‘Our Father, The Devil,’ Teaches Of Untold Hells On Earth

Our Father, The Devil film poster.

Our Father, The Devil simmers a slow burning masquerade that loosens its secrets seam by seam, ultimately revealing two people attempting separate paths of redemption. Yet, questions arise between the parallel twists and shocking turns. Can a person truly be redeemed after committing heinously evil acts many years ago? How much are they willing to risk in order to achieve a clean slate? And is an apology ever enough to begin the process of forgiveness? 

Marie (Babetida Sadjo) is a lovely dark-skinned chef donning a septum piercing, epic lip stick shades, and banged box braids. She’s rootable from the start. DP: Tinx Chan.

The film opens on beautiful, elusive Marie Cissé having a solitary drink. She represents the idyllic dream— a quiet existence in the French mountainside, respect from Sabine, her boss as a talented head chef for a nursing facility, and the keys to a befitting kingdom via Jeanne, a dear, supportive mentor. Marie has a whiny friend in fellow co-worker Nadia. In the sweet secluded cabin in the woods, high above a cliff and majestic scenery (an important heirloom in Jeanne’s family), Marie enjoys the solitude and tells no one about it. However, Marie’s resplendent bliss becomes threatened by the sudden appearance of Father Patrick, a charming priest who has swept the entire staff and residents under his religious thumb. Every move he makes—from his walk to the way he carries a spoon— triggers Marie. 

Furthermore, Marie, the African immigrant, has grown accustomed to French colonialism. Her body already seems to belong to the surrounding whiteness. A co-worker undermines Marie’s cooking, Sabine refuses to give much needed vacation, and a persistent bartender aims to seduce. Whereas Nadia believes Marie just needs a man, Jeanne respects Marie’s potential and rich, delicious cooking. At the same time, Jeanne encourages Father Patrick’s influence unknowing that the enigmatic man stirs discomfort. Marie’s desperation for temporary escape grows and grows until she decides to do something unexpected about it. 

All the prayer and time in the world cannot change a victim’s inherent trauma, Father Patrick (Souleymane Sy Savane). DP: Tinx Chan.

The narrative shifts towards the former mouse, the former soldier snatching back her power from the once horrendous cat. The metaphor weighs heavy here. Father Patrick believes his past can be buried beneath sacred black and white cloth. In glaring reality, Marie, sees the monster that forever scarred her. Trauma— the reason for Marie’s closed off personality, her steel guardedness— impacts her newfound motivation. After what has been done to her as an innocent child, how could she trust a single soul? How could she give this man an ounce of remorse? And can she heal with the blood stains permanently imprinted on her mind? 

The gifted cabin symbolizes another form of pleasure, albeit sadistic—  a place to enact revenge where no one can discover them, let alone suspect foul play. Father Patrick’s pleading tries to convince and tug on Marie’s vulnerable nature, for a moment seeming quite believable. The terrible fact about surviving trauma is that certain elements remain burned in the brain. They may be far from whence they hailed. Time may have passed. Marie may have carved herself a healthier situation.

But she was not going to forget what was done to her or her family. 

Our Father, The Devil is brilliant from its effective title to the fiery direction and story, a feature length debut by Ellie Foumbi, also an actress starring in early Nikyatu Jusu shorts, Suicide By Sunlight and Say Grace Before Drowning and Abbesi Akhemie’s The Couple Next Door. Nominated for Best First Feature at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards and Best Film at the Africa Academy Awards, Foumbi’s strong, vital voice deserves a seat at the Directors To Watch table. Someone needs to put out a bulletin, alert the media radar. Her fresh, bold narrative delivers far better material than most films wallowing in the same rehashed storylines with the same overpaid actors. 

To feel or not to feel remorse for your prisoner— and rightfully so, Marie does not give a chuck for a while. DP: Tinx Chan.

The cast is also excellent, especially the dynamic Babetida Sadjo as Marie, a woman confronted by an ugly past that could potentially mar her brightening future. Souleymane Sy Savane as Father Patrick rendered a character reinventing himself as a close ally to sainthood. In one moving scene, a tear glides down his eye and for a split second, a hardened Marie could have almost succumbed as easily as the community she partly distances herself from. Sadjo and Sy Savane play off each other beautifully— raw, harsh, and severe. Brilliant acting masterclass work with Tinx Chan’s intense cinematography pushing Foumbi’s emotional story forward.

Overall, Our Father, The Devil sends guttural shivers through the heart and mind. It’s thrilling, mysterious, sensuous, and difficult, but leaves an unforgettable impression.

