Bye Bye Africa
Encyclopedia
Bye Bye Africa is a 1999
award winning Chadian
film
. It was the first by Chad
ian director Mahamat Saleh Haroun
, who also starred. The docu-drama centers on a fictionalized version of Haroun.
(Haroun) returns home upon the death of his mother. He is shocked at the degraded state of the country and the national cinema. Encountering skepticism from his family members about his chosen career, Haroun tries to defend himself by quoting Jean-Luc Godard
: "The cinema creates memories." The filmmaker decides to make a film dedicated to his mother entitled Bye Bye Africa but immediately encounters major problems. Cinemas have closed and financing is impossible to secure. The director reunites with an old girlfriend (Yelena), who was shunned by Chadians who could not distinguish between film and reality after appearing in one of his previous films as an HIV
victim. Haroun learns about the destruction of the African cinema
from directors in neighboring countries, but also finds Issa Serge Coelo
shooting his first film, Daressalam. Things go badly and, convinced that it is impossible to make films in Africa, Haroun departs Chad in despair, leaving his film camera to a young boy who had been assisting him.
1999 in film
The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
award winning Chadian
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. It was the first by Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
ian director Mahamat Saleh Haroun
Mahamat Saleh Haroun
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun is a film director from Chad who has lived in France since 1982. He made his first feature film, Bye Bye Africa, in 1999. His second feature, Abouna, won best cinematography award at FESPACO, while his third, Daratt, won the Grand Special Jury Prize at the 63rd Venice...
, who also starred. The docu-drama centers on a fictionalized version of Haroun.
Plot
A Chadian film director who lives and works in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(Haroun) returns home upon the death of his mother. He is shocked at the degraded state of the country and the national cinema. Encountering skepticism from his family members about his chosen career, Haroun tries to defend himself by quoting Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
: "The cinema creates memories." The filmmaker decides to make a film dedicated to his mother entitled Bye Bye Africa but immediately encounters major problems. Cinemas have closed and financing is impossible to secure. The director reunites with an old girlfriend (Yelena), who was shunned by Chadians who could not distinguish between film and reality after appearing in one of his previous films as an HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
victim. Haroun learns about the destruction of the African cinema
African cinema
The term African cinema refers to the film production in Africa, following formal independence. Some of the countries in North Africa developed a national film industry much earlier and are related to West Asian cinema...
from directors in neighboring countries, but also finds Issa Serge Coelo
Issa Serge Coelo
Issa Serge Coelo is a Chadian film director. Born in Biltine, Chad, he studied history in Paris and film at the Ecole Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle . He then worked as a cameraman at Métropole Télévision, France 3, TV5MONDE and CFI before creating the 1994 short film Un taxi pour Aouzou...
shooting his first film, Daressalam. Things go badly and, convinced that it is impossible to make films in Africa, Haroun departs Chad in despair, leaving his film camera to a young boy who had been assisting him.
Awards
The film won the following awards:- 1999 Amiens International Film FestivalAmiens International Film FestivalThe Amiens International Film Festival is an annual special-interest film festival focusing on the cinemas of Europe, Africa and Latin America. The festival has been held annually in Amiens, France, since 1980....
: Special Mention in the category Best Feature Film - 2000 Kerala International Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize (tied with DeveeriDeveeriDeveeri is a 1999 Kannada language film based on the novel of the same name by noted Kannada writer P. Lankesh. The novel was adapted for the movie by his daughter Kavita Lankesh.The film won the 1999–2000 Karnataka State Award for best film....
(1999)) - 1999 Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
:'CinemAvvenire' Award in the category Best First Film, Luigi De Laurentiis Award - Special Mention