After the pan-African short film competition “Latitude” was successfully held between 2010 and 2012, the follow-up project “African Metropolis” was initiated in 2012 by the Goethe-Institut Johannesburg, together with the International Film Festival Rotterdam's Hubert Bals Fund and the South African producer Steven Markovitz. For the first time, a major national sponsor could be secured for the project, too: the Nigerian Guaranty Trust Bank.

For this project, six African filmmakers portrayed life in six African cities: Abidjan, Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi.

From the initial 40 applicants, six directors, who could show they had previous experience in documentary filmmaking, were selected: Jim Chuchu (Kenya), Ahmed Ghoneimy (Egypt), Folasakin Iwajomo (Nigeria), Marie Ka (Senegal/Martinique), Philippe Lacote (Ivory Coast) and Vincent Moloi (South Africa).

These six directors took part in a workshop led by the screenplay writer James Akchoti on the occasion of the 2012 Durban International Film Festival, and were subsequently given support in the production of their films. The films were premiered at the Durban International Film Festival in 2013. The European premiere took place at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2014.

The project's objective is to show a young, modern, cosmopolitan and urban Africa; one that moves beyond the usual clichés about the African continent. Moreover, African Metropolis hopes to make it possible for young filmmakers from different countries and cities on the African continent to network via a variety of platforms. This should also help the national film industry, as, although festivals worldwide show great interest in African productions, it is extremely difficult for African filmmakers to get film productions underway. With African Metropolis, the Goethe-Institut hopes to not only support individual filmmakers, but also to promote the development of an independent and sustainable African cinema.


Film titles:

IN 3895 A Homecoming,Jim Chuchu, 11:11 min.


IN 3895 B The Cave, Ahmed Ghoneimy, 22:56 min.


IN 3985 C The Line-up, Folasakin Iwajomo, 13:46 min.


IN 3895 D L'Autre Femme (The Other Woman), Marie Ka,12:49 min.


IN 3895 E To Repel Ghosts, Philippe Lacote, 20:42 min


IN 3895 F Berea, Vincent Moloi , 13:25 min.


Total length 92 min.

Production Year

2013

Duration

Feature-Length Film (61+ Min.)

Type

Feature Film

Genre

Drama

Scope of Rights

Nichtexklusive nichtkommerzielle öffentliche Aufführung (nonexclusive, noncommercial public screening),Keine TV-Rechte (no TV rights)

Licence Period

31.12.2099

Permanently Restricted Areas

Germany (DE), Austria (AT), Switzerland (CH), Liechtenstein (LI), Alto Adige

Available Media

DVD

Original Version

English (en), French (fr)

DVD

Subtitles

English (en), German (de), French (fr), Portuguese (Brazil) (pt), Arabic (ar)