Feature film
Muna Moto
Jean-Pierre Dikongué-Pipa · 1975
Synopsis
Ngando, an orphan, loves Ndomé and wants to marry her, but he cannot gather the dowry her family demands. Ndomé is pregnant by him; custom then requires her to take a husband able to pay. Mbongo, Ngando's maternal uncle, who already has three wives and no heir, pays the dowry in his own name, even more than was asked, and marries Ndomé: Ngando's child becomes the other man's child.
Context
The 89-minute film mixes French, Douala and Bassa. Lacking support from the Cameroonian authorities, it was financed by the French Ministry of Cooperation; a tape recorder broke down, much of the sound was lost, and three editors refused the footage before Andrée Davanture took it on: the director rewrote and re-recorded the dialogue six months later. Recently restored, it was presented in 2020 in the Best of section of the Carthage Film Festival. Subtitled in twenty-five languages, it is regarded as the first Cameroonian feature film.
Who it is for
In French, Duala and Bassa, subtitled. Better to know that, in this matrilineal system, the maternal uncle has authority over his orphaned nephew.
Prizes and reception
Étalon de Yennenga at the Fespaco in 1976 and Silver Tanit at Carthage the same year; Georges Sadoul Grand Prize in 1975.