Le silence de la forêt
Cameroon / Gabon / Central African Republic,
2003, 93 min
Shown in 2004
CREDITS
- dir
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Bassek ba Kobhio, Didier Ouénagaré
- prod
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Bassek ba Kobhio
- scr
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Marcel Beaulieu, Didier Ouénagaré, Bassek ba Kobhio
- cam
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Pierre-Olivier Larrieu
- editor
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Joseph Licide
- mus
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Manu Dibango
- cast
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Eriq Ebouaney, Sonia Zembourou, Nadège Beausson-Diagne, Philippe Maury
- source
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WORLD SALES Films Distribution, 6, rue de l’École de Médecine, 75003 Paris, France. FAX: 33-1-5310-3398. EMAIL: wisnia@filmsdistribution.com.
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COMMENTS
Bassek ba Kobhio in person.
OTHER
In a fascinating twist on the old story of Westerners’ encounters with “exotic” African cultures, The Forest focuses instead on what happens when a European-educated African interacts with the mythic rainforest people incorrectly and pejoratively known as “pygmies” (They would more accurately be called the Biaka). Gonaba, unlike many Africans educated in Europe, decides to return to his homeland full of ideals for fulfilling the promises of independence. The film fast-forwards ten years to a disillusioned Gonaba, now an ineffectual education functionary hamstrung by corrupt government superiors who mimic the ways of the former colonialists as well as mistreat the Biaka. Seduced by his own romantic notions about the Biaka, Gonaba goes to live with them, hoping that, unlike those in modern society, they still have their integrity intact. At the same time, Gonaba tries to inculcate them—including the young woman he grows to love—with the best of what he has imbibed from his Western education. But the Biaka are quite satisfied with their hunter-gatherer way of life and the clash of cultures leads to inevitable conflict. This pan-African production features the haunting musical sounds of the Biaka as well the contemporary score by Manu Dibango, and the gorgeous cinematography takes full advantage of the lush Central African rainforest.
—Cornelius Moore
FACTOID #176
Hordes of screaming teenagers were fascinated with the Rolling Stones, but so were influential imagemakers Jean-Luc Godard and Robert Frank. The SFIFF has screened three different films with the Rolling Stones as the main subject: Godard’s Sympathy for the Devil (SFIFF 1972), Frank’s Cocksucker Blues (SFIFF 1998) and the IMAX documentary At the Max (SFIFF 1991).
