In pursuit of celebrating Africa’s rich cinematic heritage and shaping its bold future on the screen, the 4th edition of the Bantu Film Festival officially opened this Tuesday at New Capitol Cinema Masa, marking the beginning of a long celebration of African cinema.
Filmmakers, actors, and emerging and thriving creatives gathered, honouring the theme with their African attire, which showed the diversity of African film. Guests enjoyed live performances from local creatives such as Baratani Ladies from Sikwane, and Poeticblood, who gave a performance depicting her roots as a Motswana. Speaking during the opening ceremony, Bantu Film Festival director Lesedi Mphotwe, gave an insight into the event and how far they have come towards the improvement of the film industry in Botswana. Mphotwe expressed excitement and gratitude for the growing recognition of African filmmakers. “We screened 10 films when we first started and have now received 253 films from 39 countries, and this is a huge milestone for us as it shows how far we have come. Bantu Film Festival, therefore, has awarded 24 awards since the inception of the festival.’’
Lesedi further highlighted the mandate of the event, which is to strengthen the continent’s film ecosystem through empowering local talent, fostering collaborations, and creating employment either through acting or being part of the technical team behind the films. The opening night featured the premiere of Children of Diaspora, a film from France directed by Sabrina Onana, which depicts identity, migration, and heritage. A short film from Baratani (Hill of Lovers) also played as one of the screenings during the opening ceremony. Minister of Sports & Arts, Jacob Kelebeng, urged creatives to use the platform to challenge prevailing narratives in the film industry. Kelebeng said this is a strategic plan for economic diversification.
The minister acknowledged the problems facing the film industry, such as restricted access to funding, network constraints that need to be tackled soon. “The ministry has therefore taken upon itself to offer a legislative reform towards solving these problems and will table a cinematography bill," he said. The Bantu Film Festival will continue throughout the week with film screenings and panel discussions featuring experts in the film industry from across Africa.
