The Bronze Men of Cameroon/ Les Hommes de Bronze du Cameroun
- Submitting institution
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University of South Wales / Prifysgol De Cymru
: A - A – Faculty of Creative Industries, University of South Wales
- Unit of assessment
- 33 - Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies : A - A – Faculty of Creative Industries, University of South Wales
- Output identifier
- 4087719
- Type
- Q - Digital or visual media
- Publisher
- -
- Month
- October
- Year
- 2020
- URL
-
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- Supplementary information
-
-
- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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3
- Research group(s)
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B - Screen Media
- Proposed double-weighted
- Yes
- Double-weighted statement
- This documentary is the result of an extended process of creative research in film. It is the first film to offer visible evidence of the long-standing tradition of bronze casting in Cameroon, and the lived experiences of the community of artisans. Ayisi undertook the roles of principal investigator, producer, camera operator and director. The process also involved navigating complex issues of gaining permission, access, consent and also allowing a woman to film artisans in the Bamum Kingdom, which is a Muslim society. The film has received ‘official selection’ status at seven international film festivals in Canada, USA, India and Cameroon.
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This film explores African art practices and cultural heritage amongst the Bamum in Cameroon. The recording of any culture on film provides a site for reproducing and manifesting collective social memory, identity and history. This idea connects with ambitions to produce and disseminate positive representations of Africa to change perceptions of local-global audiences about lived experiences and cultural expressions.
The research framework for this film is interdisciplinary and includes postcolonial discourse, Third cinema, transnationalism, and media representation. It expands revisionist dialogues around decolonising cultural imaginings about Africa in ways that counter hegemonic paradigms. Ideas from Teshome Gabriel’s 1989 essay, “Third Cinema as Guardian of Popular memory: Towards a Third Aesthetic” underpin this film’s aims, especially in representations of African traditions, identity and symbolic narratives in cinema.
The research broadens the scope and visibility of Bamum cultural heritage in its application of documentary aesthetics and digital ethnographic methods. Writing the proposal and treatment was an important process with a focused approach in observing and portraying the community of artisans. Narrative interviews offered the artisans active roles in recounting experiences from personal perspectives in their indigenous language. These interviews interweave with actuality scenes, archives, long takes, close-ups and aerial shots to interpret and communicate the themes of the film. Drone shots were used to enhance viewpoints of the double-headed snake sculpture and to underscore connections between history, cultural heritage, and Bamum identity. These familiar documentary techniques aim to engage a broad audience, and thus, increase the visibility and awareness of the artisans and their art.
The film has been selected at several international film festivals in Canada, USA, Bulgaria, Sweden and Cameroon. In 2020, it was screened in festivals in Canada and USA. Due to COVID-19, some 2020 screenings were postponed to 2021
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- Yes
- English abstract
- This documentary film is mainly in Bamum. However, all main speeches and conversations spoken in Bamum that are relevant to the narrative are subtitled in English. French is spoken in some interviews.