Teno's film looks into the complexities arising from European colonialism in Africa, focusing on Namibia and Cameroon in particular. He illustrates the role of missionaries in colonization, interviewing modern historians and professors
to dig to the bottom of an issue deeply rooted in African history, one that has shaped the way of life in many formerly colonized nations.
The film elucidates how much bearing the history of Africa continues to have on its present day challenges, and thus opens an important discussion about the role of religious movements in the project of imperialism and cultural transformation.
“This documentary distinguishes itself by taking a definitive point of view. Challenging Europe’s ‘amnesia’ surrounding the colonial era, the film interrogates the complex relationship between Europe and Africa.” Bijan Anquetil, Le Nouvel Observateur
“Teno has been making a series of eloquent documentaries about the African legacy of colonialism. In this most recent work, Teno tells the story of the devastation of a continent with wit, irony and historical passion.” Linda Williams, University of California-Berkeley
Jean-Marie Téno
Jean-Marie Teno is an award-winning film-maker from Cameroon who refuses to be stifled by censorship. Teno has lived in France since 1977 and made his first film, the documentary short Schubbah in 1983. While his Parisian life has clearly added to Teno's cosmopolitan sensibilities, he has remained in touch with African life and politics during his years abroad. Several of his feature length films, including Afrique, je te plumerai ( Africa , I WIll Fleece You ) (1993) and Clando (1996) earned the praise of critics, scholars and Non Governmental Organisations from around the world . Teno has pointed out that his main concern is to force people to think about how to achieve positive change. But what riles him most are the stagnation and inertia that rule post-colonial Cameroon. “Politics is our life,” he stresses. “We are not sheep, we are people. Yet we are living in a country where we don’t have the right to talk about what is happening around us. That’s why I make films – to prove I’m not a sheep and to involve people in their own destiny” (interview with David Katz, The New Internationalist ).’
