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Le silence de la forêt
Le silence de la forêt
Directed by	Bassek Ba Kobhio; Didier Ouenangare
Screenplay by	Étienne Goyémidé
Based on	Le silence de la forêt by Étienne Goyémidé
Produced by	Annie Izoungou; Charles Mensah; Alderrahmane Sissako
Starring	Eriq Ebouaney; Nadège Beausson-Diagne
Cinematography	Pierre-Olivier Larrieu
Music by	Manu Dibango
Production; companies	Agence intergouvernmentale de la francophonie; Nord-Express Productions; Arte France Cinema; Centre National du Cinéma; Les Films Terre Africaine
Release date	2003;
Running time	93 minutes
Countries	Central African Republic; Cameroon; Gabon; France
Languages	Bantu; French; Sango; English
Budget	12 million FF

Le silence de la forêt (lit. 'The Silence of the Forest/The Forest') is a 2003 drama film directed by Bassek Ba Kobhio and Didier Ouenangare. The film is an adaption of the eponymous novel by Étienne Goyémidé.^[1]^[2] A co-production between Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and France, it is the first feature filmed in the Central African Republic.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] It is also the first film to depict the contemporary prejudice held by some Africans toward the pygmy people.^[7]

Synopsis

Gonaba (Eriq Ebouaney), a regional educational inspector in the Central African Republic feels frustrated and disheartened after working in a military regime for over a decade. He becomes interested in advocating for the Baaka, a nomadic Mbenga pygmy group. The film depicts the Baaka as generally ignored and ill-treated in society and whose existence is often threatened by urbanization and economic development.^[8]

Cast

Eriq Ebouaney as Gonaba
Nadège Beausson-Diagne as Simone
Sonia Zembourou as Kali
Philippe Mory as Prefect

Production

The film was initially to be directed by the Central African Republic-based filmmaker Didier Ouenangare in his directorial debut.^[2] When Cameroonian director Bassek Ba Kobhio joined the project as lead director, Ouenangare took on the role of co-director. The film was filmed in CAR during a time of economic crisis and a military coup in 2003.

The Forest was funded by Cameroon, Gabon, and France, the former providing a grant of 50000 FF from the Agence intergouvernmentale de la francophonie.^[9]

Most of the cast members and crew were recruited from CAR neighbouring nations including Cameroon and Gabon, which prompted criticism aimed at Ouenangare for not selecting Central Africans.^[9] Cameroonian actor Eriq Ebouaney was brought on to play the lead role and had to learn Sango, one of the official languages of Central African Republic. Cameroonian veteran music composer Manu Dibango scored the music for the film.

Release

The film's theatrical release in Central African Republic was disrupted since the country's only cinema was closed at that time.^[2] The film premiered at the Planet Africa section of the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival^[10] and opened to generally positive reviews from critics. As part of its festival circuit, it screened at the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2003 Cannes Film Festival^[11] and received special mention at the 2003 Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur (FIFF).^[12]

References

^ "California Newsreel - LE SILENCE DE LA FORET". newsreel.org. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c Harding, Oscar (2019-02-10). "The Best African Movies, From All 54 African Countries". Cinema Escapist. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
^ JC Woodfrok (2006) Culture and Customs of the Central African Republic, Greenwood Press, pg. 150
^ Blandine Stefanson (2014). "Literary Adaptation". In Blandine Stefanson; Sheila Petty (eds.). Directory of World Cinema Africa. Vol. 39. Intellect Books. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-78320-391-8.
^ Valérie K. Orlando (2017). New African Cinema. Rutgers University Press. pp. 72–. ISBN 978-0-8135-7957-3.
^ mo, Beafrika ti (2016-03-18). "Centrafrique :Film " LE SILENCE DE LA FORET "". Beafrika ti mo (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-28.
^ "The Silence of the Forest | Kanopy". www.kanopy.com. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
^ Marshall2003-07-14T00:00:00+01:00, Lee. "The Silence Of The Forest (Le Silence De La Foret)". Screen. Retrieved 2020-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b "Co-director of" Le Silence de la Forêt"". Africultures (in French). 2003-05-27. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
^ "28th Toronto International Film Festival Coverage: List of Films (TIFF 2003) | DigitalHit.com". www.digitalhit.com. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
^ "Quinzaine 2003". quinzaine-realisateurs.com. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
^ Barlet, Olivier (2003-10-09). "Namur 2003 : la résistance francophone". Africultures (in French). Retrieved 2020-10-07.