Machérie Ekwa Bahango (born 1993) is a filmmaker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] Her first feature film Maki’la premiered at the Berlinale 2018.[2] Her movie Sema advocated for women's rights and thematised the issue of sexual violence.[3] It won an award as "Best International Film" at the DC Independent Film Festival 2020 in Washington.[4]
Machérie Ekwa Bahango | |
|---|---|
 Machérie Ekwa Bahango at the Carthage Film Festival | |
| Born | 1993 |
| Alma mater | Protestant University |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 2014-present |
Life
editMachérie Ekwa Bahango was born in Kisangani. After school she went to university and received a degree in law at the Protestant University in the Congo.[5] As a student she participated in workshops for screenplay and film production.[6][7]
Career
editIn 2014 Congolese film production company Labson Bizizi Ciné-Kongo hired Machérie Ekwa Bahango as a production manager and as an interviewer.
In 2016 she was a screenwriter for the French language TV series Ndakisa.[8] Produced by the NGO Search for Common Ground, Ndakisa was aired on Congolese national television.[9]
In 2017 she translated for Alain Gomis his script for his 2017 film Félicité into her native language Lingala .[2]
Also in 2017 she was invited to the Cannes Film Festival for a round table under the helm of the OIF and the Institut Français. At the end of 2017 she received invitations from the Berlin International Film Festival for the Berlinale Talents.[10]
Her first feature film Mak’ila as was about an orphan forced to fend for herself on the streets of Kinshasa. It was stalled in post-production for lack of funds until Alain Modot, of the International Distribution of Films and Fiction from Africa (DIFFA), gained backing from Orange Studio in Paris.[2] Mak’ila won her the Golden Screen award at the 2018 Ecrans Noirs film festival.[11]
Her second feature film told the story of a family during the Second Congo War. It was announced under the title Zaïria in 2019.[12][13] Yet due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic all her projects came then to a halt and contacts to some production partners faded away.[14]
In 2020 the 48-minute film Sema was released. It was based on an idea by Denis Mukwege, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018.[15]
In 2022 she was among the 20 shortlisted candidates selected by Netflix and UNESCO to take part in the short film competition ‘African Folktales, Reimagined’.[16][17]
Filmography
edit| Title | Year | Film producer | Writer | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maki'la[18] | 2018 | No | Yes | Yes | Bahango met with street children of Kinshasa and based the script on what they told her about their lives [2] |
| Zaïria[12] | 2019 | No | Yes | Yes | Dedicated to the victims of wars in Africa. Unfinished. |
| Sema (Speak out)[19] | 2020 | No | No | Yes | Bahango directed real survivors of sexual violence who re-enacted their fates as written down by themselves [20] |
| Boyoma[21] | 2022 | No | Yes | Yes | documentary film in development |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Machérie EKWA Director, Screenwriter". Berlinale Talents. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Berlin: Director Bahango Hopes to Inspire Congolese Women to Pick Up Cameras". Variety. February 16, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Sema (Speak Out)". dciff-indie.org. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "DCIFF 2020 Award Winners". DC Independent Film Festival. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "Machérie EKWA BAHANGO DRC". ouicoprod.org. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "MAKI'LA". Carthage Film Festival Homepage. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "Maki'la". arsenal-berlin.de/en. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ "Ndakisa". berlinale-talents.de. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "RESTORING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY FORCES AND CIVILIANS IN THE EASTERN DRC". sfcg.org. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ "43rd Cairo International Film Festival". Cairo International Film Festival. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ Patricia Ngo Ngouem, Qui est Machérie Ekwa Bahango, l'Ecran d'Or 2018?, Ici Cameroun, 23 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Zairia" (PDF). Cinéfondation. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ "Zairia". Berlinale Talents. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ "Africa's artists during COVID". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Berlin: SEMA (Press Kit)" (PDF). mukwegefoundation.org. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ "Netflix, UNESCO reveal African shorts list". contentnigeria.net. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "Top 20 Emerging Filmmakers Shortlisted For Netflix & UNESCO's African Folktales, Reimagined Competition". African Business. February 2, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Mak'ila". africanfilmdatabase.com. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Sema". mukwegefoundation.org. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Congolese rape survivors re-enact trauma in new film". Reuters. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
- ^ "Boyoma". wooozpictures.com. Retrieved March 27, 2022.