Banel & Adama
“A new generation of film makers, strong-willed and with a superb mastery of technics is born. A relief troop.”
– Sembène Ousmane in ‘Cinema as evening school’, his preface in L’Afrique et le Centenaire du Cinema/Africa and the Centenary of Cinema.

Banel & Adama is a stereotype-free, stroll-paced unfolding of a love story disrupted by expectations. Its scenery centres around the steadiness of traditions and the rush of tragedies accelerated by capitalism. Or, more specifically: gender norms and the climate crisis. As an heir to Djibril Diop Mambèty’s infamous remixing of cinema’s grammar, director Ramata-Toulaye Sy masterfully takes us from a honey-sweet lovin’ to a magic-realist sobering.

Khady Mane, who plays Banel, is captivating in her portrayal of a new bride who’s trying her best to preserve a dream that’s close to being reality-checked to a halt. Mamadou Diallo is ever so gracious in his portrayal of Adama, a young husband figuring out how to not just carry but properly balance the inherited into its future.

Since attending its première at this year’s edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s masterpiece has been on my mind. With its gorgeous cinematography plus its perfectly scored moments of quiet and consideration, Banel & Adama gives us the Tonimorrison-esque narration that matches our imagination. Truly, a relief.   

HipHopHuis + Gember &… Rooibos – episode 1 of 7.
On Saturday March 9 (15.00h-17.00h), Adrian Van Wyk and I will join the Rotterdam fam for a conversation about the short documentary What the Soil Remembers. We’ll do so as part of the first HipHopHuis-based edition of the GembertheeSessies (Ginger tea sessions), co-hosted by HipHopHuis and Bijlmer Parktheater. HipHopHuis has been a home for a good 20 years. Their interest in co-hosting a GembertheeSessies is an absolute honour. Tickets for this gathering can be bought via this link.

After this event, Van Wyk and I will move our conversation back to my sofa and dinner table. From there, we’ll edit chunks of it into episode one of a 7-part podcast series: Gember &… . Episode 1 -Gember & Rooibos- will centre around the following:
– The Kitchen (film)
– Banel & Adama (film)
– The Mother of All Lies (film)
– Rye Lane (film)
– Cécile McLorin Salvant’s concert in Brussel
– The concert of the Asher Gamedze Quartet in Rotterdam

IFFR
Being part of the IFFR press crew this year was great. I was honoured and overjoyed to be part of a festival that’s so dear to me. Special mention to Lyse Ishimwe. (blows dancehall airhorn)

Picture 1: Still from Banel & Adama.
Picture 2: Still from the videoclip for Asher Gamedze‘s Wynter Time