Lingui (2022)

Direction: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Country: Chad 

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Dry Season, 2006; A Screaming Man, 2010) shoots beautifully in a pleasantly aesthetic film that makes a clear and pertinent statement about the Chadian community, underscoring its authoritarian religious practices, intolerance, hypocrisy, and misogyny. This is a chilling, sober story that depicts the sacrifices of a single mother as well as the adversity and discrimination she is forced to endure in the suburbs of N’djamena.

Amina (Achouackh Abakar Souleymane) has been a hard-working woman since she was repudiated by her family. Suddenly, she sees the curse that affected being replicated when her only 15-year-old daughter, Maria (Rihane Khalil Alio), becomes pregnant from rape. This leads her to another problem; the abortion is illegal in her Muslim country and punished with severe penalties. 

The economical script builds reasonable tension, and the film moves assuredly from incident to incident with a simplicity in the storytelling that makes it seem old-fashioned, but winsomely so. It’s comforting to see women helping one another in a constant fight against the patriarchal system. Yet, some scenes are in need of revision and re-staging as the acting fluctuates. Nonetheless, the message is so strong that it’s nearly impossible to ignore it. You don’t have a cheery film in Lingui but one that gives us hope.

A Screaming Man (2010)

Realizado por: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
País: Chade

Adam Ousmane, é um homem na casa dos sessenta e antigo campeão de natação. Daí a sua paixão pelo seu trabalho: responsável pela piscina de um hotel, local onde também trabalha o seu filho. Quando o hotel é privatizado, começam a haver ajustes de tarefas e despedimentos que irão influenciar a vida da família Ousmane. Aos poucos, vamos entrando no mundo de Adam, compreendendo os seus problemas e sentindo a sua angústia, onde a guerra e a insegurança também marcam presença. Com uma carga emocional muito forte, ficamos aturdidos pela brutalidade do seu desfecho.