This past week*** when I wrote this... now it was like three weeks ago...*** I went to Burkina Faso, the country directly north of Ghana, to attend FESPACO: Africa’s largest film festival (and one of the largest in the world.) The trip was an optional trip for my film class, so seven NYU students came, as well as one girl from Colorado who is studying abroad at the University of Ghana.
Last Friday we left for our 20 hour drive at 4:00 in the morning (I stayed up all night so I could sleep on the bus.) Eventually we ran into difficulties driving the bus, but we had an amazing time seeing what the rest of Ghana looked like— there are elephants in the north, so we kept our eyes peeled (“elephant watch”). We didn’t see any, but the climate and terrain in the north is incredibly different, they call it the bush (Accra, where we live, is right on the ocean and very tropical.)
The villages alongside the road were few and far between, but the ones that we did see were extremely welcoming. I finally saw some mud huts (again, I want to dispel the notion that all of Africa dwells in huts sans electricity and connection to the modern world, but there are places where people do live in huts… promise not to generalize this to all of Africa!) At one point, some of us girls were looking for a restroom and asked a local woman where we could find them. She took us on a hike through the village and the surrounding forest, and eventually stopped and said “pick any tree you want here.”
We spent the night in Tamale, northern Ghana, because it is dangerous to drive too late into the night (there aren’t street lamps away from the cities, and some of the roads are pretty bad). The next day we were eager to get into Burkina Faso and FESPACO!
As soon as we crossed the border, which went remarkably smoothly, everything changed completely. Ghana is an Anglophone country completely surrounded by Francophone countries, so the first change was the French. I was the only person on the trip who spoke French, so Kingsley (our film TA who was in charge of the trip) had me translate. I was super nervous about it but overall I was happy for the experience— Burkinabe people were eager to help me communicate and learn, and no one was critical of my mistakes.
Another evident change was the climate- it is a much hotter and dryer country, and there was dust everywhere. We also saw tons and tons of motorcycles, which is the primary means of transportation in Burkina Faso (they were outlawed in Ghana for a while to prevent theft, so we don’t see a lot around here). Even mothers with babies will drive motorcycles, which was shocking at first.
Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, was only a couple of hours from the border. We went straight to the FESPACO grounds (which took some time to find…) to see whether the commencement ceremony was still going on. It was over but we found some delicious steak sandwiches, baguettes, and French fries, so no problems.
During the days at the festival, we attended a professional panel that included some of the most influential film makers in Africa. It was quite the honor to hear their dialogue on African cinema. I learned a lot, and there were two film makers in particular who peaked my interest, women who made a film called “The Witches of Gambaga” about women in Northern Ghana who are accused of witchcraft and therefore condemned to a life of isolation. Two of my professors were on the panel (I had no idea that they were such a big deal! I was honestly a bit star struck…) so I had the opportunity to speak with these directors in person. They gave me some great advice about my own documentary, and inspired me to use the arts as a means to promote social justice.
The afternoons and evenings, of course, were reserved for seeing films. There were many to choose from, of all sorts of nationalities. Many were in French or in indigenous languages with French subtitles, but I wanted to see as many nationalities as possible regardless of language. We worked our way through the city to get to the right theatres (trickier than it sounds) and ultimately I saw nine films.
My favorite three (note: I understood French movies, but not as well as English movies. This most definitely impacted my viewing experience.)
High Chicago- Canada
A drama about an African American man who dreams to open a drive-in theatre in Africa. There is a lot of social commentary about what it is to be African- the main character identifies with his African heritage but many other black characters do not.
Bullets Over Brownsville- US (the only American film in the festival, I believe)
A docu-drama about the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brownsville and all of the violence that occurs there. Very heightened style, but I felt it conveyed the message well.
The Witches of Gambaga- Ghana
A documentary that I have already described, very compelling about women’s place in Ghanaian society.
I also heartily enjoyed a series of seven short films (counted as one in my ‘movies viewed’ count) of a variety of nationalities- Mozambique, South Africa, Lebanon… The general theme was ‘children.’ One was about abuse, one was an interpretation of a traditional folk-tale… good stuff.
As I briefly mentioned already, the food in Burkina Faso is out of this world. Definitely influenced by the French culture, the bread and the beef were fabulous. It was a refreshing change- I like Ghanaian food, but I liked Burkinabe food more.
The trip was also a great opportunity for us NYU students to bond. The trip wasn’t without it’s challenges, and the seven of us were able to get to know and love each other a lot in the process. I have come to realize how much the people you travel with shape your experience…
Eventually, we made our way home. We stayed in Bolga Tanga for one night after crossing the border, and then arrived safely in Accra uneventfully.
Because I procrastinated on writing about this trip (right after I got back I had midterms, then spring break), there are some details I am simply too lazy to include. Highlights of my time in Accra since then:
1.) Meeting the Vice President of Ghana and attending a reading of his autobiography.
2.) Meeting a Ghanaian Chief.
3.) Having children at City of Refuge fight over who gets to sit in my lap.
4.) Seeing the progress of the new school that City of Refuge is building.
And, probably the most exciting event to transpire,
5.) Taking part in a feed at City of Refuge: we took 1200 meals to a rural village and gave them to children in need (they partner with a church in the village.) These people clearly care for the children of Ghana in all capacities. It was challenging and exhausting, and I learned a ton.
More to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment