16. The Africa film festival shows in Cologne, movies devoted to the African continent. Amil Shivji, the patron, talking about the limits in your head and the strength of each Individual.
Amil Shivji is a Salaam, a Tanzanian filmmaker and lecturer at the University in Dar es. In 2014 he presented for the first Time, his short films “Shoeshine” and “Samaki Mchangani” (land of fish) at the African film festival in Cologne, Germany. Since then, he is guest at many international film festivals. This year, he opened as a patron of the Africa film festival in Cologne with his new Film, “T-Junction”.
Deutsche Welle: the focus of The 16. Africa film festival is the internal migration in Africa. Her Film “T-Junction” is a story about two Tanzanian girls, who meet in a hospital. It is not a classic migration story. How to fit your Film in the program of this year’s festival?
Amil Shivij: the Film is about The stories of two girls, who come from two different strata of society and of the division of our society system. The Film shows that, despite the differences, many similarities. And it also shows that solidarity between the communities is possible. I believe that my Film is related to Migration, as Migration not only refers to the Crossing of a state border. We also have within our societies boundaries.
You are the patron of this year’s Africa film festival in Cologne, Germany. What image of Africa to show the movies? There are also themes that speak to hopeful and positive about this continent?
This is exactly why I love the African film festival in Cologne, because the goal is to draw Africa is not one-dimensional but a multi-faceted image of the continent. And this is very important. There are many beautiful short films that show the reality in all its facets. Every city, every village, every road in the world has its problems, but there is always hope, there is always a resistance of the people against these problems. The reason why we exist is that we are resilient. We are not fighting, we give up. We are drawn by wars, Hunger and natural disasters, but we do not give up. We are not a one-dimensional society. There are movies that show exactly that – and not only breaking stereotypes, but also joy and hope, when we see you.
80 new films, 30 international guests: The African film festival in Cologne in 2018
The theme of Migration, which is also the focus of the film festival, is omnipresent in the media and political discourse in Germany and Europe. But mostly it’s about the Migration to Europe. Half of all refugees are living almost on top of the world in Africa. How is talking about Migration in Africa, the political discourse look like?
If we talk in Africa on the topic of internal migration, it sounds to me a bit ironic and contradictory. In the 1960s, a strong idea of Pan-Africanism existed, not only as a cultural identity but also as a political and economic System. In the context of Pan-Africanism, one would speak not of refugees but of travellers. The borders would not stop us. Instead, you must listen to now, the refugees from Burundi who fled to Tanzania, that they should return to their country. Why is this so? Why do you, if you are in Need, and we are able to support you?
When it comes to the discussion of nationalism, happen in Africa, similar processes, such as here in Europe. Actually, nationalism was a very important ideology for us in Africa in the ’50s and’ 60s, including one mind but the feeling of independence. Quite different than in Europe. But now, our leaders use the same language at the time, but times have changed, our history is now. When we speak today of nationalism, he in xenophobia. This is very scary and narrow-minded. We need to change the language and not about nationalism, but about Pan-Africanism speak.
If you Pan-Africanism is the solution, what countries need to do, what connects them?
One of the things that unites us is that we are fighting the same devil. If I show the movie “T-Junction” in Africa – from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Egypt, to Burkina Faso: The reason why he is so well received is that people understand this is a fight of the different work shifts. You understand it is easy. You all know the woman on the roadside, the food sold or the newspaper seller. You are there in every society, and they face a daily struggle to Survive. I wanted to tell a story that everybody knows. If I show such stories, forget the people, the language barriers, xenophobia. So that we can identify all of us. It has the same problems. And even if it is not a solution for all the problems are to complex, and each country has its specifics, so we can learn from each other and support us.
The conversation was led by Rayna Breuer