Haraka! 4 short films selected for the Clermont-Ferrand festival

Haraka! 4 short films selected for the Clermont-Ferrand festival

Out of a total of ten films completed as part of the Haraka! project, four have been selected for the 36th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, which runs from 31 January to 8 February 2014.

The Madagascan film Madama Esther, by Luck Ambinintsoa Razanajaona, has been selected for the International Competition.

There are only two African films in this section out of a total of 75.
The other three short films have been selected from the Regards d'Afrique programme, these being:
- the Rwandan film Ma vie en Rue (My Life on the Street) by Ella Liliane Mutuyimana,
- Les fils du charbonnier (The Coalman's Sons) by Joel Valerie from Mauritius,
- Welcome home by the Burundian Joseph Ndayisenga.

These short films have been supported by the Haraka! competition, which was launched in July 2012. This project aims to provide producers who are younger than 35 from throughout Sub-Saharan Africa with the means to enhance their experience.
Ten films were given hands-on support and each received €10 000, which enabled the shorts to be produce.


Madama Esther

Madama Esther, a cleaning lady of about 50, has just lost her job.
As she now cannot keep her promise to take her grandson to see the sea, she agrees to host clandestine cockfights in her backyard – a world where angels and crooks exist cheek by jowl.


Welcome home

Olivier's family have been repatriated from Amsterdam to Burundi, where they had originally come from.
Convinced that he will soon be returning to Amsterdam, as his friend from the Dutch consulate has promised, Olivier tells everyone that they're just here on holiday.

Les fils du charbonnier

Shayne is a 10-year old kid who lives in an unusual place with his father Abbou and his big brother Bryan.
The arrival of a cyclone on their tropical island unleashes a fateful series of events for this threesome.

Ma vie en Rue

A humble and hard-working motorcycle taxi operator loses everything he holds dear when he is forcibly evicted.
Is he right to insist on making a success of it in the city rather than staying in his village?
A contemplative reflection on whether the attraction of cities is justified in an Africa which is in the midst of modernization.

More information on Haraka!

All information about the 36th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival can be found at www.clermont-filmfest.com.

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