Originally published in Sisters of the Screen: Women of Africa on Film Video and Television. Africa World Press, Trenton, NJ, 2000.
Interview held at the 15th FESPACO, February 1997, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Translated from French.
It was interesting how you used storytelling to bring together the issues of democracy, gender, and the economy in the Comoros Islands. Could you talk about your film, Baco, and the themes that you addressed in the film?
Well, it is my first film. I have done short documentaries in Comoros about the problems in the agricultural sector, and about peasants. However, in terms of fiction films, this is my first professional fiction film. I co-directed Baco with a man named Kabire Fidaali.
The story takes place in Comoros and is, in fact, a satire on democracy in the Third World, but the story is presented in the form of a tale. A child recalls what happened in his family. It is a story about his father, who has several wives. Ninety-nine percent of Comorians are Muslims. Baco, which means the elder, the wise man, or the grandfather, is the principal character. He is married to ten women, has fifty children and a hundred or so grandchildren. He is a peasant who lives a relatively comfortable lifestyle because he owns several plantations.
I will note that Comoros is the premier producer in the world of fragrant flowers, and in particular ilang-ilang. Ilang is a flower that goes through a distillation process and its oil serves as a base for all the great perfumes. Baco has several plantations where he cultivates ilang.
He begins to notice that his wives, children, and grandchildren do not agree with him anymore. Because the price of ilang has fallen considerably, they no longer want to plant it. There is a protest in the family, and Baco decides to call democratic-style elections to choose a chief of the clan, who is the person who will manage the domain.
Could you talk about cinema in Comoros? Are there other Comorian films?
Cinema in Comoros starts with this film. There has never been a Comorian film. Before two years ago, there was not even television. Moreover, there is not yet a national television in Comoros. The film was co-produced by Cinéjou Productions, a small French company, and MTC (Musamudu Télé Culture), a small community television company, which was created thanks to the initiative of a few Comorians. So this is truly the first Comorian film.
Therefore, this is a first and an important Comorian contribution to African cinema....
Yes, yes, definitely so.
What are your thoughts about African cinema? What does it represent for you?
African cinema, in my view, is a cinema on its own.... At the present time I have the impression that everybody, even the European audiences, are drowned out by U.S. culture. I even think that this is a pretty critical state because soon we will no longer have our own culture. There is a mass of information that comes from the United States, and everyone is becoming attracted to the same things. While I would differentiate African cinema from this, at the same time, it has difficulty finding a place in the world of cinema.
You stated that it has only been two years since television exists in Comoros. Does that also mean that there are no cinema houses?
Yes there are, but we cannot really talk about cinema because the theaters are closed in Comoros. There are several neighboring regions that came together to buy a videocassette player and monitor, and every night people gather and watch television together. I would say that it is a community television. People come together in families and they all watch it together.
Generally, the programs are broadcast from the TV5 channel, CFI, and there are many Indian films. The Comorians, as all other Africans, are very fond of these films. Otherwise, cinema does not exist, or no longer exists. Cinema houses have since closed because of the lack of means to maintain the theaters. There are a few projectors that no longer work and Comoros has been completely abandoned by everyone. If you look at other African countries that receive a lot of funding from France, Canada, and different other francophone countries, you will see that Comoros has been completely abandoned.
So Baco is the first film. Of course, it will take some time to make people aware that there is a cinema that is coming alive in Comoros. That is why I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak about it.
What are your thoughts on the emergence of African women in African cinema?
Up to the present time, we see a good many filmmakers who are men; it is true that there are not many women in the cinema. Now women are making films in greater numbers, both documentaries and fiction. We are seeing a sensibility in these films that is different from men. It is true that the subjects of the films made by women are more touching, when it concerns the woman directly.
In Africa, the woman has a role that is very different from the Western woman. It is true that there are many problems that concern women. The subject of a film made by women is treated in a way that is particular to women, with a woman's sensibility. I feel that each person who creates something has a sensibility that is superior to someone else's. However, the fact that it comes from a woman means that there is a different perspective than that of a man, vis-à-vis the problems of women. I made the film with Kabire Fidaali, who is a man, and to have worked with a man allowed the subject to be treated from two different angles; it brings a richness as well.
You stated that you see a certain sensibility particular to women. How would you characterize this sensibility?
A woman's sensibility, well, I don't know exactly how to describe it. Perhaps it would be to actually see films made by women, and then sense this perspective. One may perhaps feel that it is more touching when a woman talks about her grandmother, her mother, the conditions of women, of her family; it is another vision. Because it is a real-life experience, you understand.
Would you say that this sensibility is specific to African women?
