• Cameroon’s REPACI film festival returns Dec. 11-13 with 135 short films
  
• Events include screenings, masterclasses, panels on social cinema and criticism
  
• Submissions span 23 countries; focus on cinema’s societal role and resilience
  

The third edition of Cameroon's Rencontres et Partages Cinématographiques du 237 (REPACI) film festival will take place from Dec. 11 to 13 in the economic capital Douala.

Organizers received 135 short films for this year’s competition, including 101 fiction works, 22 documentaries and 12 animated films. Submissions came from 23 countries, among them Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Russia, France, the United States and Pakistan.

The festival’s theme is “Cinema of Cameroon: Mirror and Driver of Society.” Over three days, the Maison des Jeunes et des Cultures in the New-Bell district will host screenings, masterclasses, workshops, panel discussions, a hike and an awards ceremony, with a strong emphasis on skills development.

Several filmmakers and industry specialists have been invited to lead free workshops open to all festivalgoers. Actress Tatiana Matip will deliver a masterclass on Dec. 11 and 12 offering insights from her more than 20 years in the film industry.

Pelagie Ng’onana, president of the Cameroonian Association of Film Journalists and Critics (Cinepress-Association), will lead a session on film criticism highlighting “the need for directors and producers to seek critical feedback on their work.” Director Christian Towa will give a presentation on “producing and directing social microfilms on a limited budget.”

Two panel discussions are planned. A panel titled “Challenges and Opportunities of Social Filmmaking in Cameroon: Addressing Social Issues,” moderated by Kevin Bana, will take place on Dec. 13 at 1 p.m.

“Cameroon has faced, for a decade, a proliferation of irredentist and identity-based movements,” wrote Dr. François Xavier Noah Edzimbi in the January 2021 issue (No. 43-44) of the EGSM review. “While cinema was initially presented and used as entertainment, political authorities today seek to control it because of its strong capacity to influence mass audiences, using it to explain political changes and propagate ideas.”

In Cameroon, social cinema faces multiple constraints that limit filmmakers’ ability to portray the lived realities of the population. A detailed discussion on how to strengthen this artistic field will bring together specialists and festival participants.

A second panel, “Special Club des Figurants,” will be held on Dec. 12 on the theme “The Importance of Resilience and Perseverance in an Acting Career: How to Overcome Failure and Rejection.”

Ubrick F. Quenum