We sat around a table just like we would if we were at our own homes. Durban was represented,Bloemfontein was mentioned and of course,Cape Town had to be revered for its uncompromising character to mix and match languages,cultures and style in the conversation.We sat around a table, spitting words in IsiZulu,Sesotho and IsiXhosa, happily chewing on words that made us crackle with laughter and muse with intrique because that was the only way we could relate to home. We were South Africans in a foreign,rainy and busy city,hungry to invite those at the"Africa in the Picture" (AITP)Fim Festival into our daily reality.
Though Film was at the centre of the cultural debate and its effect on the African continent to bring about change, a striking feature, was emerging within us about Africa.Without taking away from the festival's achievement of bringing the message to those that were interested enough to pay to see the films, we realised that Africa was assumed to be a "country",not only that it is not taken seriously,but for the mere reason that Africans did not make enough noise about themselves. Even more so, Africans do not even know that their stories are being told in Film Festivals half way around the world.
8 weeks ago,when I landed in Schiphol Airport,Amsterdam,all I could think about were the opportunities that I could find to show my support and love for the continent. This is a totally misguided notion to have in one's head that Europe is the only place that can cater for an audience that is culturally educated and in-the-know about the Arts and Culture of other countries,meanwhile the black community- whether from Africa or the Diaspora- in the very European cities are not informed about the cultural exchange that is taking place in the city that they are attempting to create a home in.
I should not have thought that coming to Amsterdam would feed my hunger to see,hear and feel differently than in South Africa(or Africa). What I should have initially asked myself was whether I was coming here to adopt a life or whether I was coming here to re-engineer my thinking. A Ghanaian friend,staying in The Netherlands for almost 8 years is fond of saying to me:"This is Europe,anything is possible". The idea of this sentence existing in many people's minds back home is as vivid as the idea that the Western world shan't stop being fascinated with Africa,but the fascination stops the minute the film stops rolling and the doors shut.
Zamo Mkhwanazi, a female film-maker at the festival summed it up by indicating that to be able to live in South Africa (or anywhere in Africa) it would require that you negotiate your way to stay alive, have bread and milk on the table and maybe if you are lucky enough, have a film screened in The Netherlands. Her reply was to a question asked by an audience member about her motivation to create a short fiction film about fraudulent marriages that are a gateway to gain citizenship in South Africa. Her statement to life and to the rest of the world through "Philia" was that as Africans we need to evaluate our relationships with each other on a level that expresses a different kind of love - a friendship- that surpasses all our physical boundaries. The characters created in the film are a replica of dreams being built on opposite ends of sacrifice and life continuing to knock on heaven's door just as Africa is trying to reach its peak.
As in Africa, Europe is also a place where we negotiate for our lives to be better and not a place that is as full of opportunities as people might think it to be. It is Europe,only a little fancier than home and it continues to exhibit Africa's works more than Africa does. It is not even about lack of skills or infrastructure anymore, that argument is long caught on another train,but it remains an issue of working towards makiing sure that all Africans participate in the dialogue to spread our stories to each other,in that way creating a channel of friendship bonds that are of true essence to the meaning of "Philia"- a kind of brotherly love.