I think it is universal: you can find this perspective in a film made by a woman in France or other countries. I can sense this sensibility in a subject treated by a woman, but that is a personal observation. I think a woman has a different way of looking. It is complementary. I also find that male filmmakers have done exceptional work in their treatment of the condition of the African woman, of the Muslim woman, and these films are very touching.
There is another thing, when we are involved in it; it is sometimes difficult to separate ourselves from the subject. I think that is the danger of being a woman and dealing with the problems of women. As in any research, when we are directly concerned we must know how to keep a certain distance in order to show something. It is up to the individual woman to know how to do this.
You speak about a certain complementary vision that a woman brings. You worked with Kabire Fidaali, who is a man. Could you describe this feminine\masculine complementarity that was present in making the film together?
It was a very special collaboration. Kabire is Malagasy and lives in Madagascar, but spends every vacation in Comoros; I was born in Comoros. Also there is a difference in age, Kabire is much older than me; he is fifty and I am thirty. However, at two different periods we were taught the same thing. We grew up in a similar environment. Although we have a different perspective as a woman and a man, we have a similar sensibility that allows us to create something together. I think there is a richness that comes from working with a man and a possibility to be able to discover a common sensibility and way of seeing things. Even though there is a twenty-year difference in age between us, for me it has been a very rich experience.
Would you say that he has discovered and appreciates your sensibility as a woman?
Yes indeed. First of all, it is very difficult for two people to make something together, it takes a great effort. As I just stated, we have something is common. We have a vision that is complementary, as a woman and man. For example, the personality of the women in the film evolved from our combined effort. We wrote the dialogue together. I had my ideas but he added to them. And that is what is very rich. I think the roles of the women, as well as the men, would have been different if I had work with a woman.
While you and Kabire directed the film together, you both had specific tasks. What was the division of work between you and Kabire?
The film was made thanks to the work of Kabire. He trained the technicians while he was in Comoros. It was truly his personal and private initiative, with the help of no one. With a small television subsidiary, Kabire trained the entire crew. Now, thanks to him, Comoros has a technical crew capable of making films. I do not have the technical capabilities, Kabire was the technical partner and I did the producing and writing. Kabire did the camera; he trained a sound person on location. I did the directing and mise en scene.
So Kabire Fidaali developed the complete training program from start to finish?
Yes, it was Kabire who developed the program entirely. In fact, he taught here in Ouagadougou at INAFEC (Institut Africain d'Education Cinématographique). He taught cinematography at the film school at the University of Ouagadougou.
How did you begin your collaboration with Kabire?
He came to this project as a professional; for me it was an adventure. I had not done film studies at all. I plunged into it while looking for work. I had studied Asian languages, then received a Master's in communications, and afterwards I was looking for work. When I did not find work, I began writing. My father manages this small community television in Comoros. He was working on a project for a short film while I was visiting him, and he suggested, since I had nothing to do, that I should write a story. Then, everything evolved from that. I had known Kabire for a long time, since he is a friend of my father. I showed him what I had written and he was very enthusiastic about it. Then we started working on it and here is the result.
How has your film been distributed and exhibited so far?
For the moment, Baco has been viewed only by Comorians, because I have not yet been able to show it elsewhere. However, I think that it is mainly a problem of finding important contacts. I am a newcomer to this profession. In the world of cinema, people know each other; for the moment I don't know anyone. FESPACO is my first festival; I hope that I can show my film elsewhere. It is a télé-film, it is not cinema, but on the level of television broadcasting. I hope that it will interest someone.
What was the reception of this film in Comoros?
It was quite particular: the women liked the film very much, and the men felt frustrated. It is true that it was the women and not the men who said all the important things. Towards the end of the story, the people realize that it is a woman who is winning the elections and not a man. A man stands up and says, "These elections must be recalled, its a disgrace," although it is one of Baco's daughters who is winning in the elections.
In Comoros, it is interesting because it is a Muslim society, but it is based on a matriarchal system. When the woman marries, her father must build a house for his daughter and it is the husband who goes to live with his wife. That is surprising in comparison to other Muslim countries, where this is not found. In Comoros, the woman has a great deal of power. Through her spouse or son, she decides everything, and she is the one behind every decision. In the cultural arena, it is the woman who comes out often and who organizes the events. I think that may be the case in many parts of Africa. But in any case, in Comoros, the women are much more dynamic and hardworking than the men.
This is you first film. Is this the beginning of a career in the cinema?
I don't know if it will lead to a career. I hope so. Because, you know, once one gets a taste of it, it's contagious. There is a desire to continue and do more. I have finished a second script and this time it will be a feature film, again set in Comoros. Because I want to make my country known. Now that the script is finished, I am looking for funding to shoot it, again in collaboration with Kabire. Once we find that we work well together, we want to continue.
