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Netflix, UNESCO seek breakthrough for African cinema
Katera of the Punishment Island, a revenge thriller where a mother turns into a vigilante, is among six short films co-financed on Africa by Netflix and UNESCO.
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UNESCO Assistant Director General Ernesto Ottone (L), Tanzanian filmmaker Walt Mzengi (3rdL), South African filmmaker Gcobisa Yako (5thL), Nigerian filmmaker Korede Azeez (7thL), Kenyan filmmaker Voline Ogutu (8thL), and Ugandan filmmaker Loukman Ali (11thL), Netflix Director of Local language Films Africa Tendeka Matatu (R) and guests pose for a photocall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on March 29, 2023. (AFP/Tony Karumba)
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t's a revenge thriller where a mother turns into a ruthless vigilante, tracking down and drowning a soldier who has killed her baby, in an explosion of violence and jubilation.
What might sound like the plot of the latest flick by Quentin Tarantino or another Hollywood auteur is actually the fruit of a partnership between streaming giant Netflix and the UN cultural agency UNESCO to give a platform to new voices in African cinema.
Katera of the Punishment Island, directed by Ugandan Loukman Ali, is among six short films co-financed on the continent by the American platform and the UN agency.
"It's the revenge of a young girl, left to her own devices and yet who is going to smash up everything," said French producer Pape Boye, who served as a "mentor" to the director and praises the "jubilant violence" of the film.
Loukman Ali, he said, is a worthy representative of a new generation of African filmmakers, who grew up on a diet of mainstream cinema and "want to be seen by as many people as possible", scorning so-called genre films.
The director, 32, said he embraced cinema as a form of escapism and a way to forget the poverty surrounding him as he was growing up.
"Each time there was a film that reminded us of how poor we were or how bad situation the situation was, it was kind of like a no-no," he told AFP in a telephone interview. "I am more about entertainment. That's the model I follow."
