A story that rebuilds the sometimes damaged links between Africa and its descendants in other countries.
Bantú Mama is a feature film about the African diaspora. The film, co-written by Clarisse Albrecht and Ivan Herrera and directed by Ivan Herrera, takes us into the life of Emma, an Afro-European woman living in Capotillo, the most dangerous neighbourhood in Santo Domingo. Her life is turned upside down when she escapes from the authorities after being arrested for drug trafficking. She was later taken in by a group of children whose mothers had been orphaned and whose fathers were in prison, and she became their ‘mother’.
The movie paints a picture of love, maternal love, the love of a surrogate mother for these children but also a greater and more symbolic love; that of mother earth, of Africa to her children, to her descendants around the world. The movie draws and shows the perspective of a different life. It emphasises African culture and values; it also acts as a bridge to our roots, decolonisation, unlearning of prejudices and stereotypes and rediscovery of Africa and our deeper identity.
The movie is especially impactful because the story is rooted in the lives and challenges of the writers, while also tracing the lives of many other Afro-descendants.
A new face of Dominican cinema
The feature film, the first Dominican movie to be selected by the festival at South By South West, has won several awards since its release. It was nominated at the NAACP Image Awards as Best International Movie and is also part of the official selection of FESPACO 2023.
The movie, represented in North America by ARRAY, is available on Netflix and has been well received by international critics.
The most important achievement of Bantú Mama is that it brings Caribbean talent to the forefront of the entertainment world and, more importantly, puts the spotlight on Caribbean cinema, which has long been overshadowed by Latin American and sometimes African cinema. The movie is definitely a success that we hope will be repeated in the team’s future projects.
