Festival Scope presents itself as a platform for ‘film lovers who want to tour the world in search of the best films at the best film festivals‘. For years it has been one of the platforms I regularly use to gain access to quality film. They offer, for short periods, a limited number of festival films for free. One can register for free and be informed by email every time a new batch of movies has arrived.

At the time of writing the platform offers a selection of African films under the title ”Meet the Neighbors of the Neighbors 2020”. Usually it is difficult to get to see African film apart from the film festival circuit. The ones I chose to see from the offered selection were two classic films Muna Moto (1975) from the director Jean-Pierre Dikongue-Pipa from Cameroon and the 1990 film Tilaï (The Law) by Idrissa Ouedraogo from Burkina-Faso. And two newer ones As I Open My Eyes (2015) of Leyla Bouzid from Tunesia and the short film A Tropical Sunday (2015) from Mozambique director Fabian Ribezzo. I felt privileged to get acquainted with stories from a continent that is close and yet culturally so far. Privileged to meet the humanity of people, their thirst for love, freedom and hope, in settings and traditions that are so different from ours.

• Muna Moto is a key work in African cinema. Beautifully filmed in black-and-white, it carries the story of two young lovers, Ngando and Ndomé. Ngando is a poor orphan who cannot pay the dowry that Ndomé’s father demands. Ngando’s uncle offers to pay the dowry, but wants to make Ndomé into his own fourth wife. A story of love hindered by sexism, greed and traditionalism.
• Tilaï is a master work, that has been hard to find. It is a film from Burkina Faso, set in its pre-colonial past, in a for us very unique landscape. A man returns to his village and family after an extended absence to find out that his father has taken his promised bride as a second wife. Their love is still strong and the tensions within the family escalate, as it brings dishonor to the family.  The patriarchal system brings misery and death to this family. Very moving story!
• As I Open My Eyes by Leyla Bouzid is a story from modern times Africa. It is about an 18-year old girl who sings in a rockband, singing songs with a political slant against the system. Her mother sees her music friends and their environment as a threat to her future prospects. She wants her to go to medical school to become a doctor. The setting is Tunis 2010, a few months before the Arab Spring Revolution, helping us to grasp the choices and their implications young people in that region were confronted with.
• A Tropical Sunday is a short film about four street kids hanging out at the fun fair in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. 

Take your chance! You will not regret it!

Rinus, May 2020

*image posted for non commercial purposes under fair use 
of copyright material in recommendation of the film

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