Moroccan director takes top prize at Panafrican Film Fest

Fièvres, a movie by French-Moroccan director Hicham Ayouch was the surprise winner at this year’s Panafrican Film and Television Festival (FESPACO), held in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

Powerful and poignant, the movie is about a troubled boy who goes in search of his absent father when his mother is imprisoned.

Director Hicham Ayouch describes it as a “universal” story.

“It is a portrait of three generations of men – a grandfather, a father and a son – and they are all looking for their place,” Hicham says. “It’s also about keeping your childhood as we grow.”

Hicham would know. Like Benjamin, the main character, Hicham grew up away from his father. The experience inspired his involvement in Fièvres, although Hicham maintained it is not an autobiographical depiction.

“That stayed in my subconscious but making the film was not therapy; it was about a touching story and something which concerns many.”

So many Africans grow up fatherless that Fièvres received the Golden Stallion, the biennial festival’s most prestigious prize, given to the film that best describes Africa’s realities.

It was chosen over the Oscar-nominated Timbuktu, about the Islamist occupation of the Malian city, and local favourite The Eye of the Storm, about a young lawyer in an unnamed African country defending a rebel charged with war crimes.

Hicham admitted the coup was unexpected but exhilarating.

“It came as a big surprise and we accepted with a lot of humility,” he says.

Hicham describes himself as very attached to this particular film festival. “I am not a fan of institutions but I believe it is a beautiful institution. It’s good to meet as a community and share passions. We hope winning the award will give us the chance to be screened more in Africa.”

Apart from Fespaco and a festival in Marrakech, Fièvres is not widely available on the continent – something that could be blamed on a lack of resources.

“The tragedy is that we don’t have a lot of theatres in Africa,” Hicham says. “Some countries have only one cinema.”

However, he is optimistic about the development of film on the continent, particularly in the five countries that are taking the lead.

Hicham explains that Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa are the powerhouses of African film with South Africa showcasing one of the best models for making films while Nigeria and Ghana have proved you can build economical projects by self-funding films. “There is a beautiful energy. We are making progress.”

Words by Firdose Moonda
Images – Fièvres