TRUE VISION AWARD

2021 RECIPIENT: ROSINE MBAKAM

Born in Cameroon to a traditional family, Rosine Mbakam grew into filmmaking at a young age, training in Yaoundé at the Italian-run NGO Centro Orientamento Educativo in 2000. Her delicate approach to storytelling began to take hold after leaving her role at Spectrum Television in 2007 and moving to Belgium for further filmmaking training. The emotional weight of this migration is woven between her three remarkable features. The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman and Chez Jolie Coiffure (T/F 2019), along with her latest film, Delphine’s Prayers, cement Mbakam as a powerful director exploring intimacy, womanhood, and African identity. In The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman, Mbakam returns to her native Cameroon from her home in Belgium, where she moved to study film at the age of 27, married a European, and had a son. Her mother, Mâ Brêh, still lives in Cameroon and returns to their familial village of Tonga to meet Rosine; the elder woman joins their other female relatives as they go about their daily tasks, sharing stories that reveal the strength of their solidarity in the face of many adversities. Her newest film, Delphine’s Prayers, focuses singularly on Delphine, a Cameroonian woman living in Belgium, as she recounts her turbulent life of sexual exploitation and dislocation. Like her previous films, Mbakam’s inclination towards collaborative storytelling, coupled with her preternatural skill at building rapport, creates real trust between filmmaker, subject, and audience. Rosine Mbakam will receive this year’s True Vision Award in honor of her achievements in and contributions to the field of nonfiction filmmaking. Her latest film, Delphine’s Prayers, will screen at the festival in addition to her feature debut, The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman. The award is given with support from Dr. Timothy McGarity of Restoration Eye Care. The award is designed by local metal artist Michael Marcum.

PRESENTED BY

02

DELPHINE'S PRAYERS

A: THURSDAY, MAY 6 / 8:40PM / SHOWTIME AMPHITHEATER // B: SUNDAY, MAY 9 / 8:40PM / SAPLING

Dir. Rosine Mbakam; 2020; 90 min. Live remote Q&A

In a messy but bright bedroom, Delphine, a Cameroonian transplant in Belgium, shares her compelling and heart-wrenching story. Lighting a cigarette, Delphine recounts her life of hardships and moments of love. Beginning with the tragic death of her mother, she tells of the sexual exploitation she endured in Cameroon and her current, unfulfilled marital life in Belgium. True Vision Award recipient Mbakam grants her subject the space to reflect upon the trauma she’s survived. Oscillating between humorous and playful to staggeringly painful, the conversation maps the intersections of gender, race, class, and displacement. Mbakam is no distanced observer but an equal participant, co-crafting a narrative. Through this palpable intimacy, we are privileged to bear witness to the undimmable light of Delphine. (AC)