Locarno Open Doors

Films from Africa continue to be underrepresented at many film festivals. However, the Open Doors series at the Locarno Film Festival regularly turns a spotlight on this continent, helping to support projects and emerging talent there. FOFS presents the five films that were screened there this year for the first time in Germany.

Time to Change – Director: Pocas Pascoal · Angola, Portugal · 6 min · no dialogue (OF)

Ethereal and ominous sounds accompany black-and-white photographs of former colonial rulers in imperious poses, highlighting the scale of the destruction they wrought.

sKINs_Addis Abeba – Director: Rediet Haddis Yalew · Ethiopia · 17 min · Amharic, English (OmeU)

Four chronological episodes explore the complex history of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. A voice-over relates the lives of people today to the city’s history. An associative journey through time using modern video footage.

Goat – Director: Judy Kibinge · Kenya · 28 min · English, Swahili, Kikuyu (OmeU)

Two city-dwellers, Benja and Suki, make their way to the countryside to buy a goat and have it slaughtered for their upcoming wedding. Once there, Suki is magically drawn to an old mũgumo tree. The longer they stay, the more it dawns on them that the farm holds terrible secrets.

Submergido – Director: Ariel Añez · Mozambique · 14 min · Portuguese (OmeU)

Mozambique, 2019: A soldier named Amarildo disappears when unrest breaks out in the north of the country. His brother delivers the sad news to his family, along with Amarildo’s diary, which is filled with reflections on violence and war. Amarildo’s son sees his father in his dreams and seems to share a strange connection with him.

Concrete Moves – Director: Fagamou Fama Ndiaye · Senegal · 12 min · Wolof, French (OmeU)

The director’s childhood memories no longer match the reality of the city of Dakar. Historic buildings are giving way to concrete high-rises. Through dance, she expresses her bewilderment at this.