Brutal dictator’s story wins ’Africa’s Oscars’

An Ethiopian film set during the horrifically brutal regime of dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam took top honors on Saturday at Africa's biggest film festival.

"Teza," directed by Haile Gerima, was the jury's unanimous choice for this year's Golden Stallion of Yennenga, the award for best film at the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, or FESPACO, considered "Africa's Oscars."

The beautifully shot film moves between past and present as it tells the story of an idealistic scientist who studied in Germany before returning to Ethiopia during the Mengistu era of the 1970s and 1980s.

Though the movie deals with big themes, such as emigration and dictatorship, racism and war, and the position of women in Ethiopian society, Gerima, who was born in Ethiopia and is now based in the United States, manages not to preach to his audience.

Life under Mengistu

As the director could not be in Ouagadougou to receive the award, it was accepted on his behalf by his sister Selome Gerima, who co-produced the film. "Haile asked me to convey his happiness," she said upon accepting the award.

Earlier on Friday, Selome Gerima had told AFP how she and her brother had struggled for 14 years to bring the epic story to the screen and explained why there had been such an emotional response in Ethiopia, where the film has played to packed crowds since its Jan. 3 premiere. "It is a very sensitive film and it makes you remember what it was like [under Mengistu]," she said. "Many people have forgotten, but when they see the film, they remember. When we show the film, people come up to us afterwards to tell us, ’I've lost my brother’ and so on."

The runner-up Silver Stallion award went to South African director John Kani for "Nothing but the Truth." Adapted from a play, the film explores a librarian's experiences with racism in South Africa during and after the apartheid era.

The Bronze Stallion went to audience favorite "Mascarades" (Masquerades), an Algerian comedy about a boy who invents an imaginary rich suitor for his narcoleptic sister. The RFI audience award went to Burkinabe director Missa Hebie for "Le Fauteuil" (The Armchair).

The Moroccan documentary "Nos Lieux Interdits" (Our Forbidden Places) by Leila Kilani, which deals with political oppression in her homeland, took home the honors for best documentary.

Thousands of filmmakers, actors and film lovers from all over the continent have descended on the dusty capital of Burkina Faso over the past week to attend the 21st edition of the festival.

More than 300 feature films, shorts and documentaries were screened, although this year many festival-goers and locals alike grumbled that free open-air screenings, which gave previous festivals a good helping of local charm, were banned.

With cinemas closing all over the continent and filmmakers complaining that the public is abandoning homegrown films, festival organizers decided to ban the open-air screenings to lure people back into theaters.

But with ticket prices between 300 CFA francs (45 euro cents, or $0.57) and 1,500 CFA francs (2.28 euros, or $2.87), most residents of Burkina Faso, one of the world's poorest countries, simply cannot afford the movies. Forty-six percent of the population lives on less than one euro ($1.25) a day, according to national and UN statistics. As a result of the new policy, the attendees were mostly festival participants and Western film fans who traveled to Ouagadougou for the event.

The winners of Africa's biggest film fest

A complete list of winners at the 21st edition of Africa's biggest film festival, the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, or FESPACO, which is held in Burkina Faso:

Golden Stallion - "Teza," by Haile Gerima (Ethiopia)

Silver Stallion - "Nothing But the Truth," by John Kani (South Africa)

Bronze Stallion - "Mascarades" (Masquerades), by Lyes Salem

(Algeria)

RFI Audience prize - "Le Fauteuil," by Missa HebiŽ (Burkina Faso)

Special jury prize - "Le Fauteuil," by Missa HebiŽ (Burkina Faso)

Best screenplay - "L'Absence" (Absence), by Mama Keita (Guinea)

Best actor - Rapulana Seiphmo in "Jerusalema" (South Africa)

Best actress - Sana Mousiane in "Les Jardins de Samira" (The Gardens of Samira) (Morocco)

Golden Foal for best short film - "Sekou" (They Kept Quiet), by Benaissa Khaled (Algeria)

Best documentary - "Nos Lieux Interdits" (Our Forbidden Places), by Leila Kilani (Morocco)

Best television film - "Une femme pas comme les autres" (An Unusual Woman), by Abdoulaye Dao

(Burkina Faso)