Happy Birthday, Euzhan Palcy: Fem Film Rogue Icon Spotlight

 

Behind the scenes with Euzhan Palcy.

Euzhan Palcy, an incredible history making filmmaker deserves to be celebrated. Viola Davis said in a powerful introductory speech at the Honorary Oscars ceremony that Palcy is a woman of many firsts, that she did never sacrificed her blackness or womanhood. In the filmmaking field, it takes bravery and courage to get behind the camera and decide as a Black woman to tell evocative Black stories surpassing all genres. As a Black director controlling the Black image— historically almost always white, especially in biopics and blackploitation— Palcy sought to turn the tables in the cinematic medium, pushing out African diaspora in memorably prolific masterpieces.  

Euzhan Palcy with her much deserved honorary Oscar.

Born and raised in Martinique of the French West Indies, Palcy studied French literature and theater at the University of Paris (also called the Sorbonne) and art and archaeology and film/cinematography at the Louis-Lumière College. After The Messenger, a 1975 TV film set in her native Martinique and The Devil’s Workshop, a 1982 short, Palcy’s first major film Sugar Cane Alley— made for a million dollars with help from the French government— placed her on the filmmaking map. Based on Joseph Zobel’s semi-autobiographical Black Shack Alley novel, Palcy’s revolutionary work focuses on the grave injustices white landowners placed on Black sugar cane farmers in 1930’s Martinique. The protagonist young José lives with his grandmother Ma’Tine, witnessing generation after generation of the overworked, beaten Black farmers regardless of their age and health. Sugar Cane Alley— edited by the award-winning Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte— won many awards including the Best Work Award at the Cesar Awards, the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Darling Légitimus, and the Public Award at The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou held in Burkina Faso. 

Euzhan Palcy between Marlon Brando (Ian) and Donald Sutherland (Ben) in the barrister’s office scene. 

A Dry White Season, Palcy’s second feature-length starring Donald Sutherland, Marlon Brando, and Zakes Mokae, exposes South Africa’s brutal, ugly past— the unforgettably evil apartheid. The story unfolds rather quickly— showcasing the idle pleasantries of upper crust white lives versus the precarious uncertainty of peacefully protesting Black people. Even Black children are not safe from vicious political reign. Ben, the oblivious white professor, sees his country for what it is, influencing his young impressionable son Jonathan in the process. Everyone else including his own wife and treacherous elder daughter sees Ben as a traitor— all because he knows that killing Black senselessly is wrong! In Palcy’s film, there are no roses placed on the truth— it is bloody, violent, and heartbreaking. 

Palcy’s other works include the NAACP Image Award nominated Ruby Bridges for the Wonderful World of Disney, the documentary Hassane (“How Are the Kids”), and various shorts, TV films, and TV episodes. Throughout her career of bold, eye-opening risks, Palcy has explored the definition of the globalized experience, highlighting the devastating consequences that colonialism left behind in every nook and cranny of our world, of our tarnished history. 

Behind the scenes with Euzhan. 

Euzhan in action. 

The inspiring Euzhan Palcy— the first to direct a Hollywood film, the first Black filmmaker to win the coveted French Cesar Award and Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, a Silver Gavel from the American Bar Association, the Sojourner Truth Award from Cannes Film Festival, and wins at the Philadelphia Film Festival, Durban International Film Festival, and etc.— is a profound testament of commendable strength and diligence. The film industry is a very difficult road to navigate, especially for a Black woman, prone to working with low budgets, awards snubs, and every roadblock in between. That’s why in 2023, there remains a select few that please these juries/voters/guilds still stuck in a certain time, a time that is more often exclusive than inclusive. 

Although no official word yet on if Palcy is working on new projects, there is an audience interested in her past films and whatever comes next. 

Strong, insightful quotes to really think about by Euzhan Palcy:

“I wanted to make a Black story about South Africa. Unfortunately, no producer in Hollywood would put one penny into a Black story.” 

“Some people make movies for money or glory and will take any subject people offer them. But I cannot do that. I need to feel the story and make it mine.” 

“There are many projects I couldn’t get off the ground because they didn’t have white heroes. It’s a problem that everyone who’s been working in Hollywood has been facing.” 

“No one enters this stage alone. I would not be here without the wisdom and love from all those who joined me in my journey. My heart is bursting right now thinking about my grandmother, of my dad, of my mother, and my godmother and godfathers…” 

“Many have asked me why for a time I stepped back from a career that I love. I stepped back so that I could truly stand up and stand tall. If I didn’t make any movies for a few years, it’s because I decided to keep silence… I kept my silence because I was exhausted.” 

Yes, ‘Dolapo Is Fine,’ Okay?

