CROSSING CULTURES
Docu AT/Cote D'Ivoire 2009
A cinematic dialogue between African and European cultures, which aims to strengthen the issue, of equality of opportunity and cultural diversity, even outside of Europe, in public awareness.
SYNOPSIS
The film „Crossing Cultures“ deals with the importance of African film in Africa and Europe and it's different value system. A poetic, philosophical journey of filmdirectrice Carola Mair with situations shown in Abidjan, Locarno and Linz. Mair tells this cinematic dialogue mostly in the Present Tense from a personal point of view. The protagonists of the film, whom the directrice meets on her journey between cultures are mainly African and Austrian film directors, who also deals with the topic of Africa, cinematically. In Abidjan Mair meets Hanny Tchellex, the art directrice of the Filmfestival FICA.
ABOUT THE FILM
„Crossing Cultures“ is a film about the „Continent of Projections“ and the development of African cinema, as well as a film, that looks beyond the stated borders. For a long time, it was forbidden for Africans to make films, especially in African colonies, like Ivory Coast. Only with the foundation of the Pan-African-Film Festival in Burkina Faso, the African film created it's own forum.
Today, the contemporary African societies still live in a situation, where they are awareness.
In the first decades, African film had primarily set itself the goal of decolonizing the view of Africa, through it's own images of the reality of the young African states. It's only during the past few years, that the responsibility for their history been raised. Also, problems such as corruption, AIDS, HIV, women's oppression and the problems of African filmdirectors are facing, who are seen as an Elite in their own country. However, „Crossing Cultures“ is also concerned with the situations of migrants, with an African background, living in Europe.
Credits: Screenplay/Director: Carola Mair
Camera: Gerald Hötzeneder
Editor: Gerald Hötzeneder
Animation: Susi Jirkuff
Sound: Joe Kreissl
