
Dir. Raja Saddiki | Morocco 2015 | 1h6m | Wolof/French with English subtitles | Documentary | 15

20-year-old Marème gives an intimate view of what it’s like to work as a hairdresser and beautician on the streets of Casablanca. She is one of many Senegalese women battling to survive in a contrastingly exuberant and xenophobic society, torn between staying in Morocco, and going to Europe to support families back home. Filmmaker Raja Saddiki was inspired by her questions about how Senegalese women working in North African souks were treated. Her clean-cut framing and discreet composition provides an inquisitive exploration of the problems of race and gender between different African cultures. Aji-Bi adds an interesting contribution to the overall programme as it opens a discussion about issues of race within Africa, from a female point of view.

This screening is part of our newly inaugurated Documentary Competition which aims to encourage and support young and talented African filmmakers. The winner is selected by our jury of acclaimed film practitioners and academics and will be announced after the screenings on the second day. The audience will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite film with the Audience Award winner announced on our website at the end of the festival.

Our thanks go to the Scottish Documentary Institute for sponsoring this award.

Africa in Motion Documentary Competition TICKET DEAL: Buy tickets to any two of the documentary competition screenings and get a third one free!