 

Dolapo is Fine film poster. 

A film focused on the hairstyles of Black girls/women will never become old. It remains a constant critique in all societies what the Black female equation will do with the top of her head. When Black men make films about it (for example Chris Rock’s comedic documentary Good Hair offers more questions than answers about what is “good hair”), it feels more disingenuous punchline to an unsatisfactory joke at the expense of humiliating Black girls/women than a healing opportunity for the community. 

Dolapo (Doyin Ajiboye) waiting for her big interview. 

Enter the wonderfully executed short film Dolapo is Fine, a familiar story written by Joan Iyiola and Chibundu Onuzo and directed by Ethosheia Hylton. 

Dolapo (Doyin Ajiboye) fluffs up her hair as Imogen (Katie Friedli Walton) waits in the sidelines. 

Dolapo (Doyin Ajiboye) looking at her reflection for a moment. 

Dolapo is a bright, intelligent student at a London based private boarding school. Her classmates are mostly white including her close friend Imogen. The future seems bright for a girl hoping to intern at a bank. Unfortunately, Dolapo’s choice to flaunt her natural hair discourages Daisy, the mentor whose own name is shortened to appease her corporate bosses. Daisy’s straight, long-haired wig represents power and confidence— inspiring Dolapo to mirror the older, experienced woman. 

Daisy (Joan Iyiola— also the film’s co-screenwriter) advices Dolapo to remake herself to fit a more professional demeanor specifically her hair and name aka her whole identity. 

The glaring fact that Daisy blasts Dolapo’s hair as the reason she would not do well in the professional realm is a sad consequence of globalized mental conditioning. It is always Black girls and women choosing to wear their hair out from which it grows naturally facing ugly blowback. A fellow Black woman Daisy— who looks at Dolapo’s Afro in undisguised hatred— tells Dolapo that her white friends think it’s cute speaks volumes. 

Dolapo preparing her hair for Wigageddon. 

According to Imogen, her curls are a struggle too. Yet the struggle is not as viciously inherent as Dolapo.  When the Black Girl Magic natural hair resurgence began years ago, it was co-opted by girls and women with Imogen’s specific curl pattern, putting them well ahead in the forefront of the 4C types who were simply celebrating the kinky, coarse, thick hair that is not as prevalent and preferred as white and biracial women’s. In magazines such as Glamour and Cosmopolitan, Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman are talking about embracing their natural curls, but Black women have to hide behind wigs and lace fronts and remain silent about hair struggles to predominately white interviewers. 

Dolapo tries to put on a good front, but not only is the wig an itchy menace, she has nightmares about whose hair it could possibly be. 

Dolapo takes a stance towards the ever curious Imogen whose hands dangerously reach out to touch Dolapo’s hair as though she’s at a petting zoo. 

Dolapo buys a wig and protects her Afro underneath it. During a video call with her parents, they are pleased by Dolapo’s transformation, believing she looks like a model/beauty queen. This further demonstrates the devastating hold straight hair has on Black girls and women— that this still means beautiful, acceptable in every part of the world. When Dolapo goes to school sporting her new look, walking with an elevated air, everyone stares at her in a stupor, as though she’s someone they’ve never seen before. Dolly is what she prefers to be called, a slick shortening of her name (which originally is not too short) that sounds hip. However, the first successful cloning of the sheep Dolly comes to mind. Dolapo wants to emulate not only Daisy, but the many Black girls/women who have conformed to the European standards of beauty over their own nature. 

Dolapo is fine just the way she is. 

Winner of the HBO Short Film Award and other honors and an impressive roster of being selected in various film festivals, Dolapo Is Fine is a well-deserving watch with a refreshing cast led by Doyin Ajiboye’s incredible performance. In fifteen riveting minutes, anyone can understand Dolapo’s identity dilemma and root for her to win against an unsettling injustice made by colonialism. 

‘Like Cotton Twines,’ A Cycle Of Pain and Small Triumph

 

Like Cotton Twines film poster.

Sometimes a real heartbreaker comes along to sabotage this Western conditioning of heroes and saviors— this cinematic belief that the poor victim will be saved in the nick of time. Leila Djansi’s film In Cotton Twines offers little glimpses of hope for an African teenage girl named Tuigi stuck in old ways. While set in a modern time with patriarchal structures and problematic religious practices set in stone, Black women and girls like Tuigi suffer the most tremendous costs. 

Tuigi’s smile is a constant highlight until it gradually stops occurring. DP Pete Villani.

