The awarding of the Etalon d'Or 2023 to the Tunisian film Ashkal, at a time when foreigners are being driven out of this country, "is a good lesson" given to Tunisia, estimated on Friday , FESPACO General Delegate Moussa Alex Sawadogo.
“When I saw the results (of the official winners of the 28th edition of FESPACO), I said to myself that here is a jury that has also done its job. A jury made up of creators, filmmakers and artists who did not let themselves be carried away by this wave of popular deliberation. He put himself above politics and the fray. And it's a good lesson for Tunisia,” said General Delegate Moussa Alex Sawadogo.
The delegate general spoke during a report interview published this Friday in the public daily Sidwaya.
The interview focused on the organization of the 28? edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) which took place from February 25 to March 4, 2023 under the theme "Cinema of Africa and culture of peace ".
The 2023 Yennenga Gold Stallion was won on Saturday March 4 in Ouagadougou by Tunisian director Youssef Chebbi with his film Ashkal.
The coronation came almost two weeks after a speech by Tunisian President Kais Saied on Tuesday February 21 stating that the arrival of sub-Saharan migrants in his country would be part of a plot to weaken the Arab-Islamic identity in Tunisia According to the general delegate Moussa Alex Sawadogo, Tunisia “will now recognize that Burkina Faso is a country attached to quality, human values, morals, etc. ". "This is also the strength of creators, that of always anticipating", he noted.
“A great lesson for Tunisia. We have shown that in Burkina, in sub-Saharan Africa, we are beyond all that. But, I believe that artistically too, the film Ashkal, I take the position of the jury, deserved its prize”, he underlined.
President Kaïs Saïed's speech caused a stir in Tunisia and abroad. It was followed by a wave of attacks against sub-Saharan populations, forcing governments to organize repatriation convoys for their fellow citizens.
They are 64 Burkinabè citizens who lived in Tunisia who returned to Ouagadougou on Wednesday March 15, 2023, on board a special flight chartered by the Government of Burkina Faso.
The 2023 Silver Stallion was won by the film Sira by Burkinabe Apolline Traoré. For Moussa Alex Sawadogo, cinema is a mix and a territory.
“A territory in the sense that it is the fusion of several countries. It is the power of several nationalities that creates a film. When you take for example Sira, by Apolline Traoré, in particular the composition of those who worked on it, there are more than five or six voices, ten nationalities. So cinema is a territory and those who organize this festival must be above this territory, ”he said.
Source: Burkina Information Agency