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Emotional dramas take top prizes

By Joyce Dundas in Cannes

Published: May 22 2005

In the sidebar event, Directors’ Fortnight, the stars of Sisters In Law a documentary set in Kumba in Cameroon which looks in a fly-on-the-wall style at the daily work of state prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Beatrice Ntuba, the judge in the magistrate’s court.

The women almost did not make it to the festival as their visas were revoked at the last minute. Only the intervention of Pascal Thomas, president of the French Director’s Guild, allowed them to travel to Cannes, which was all the more fortuitous as the film won Prix Art Essai, one of the highest in the sidebar.

The film, directed by Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi and commissioned by FilmFour, deals with harrowing cases of child abuse, wife-beating and rape in Cameroon. What it shows is how the work of these women others is changing what Ms Ngassa calls, “customary thinking”, where traditionally certain behaviour has been tolerated. These women use the law at a “grass roots level” to change that thinking.

Ms Ngassa says that she was influenced at a very early age to enter law after reading To Kill a Mokingbird and felt that Atticus Finch was one of her role models. The film recieved a standing ovation at every screening and though emotional, it is a positive and uplifting documentary

© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2005

Variety.com

British documakers Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi present a surprisingly positive portrait of the justice system in a small town in Cameroon, where a progressive-minded female judge and lawyer forcefully intervene in cases of abuse of women and a child. Doc has the fascination of watching an African "Judge Judy" with a more important case load. It also offers the satisfaction of seeing the law being used to change patterns of social injustice. Pic is so upbeat and watchable, it could find TV and showcase theatrical pickups beyond festivals.

Longinotto's restlessly zooming camera adds to the chaos of a small law office in Kumba Town, Cameroon, where lawyer Ngassa talks to clients, and plays with her small son on breaks. First of three interwoven stories is the most moving, that of 6-year-old Manka, who is brought in covered with scars. Questioning the child and witnesses, Madame Ngassa reconstructs the cruel beatings the child received from an aunt to whom she was entrusted.

The second case involves a battered wife who bravely brings her violent husband to court, over the objections of the Muslim community to which she belongs. After Amina wins a divorce in court, the filmmakers capture the undisguised joy of her female neighbors. It is the first time a man has been convicted of spousal abuse in 17 years, and the case will set a precedent.

In a third case, Sonita, who is barely an adolescent, accuses a neighbor of rape. She, too, convinces the judge and the man is sentenced to prison.

These three successful cases have obviously been selected by Longinotto (Divorce Iranian Style, The Day I Will Never Forget) and Ayisi, a lecturer at the Intl. Film School Wales, to overturn stereoptypes and make the point there is more to Africa than poverty, misery and injustice. Notes Judge Ntuba, 'Men and women are equal in this country.'

Deborah Young

New Zealand Film Festival 

In a courtroom in Kumba, a small town in Southwest Cameroon, old values are being challenged. The miserable exploiters of women and children are unprepared for the rude shocks awaiting them in this rousing new documentary from Kim Longinotto, indefatigable chronicler of the impact of social attitudes on the lives of women (Divorce Iranian Style, The Day I Will Never Forget). The film takes us to work with two women in the Cameroonian Judiciary – Vera Ngassa, the State Prosecutor, and Beatrice Ntuba, the judge in the magistrate’s court – and follows four court cases. The robust examples of these two forthright, funny women have clearly inspired other women in their Muslim community to step forward and challenge the “customary thinking” that husbands are also masters. Not every husband on show is a miscreant and one painful case involves a six-year-old girl who has fled her abusive aunt. Countering views of African decline elsewhere on our programme, Sisters in Law abounds with the courage and hope of people emboldened by education to change.

Those who believe individuals can’t make a difference haven’t met Mesdames Ntuba and Ngassa. Two powerhouse women from the town of Kumba, Cameroon, they wade right into explosive conflicts, daring to stand up for unpopular causes in the name of justice. These women are crusaders with the law on their side.

Vera Ngassa is a prosecutor, Beatrice Ntuba a judge. They work domestic cases: divorce, spousal abuse, child abuse. Despite its legal focus, this exhilarating documentary of their working lives steers clear of stiff courtroom procedure. Judge Ntuba expresses her outrage when the situation demands it. Both women take active roles in the lives of those who come to them seeking justice.

Manka is only six years old. It is hard to imagine her slight frame bearing the beatings she has suffered. Madame Ngassa is horrified to see the scars covering Manka’s body; she has a small child of her own. She tracks down evidence and speaks to Manka’s aunt, who confesses. Ngassa goes beyond seeking a successful prosecution and brings Manka a gift of new clothes, showing the girl a kindness she has rarely seen.

In another case, Amina, an abused wife, ignores the warnings of her Muslim community and takes her husband to court. Amina is understandably frightened in front of the judge, but what is more remarkable is her husband’s tearful collapse under prosecutor Ngassa’s questioning.

With films like Divorce Iranian Style and Dream Girls, co-director Kim Longinotto has earned a strong reputation for probing into the heart of women’s lives, while always grounding their struggles in social context. She and Cameroonian-British filmmaker Florence Ayisi maintain an observational style, but the intimacy of their camera work and the power of the stories they share produce an affecting, inspiring result.

There is a larger picture to Sisters in Law, a story of how old traditions and new lawlessness can conspire to brutalize women. But Longinotto and Ayisi keep their eyes trained on the strong subjects before them, women whose acts of justice put people first.

Cameron Bailey, Toronto International Film Festival 2005