The film opens on Tuigi and her best friend watch Tuigi’s mother giving birth; Tuigi vows that this will not happen for her. After a long wait, Tuigi finally gets her period, staining her demure pink dress. Later than other village girls, Tuigi’s family is pleased. Meanwhile Micha Brown, an American volunteer, is on his way to a new teaching position, enthused to come to Ghana, a place loved by his late mother who traveled there as a young girl. Micha and Tuigi soon form a bond. Unfortunately her foolish father’s mistakes lead another path for Tuigi. 

Tuigi’s (Ophelia Klenam Dzidzornu) happiness comes in the form of learning with Micha (Jay Ellis). DP Pete Villani.

Many uncomfortable moments arise including powerless Tuigi’s mother unable to help her daughter be spared endless inflicted excruciations. Scenes become far too painful to watch as viewers are subjected to blood spillage over and over. Tuigi is battling a war that she cannot win. Blood is the glaring reality for women/girls— shown in three acts. First, the menstrual cycle— a feminine right of passage, a quiet, unnoticeable naturalness that Tuigi doesn’t even realize. Then blood comes from what is done to Tuigi— both acts violent and painful. The forceful violence of circumcision (without anesthesia) is a whole guttural mess. Once Tuigi is sentenced to ten years in the shrine (a place that sacrificed girls are held captive and must endure a nasty old libertine), she is raped at too young an age. 

Tuigi doesn’t deserve this penance. No girl does. 

Micha (Jay Ellis) and Sarah (Yvonne Okoro). DP Pete Villani.

In the beginning, a reluctant, defeated Sarah was hesitant to join Micha’s mission to save Tuigi from her unfair fate. A fellow schoolteacher who is obviously attracted to Micha, Sarah questions authority and goes immediately to school head Father Baani for aide, blasting the system for raping young girls. 

“How you know? Were you there?”

The unsettling question comes from the lips of most nonbelievers— primarily men. Yet it is a shocking surprise from Father Baani. Only a full grown man would imagine a fourteen-year-old prisoner willingly inviting sex with a monster whose targets are as premature as eight-years-old. That’s the world in a nutshell; the unchallenged allowance of men getting away with their pedophilia and violence and muttering these “asking for it” and “where’s the proof” logistics as though victims have recording cameras at ready. It’s Bill Cosby, Anthony Anderson, Nate Parker, the church, and a host of alleged others in a long list of celebrated men who should be held accountable for mistreating women. Patriarchal structures are as globally wide as the consequences of colonialism. To begin loosening this tight knot means addressing the problem within. 

Micah and Sarah’s crusade gains additional help from a white lady named Jean. Years ago, Jean had been unsuccessful in her efforts to prevent a girl from receiving a “shrine sentence” as well. Meanwhile, Sarah during her time teaching, has lost three girls. 

Tuigi, Micha, and Sarah— a beautiful makeshift family. DP Pete Villani.

Before and during her sentence, education is important to a bright, intelligent Tuigi. She quickly picks up on Micha’s lessons and takes to secret studies out of the shrine’s watchful eye. It is her only solace; learning new ideas, pleased to receive positive remarks from the encouraging Micha. When exams come around, Tuigi’s community pulls in to ensure she can take them. Sadness is an overwhelming here— due to wishing that these people had earlier come together to protect all girls from their family’s crimes. While they’re avidly campaigning for Tuigi, her parents are no where in sight. 

Sarah (Yvonne Okoro) celebrating their small yet sentimental victory. DP Pete Villani. 

Leila Djansi’s heavy screenplay reveals a Ghana still letting religion conquer over its people, endangering mostly girls and women wrongly subjected to carrying out a family sentence. Ophelia Klenam Dzidzornu’s multifaceted performance as Tuigi puts in a brave face and delivers a smile to her friend and teacher, reflecting that though her conditions are dire, her education brings her the most joy and pleasure. Truly hopeful that she can have a successful career in a system where only Black British and white imports have outstanding global successes. As for Insecure’s Jay Ellis as Micha, he played the role decently. There’s promise that he can become a stronger actor if more complex roles like Micah are led his way. 

A few cons: indecent that Micah and Sarah have sex immediately after Tuigi is taken away. By the end, very unclear if they’re just friends or became more than colleagues. Also, Micha asking Tuigi, “are you pregnant?” was cringy. This line could have been either more carefully considered (after all Tuigi is a young victim) or not been vocally spoken at all. 

Still, Like Cotton Twines deserves the honors bestowed for telling a brutal narrative interlaced with hope and joy. Leila Djansi is definitely a filmmaker worth notice. 

Tuigi’s daughter grows up to become a ballerina. DP Pete Villani.

Like Cotton Twines leaves us with hope through the tears; hope for our dreams to come true if not through us, but by those who come next.