Cameroonian-born filmmaker Rosine Mbakam has been longlisted for the upcoming Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, which will run from May 17-26, 2023. The festival’s artistic director, Julien Rejl, submitted 20 feature-length films for the 55th Festival, with “Mambar Pierrette” among the selection. The Directors’ Fortnight is a parallel section of the Festival de Cannes dedicated to discovering new talents among filmmakers, and it also includes established authors in its selection.
A Dedicated Section for Discoveries
The Directors’ Fortnight is an out-of-competition section of the festival that offers a dedicated space for discoveries. Most of the selected films are dedicated to new talents, including Rosine Mbakam’s “Mambar Pierrette.” The film tells the story of a woman named Pierrette who runs a small workshop in Douala, Cameroon, to feed her family. The story was inspired by the Mbakam family.
A Cameroonian Filmmaker’s Perspective
Rosine Mbakam is a Cameroonian filmmaker living in Belgium. “For me and my family in Cameroon, cinema was like a separate world, with only incredible stories embodied by incredible people. In my film, these incredible people are my family, and the stories are themselves”, said Rosine Mbakam. Mbakam is an experienced filmmaker who has made many short and feature-length films, including documentaries.
Other Selected Films
Aside from “Mambar Pierrette,” other films in the selection include Indian film “Agra” by Kanu Behl, a “totally independent” Russian road movie shot in 2021 called “Grace” by Ilya Povolotsky, and a Belgian-Cameroonian film titled “between fiction and documentary.”
The Directors’ Fortnight continues to be a valuable platform for discovering new and established filmmakers. The selection of “Mambar Pierrette” for the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight is a significant achievement for Rosine Mbakam and the Cameroonian film industry. It provides a unique opportunity for her work to be seen by a global audience and to bring more attention to the growing film industry in Cameroon.
