Jean-Marie Téno was born and raised in Cameroon, arriving in France in 1978 to continue his studies.. Téno made his first short film in 1984 'Schubbah' and since then, he has been producing and directing social issue films on the colonial and post-colonial history of Africa for international television broadcast and theatrical release. Now considered the dean of African documentary filmmakers, Téno's films are noted for their personal and original approach to issues of race, cultural identity, African history and contemporary politics.

 

February 7 2024 at 6:00 PM 

Afrique, Je Te Plumerai 88 mins (1993)

Teno uses Cameroon, the only African country colonized by three European powers (German, French, and British), for a carefully researched case study of the continuing damage done to traditional African societies by alien colonial and neo-colonial cultures. 

 

 'I wanted to trace cause and effect between an intolerable present and the colonial violence of yesterday...to understand how a country could fail to succeed as a state which was once composed of well-structured traditional societies.'  Quote by Téno. 

 

 

February 8 2024 at 6:00 PM 

Chosen Le Futur Dans Le Rétro 89 mins (2018)

Nana Banyina Horne, an American writer of Ghanaian heritage, is chosen to become the Queen Mother of her tribe. As she travels to Ghana to participate in the crowning rituals, her world splits in two.

“A filmic essay about multiple histories, multiple journeys, multiple exiles that reflect the experience of our contemporary globalized society. To overcome trauma, many Africans return to their ancestors to read or interpret the events unfolding before their eyes. To do so, they often undertake a trip home, but for many, where is home?” (California Newsreel)

 

February 9 2024 at 6:00 PM 

Shorts Program: 

Hommage 13 mins (1985)

Through a deceptively simple conversation, Hommage exposes the multiple contradictions and conflicting notions of development in Cameroonian society. Filmmaker Jean-Marie Téno pays tribute to his late father.

 

Mister Foot 22 mins (1991)

The story of a young man who needs an uncooperative public servant's signature to enter college, Mister Foot is a light-hearted look at Cameroon's national obsession: soccer. During a period of social unrest in 1990, an informal truce was called so that fans on both sides could follow their national team, the Indomitable Lions, in the World Cup tournament.

 

Le Marriage de Alex 46 mins  (2002)

Chronicle of a rather particular afternoon during which the lives of three people change dramatically: Alex, the husband, goes to his in-laws’ to bring home his second wife. Elise, Alex’s childhood sweetheart and first wife, accompanies him—as she must, according to tradition. And Josephine, the young bride, leaves her parents to begin a new life.