Night Nursery, FESPACO Grand Prize Winner, is 2022 iREP’s Closing Film

GARDERIE NOCTURNE (Night Nursery), the film that won the Best Documentary film grand prize at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, FESPACO in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, has been selected as the closing film for the 2022 iREP International Documentary Film Festival, holding March 17-20 in Lagos and virtually.

The 67-minute film directed by Moumouni Sanou will be the last of the over 60 films to be screened in the course of the 4-day festival, which will also feature conversations, training, workshops, mentorship session, and producers’ roundtable among other niche items that distinguish the festival from others in its class.

The 2022 iREP Festival dotting on its conceptual framework of “Africa in Self-Conversation’ is exploring the theme UNFILTERED: African Stories. Stories from Africa, which according to the organizers is to examine “how Africa is being represented or otherwise by filmmakers and storytellers who engage her issues”.

To be screened as the last of the over 60 films featuring in the festival, Night Nursery, which drew popular appeal after it was announced as the winner of the FESPACO 2021 Stallion of Gold of Yennenga Prize, is a fascinating story of the lives and activities at a popular ‘social’ center in Bobo Dioulasso, one of Burkina Faso’s major cities.

Synopsis: 

In the county town of Bobo-Dioulasso, near Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, sex workers leave their offspring in the care of Ms. Coda, an elderly lady who has been caring for children whose mothers earn their living on the streets at night for decades. Filmmaker Moumouni Sanou has managed over the years to gain the trust of everyone involved and gain a deep insight into the lives of Odile and Farida, both of whom depend on Ms. Coda’s services. He observes tenderly and very closely all aspects of her life, housework, free time, intimate moments of motherhood, including her relationship with Mrs. Coda and how she raises her children. 

The film focuses on the experiences of women. Men and fathers are absent, except in the times amusing, sometimes deeply shocking stories that Farida and Odile tell about their work. Sanou’s reserved, respectful look makes clear the advantages of horizontal filmmaking, which is characterized by the greatest possible attention and sensitivity towards the protagonists.

The 67 minutes flick, produced by Berni Goldblat, a Juror member of the African Movie Award Academy (AMAA), is co-produced by Les Films Du Djabadjah (Burkina Faso), Vrai Vrai Films(France), and Blinker Filmproduktion (Germany), had also won Best Film Award Astra Film Festival Romania 2021’ Best Documentary Award Mashariki Film Festival Rwanda 2021; Honourable Award at Panorama Internacional Coisa De Cinema Brazil 2021. It was a major feature at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival; and in January began its European tour, starting in Germany.  Further details are available at: www.djabadjahfilms.com;  Facebook and Twitter:@DjabadjahFilms.

Born in 1987 in Burkina Faso, the Filmmaker – Moumouni Sanou studied film and works as an editor, cinematographer, and director. “Garderie nocturne” is his first feature-length film. He also studied for six months at the PEFTI International film School in Lagos, Nigeria.

iREP is organized by the Foundation for the Promotion of Documentary Film in Africa, and is in collaboration with the San Diego, US-based African World Documentary Film Festival, AWDFF, with partnership support from German Films, AgDok, Goethe Institut Lagos, among other local and international organizations.

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