Buddha
in Africa, directed by KwaZulu-Natal-based
filmmaker, Nicole Schafer, has been selected into the International Documentary
Competition at the 40th Durban International Film Festival (July 18 to 28, 2019)
for the second leg of its South African Premiere.
This delicately observed documentary about
a Malawian teenager caught between his African roots and Chinese upbringing;
was chosen as the Opening Night feature for the Encounters Documentary Festival
in Cape Town and Johannesburg where it also received a Backsberg Encounters
Audience Award. The film had its World Premiere at the prestigious Hot Docs
Canadian International Festival in April and the Sydney International Film
Festival in June with several more local and international festivals lined up
for this year.
The film follows the intimate story of
Enock Alu, a Malawian teenager growing up in a Chinese Buddhist orphanage in
Africa. Once the star performer with dreams of becoming a martial arts hero
like Jet Li, Enock, in his final year of school, has to make some tough
decisions about his future. Will he
return to his relatives in his home village or study abroad in Taiwan? Set
against China's expanding influence on the continent, Buddha in Africa provides a unique insight into the impact of
cultural soft power on the identity and imagination of a young boy and his community.
“Most of the focus of Chinese involvement
in Africa has been on the economic impact, whereas this story shows the
influence of Chinese culture,” says writer and director Nicole Schafer. “For so
long Africa has been influenced by Western culture and economic systems. I was
struck by how this orphanage is strangely reminiscent of the Christian missions
during the colonial era, only here African children have Chinese names and
instead of learning about the West, they are learning about Chinese culture and
history. I feel that the orphanage is the perfect metaphor to explore not only
the impact of Chinese involvement in Africa, but also as a mirror for the
legacy of Western colonialism on the African continent.”
Enock Alu (16) is one of three hundred orphans
from rural Malawi growing up in a charity-based NGO founded by a Buddhist monk
from Taiwan. It is one of several similar institutions around Southern Africa
aimed at using Chinese culture and Buddhism to uplift the lives of orphans in
Africa.
Filmed over five years, this essential film
provides a valuable insight into some of the challenges affecting vulnerable
children in Sub-Saharan Africa and poses complex questions around culture,
identity, imperialism and the impact of foreign development aid.
“I feel Enock’s internal conflict of trying
to hold onto his own culture and then the sacrifices that come with embracing
the opportunities afforded by Chinese engagement in many ways reflects the
dilemma around the future development of the African continent. How does Africa
move forward and participate within an increasingly globalised world without
becoming victim to yet another system of economic and cultural domination?”
Schafer goes on to say, “There are big
differences between Western and Eastern perspectives and we worked hard to
balance the African and Chinese points of view in the film. I have been
interested in how different audiences have responded to the film. International
audiences seem to be more interested in the political context, while locally,
in South Africa, audiences have been deeply moved by Enock’s personal story. As
a filmmaker, I have chosen to document his story, and am pleased it is
providing a diverse global audience the opportunity to examine the complex and
layered world in which we Africans find ourselves.”
The film is an international co-production
between Thinking Strings Media based in the KZN Midlands in South Africa, and
Momento Film in Sweden. Renowned Paris-based company CAT & Docs will be
representing the film internationally. AfriDocs is the African broadcast
partner.
The project received the IDFA Most
Promising Documentary Award when it was first pitched at the Durban FilmMart in
2011 and has since been awarded funding from several international funds
including the IDFA Bertha Europe Fund in the Netherlands, Hot Docs-Blue Ice
Group Doc Fund and the Alter Cine Foundation in Canada, Chicken & Egg
Pictures in New York, the South African National Film and Video Foundation and
the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission.
The film premieres at DIFF on Saturday,
July 20 at 16h00 at Musgrave Sterkinekor, and has a second screening at
Suncoast Cine Centre on Thursday, July 25 at 18h30.
For more information go to http://ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za/
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