5.00pm | Sunday, August 18, 2024. | Alliance Française Lagos, 9 Osborne Road, Ikoyi | Free Entry
In TUG OF WAR, a love story blossoms as British colonial rule falters in Zanzibar. Directed by Amil Shivji, the film is adapted from Shafi Adam Shafi‘s award-winning novel Vuta N’Kuvute. Its plotline of a multi-ethnic relationship where one of the characters escapes an oppressive marriage becomes both a metaphor and backdrop for the revolution against colonisation. The film beautifully renders pre-independence Zanzibar and its cultural diversity, deftly transferring the poetry of Shafi’s novel on screen. Come and enjoy a slice of history and poetic cinema with us!
Screening starts at 5pm prompt (doors open at 4.30pm) on Sunday, August 18 at Alliance Française Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre. Entry is free.
ABOUT THE FILM
A rebellious young revolutionary becomes involved with a young Indian-Zanzibari girl escaping an oppressive arranged marriage. Denge, a frustrated and rebellious young man meets Yasmin, a young Indian-Zanzibari girl in the middle of the night as she is on her way to be betrothed to a man three times her age. This sparks a series of missed opportunities for the forlorn lovers. Yasmin escapes her oppressive marriage and returns to Zanzibar, where she faces rejection from her own family. She seeks refuge at Mwajuma’s house in the Swahili quarters of the segregated island, submerging herself in an oppressed yet effervescent culture that she had always been secluded from. Here Yasmin meets Denge who is deeply immersed in the independence struggle against British rule, busy translating and distributing Soviet propaganda. She is pulled towards his ideals of independence as he feels free around her. When Denge’s recklessness lands him behind bars, it’s up to Yasmin to be part of the larger struggle and free the one she loves.
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Literary Adaptation, Romance
Running time: 92 minutes
Language(s): Swahili with English subtitles
Director: Amil Shivji
Starring: Gudrun Columbus Mwanyika, Ikhlas Gafur Vora, Siti Amina, Lukman Ali, Salim Ahmedy Issa, Rashid Hemed, Maridhia Jafari, Lihna Onesmo, Nick Reding, Rajab Suleiman, Salum Suleiman, Muzu Sulemanji
Writer: Amil Shivji, Jenna Cato Bass, Shafi Adam Shafi
Producer: Steven Markovitz
D.O.P.: Zenn Van Zyl
Editor: Nadia Ben Rachid, Matthew Swanepoel
Music: Amin Bouhafa, Amélie Legrand
Screen Out Loud – Lagos promotes independent cinema from around the world and encourages discourse around film and the moving image. Don’t miss our regular screenings at the Alliance Française de Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre.
Watch.Discover Share | @screenoutlouder_
Alliance Française de Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre (or @af.lagos) is a Nigerian-run non-profit institution dedicated to the promotion of French language and francophone cultures, which also provides support to the local arts community. It provides French language classes and promotes an alternative model for culture.