In an exciting addition to the African film festival calendar, the first edition of the Cotonou International Women's Film Festival (FIFF Cotonou) will take place on September 13-17, 2019 in Cotonou, Benin.
For more information on the festival and to submit films, visit the website: Ecranbenin.net.
The Cotonou International Women's Film Festival is one of the festivals in the Ladima Foundation’s network of women-focused and managed film festivals that also includes; The Udada International Film Festival (Kenya), The Urusaru International Women’s Film Festival (Rwanda), and Celebrating Womanhood Festival (Uganda).
The Ladima Foundation is working with these festivals as part of their program to support women in the film industry in Africa.
The festival will create opportunities for audiences and filmmakers, and as such will enable a new dynamic, a new breath of life into Beninese and female cinema. The festival will screen short feature films and documentaries directed and/or produced by women and will also include discussions and talks relating to the films and the theme of 2019.
This first edition’s theme will focus on how violence against women is addressed in cinematographic works in general and how it is represented by women in particular. According to UN estimates, 35% of women experience violence at least once in their lives. Every day, women are beaten, raped, marginalised, and discriminated against. It is therefore important that the film industry addresses this theme to raise public awareness and denounce these acts of violence.
Included in the program will be an evening focused on the films of the godmother of the festival, Madame Akissi Delta, who will also be in attendance. Madame Akissi Delta, best known for her role in the famous Ivorian series Ma Famille. Additionally, the festival will feature a master class on the theme of violence against women in the cinema. Claire Diao, journalist, cinema critic, distributor and CEO of Awotele will facilitate this master class. She will engage with film professionals and the public on the theme of VFFF, on how this issue is addressed in the cinema and how film can play a role in the fight against violence against women.
The films will also awarded prizes by the official Festival juries composed of five film professionals each. Five prizes will be awarded during a ceremony held on the last day of the festival.
• The Golden Amazon: This is the biggest prize of the festival. It is awarded to the best fiction film with a sum of 500,000 CFA Francs.
• The Documentary Amazon: This is the second prize of the festival. It is awarded to the best documentary film with a sum of 400, 000 CFA Francs.
• The Jury's Amazon: This is the jury's favorite with the with a sum of 300, 000 CFA Francs.
• The Amazon of The Scenario: This is the price of the best scenario with a sum of 200, 000 CFA Francs.
• The Amazon of Interpretation: It is attributed to the best female performance with a sum of 100,000 CFA francs.
