• Brazzaville hosts first Mwassi festival for African women filmmakers
• Festival offers screenings, panels, and professional training workshops
• Women hold just 10% of film roles in Central, West Africa

Brazzaville is buzzing with the inaugural Mwassi festival, a traveling event celebrating African cinema and the women who create it. The festival was founded by Congolese filmmaker Pierre-Manau Ngoula.

Ngoula said she felt a lack of female representation in local and African cinema while she was a student. Her observation is supported by UNESCO data, which shows women make up only 10% of the film industry in Central and West Africa.

"The main goal is to highlight female filmmakers and to showcase all productions made on the continent," Ngoula said.

The festival features film screenings and panels, and Ngoula hopes it will also enhance the skills of various professionals in the Congolese film industry.

"We don't have a film school in Congo, and there are very few film schools in Africa," she said. "The idea is to create masterclasses to provide some training. For example, we have an acting workshop led by Congolese actress Germaine Ololo, a documentary workshop by French director Valérie Osouf, and I will be leading the film aesthetics and criticism workshop."

For Ngoula, emphasizing the competence of women is crucial. As actress Razzia Lelahel has said since the festival began, "In cinema, there is no gender. Only competence and artistic vision matter."

Servan Ahougnon