Juwaa
Years after a traumatic night, a son and a mother are finally reunited. But the long suppressed trauma of that tragic night must be unwrapped, exposing layers of guilt, anger and abandonment but ultimately redefining what mother and son mean to each other. Shot in Belgium and in Congo, a subtlety powerful drama based on African characters rarely seen on screens.
Interview with Actor/Writer/Director Nganji Mutiri
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
To watch and feel the different characters layers in a narrative that I was longing for and to introduce them to the largest audience possible.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The film Juwaa is a refreshing family drama, so if you are part of any family, you should watch it.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Amongst many other things, I wanted to explore how some deeply personal experiences/perspectives and collective traumas intertwine to affect our connections (or lack of connections) as human beings.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script of Juwaa evolved a lot between rewriting sessions, mainly because I regularly had inspiring feedback from professional and non-professional film lovers. The long biographies I wrote of the characters and the different intimate conversations I had with people around me added interesting layers to the story I was trying to tell.
Because of the small budget (under 300 000 Eur), the need to shoot on two different continents and the pandemic, we had an intense schedule of production (less than 30 days of shooting between October 2019 and December 2019) and then a longer than expected post-production process which was also financially very challenging. Postproduction of Juwaa was completed in October 2021.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Even though it seems as if in Belgium some distributors don't know what to make of a film with African characters that are very far from the usual clichés, the feedback from the local audience has been very positive humanly and artistically. Note that, so far, the film Juwaa has been screened only twice in Belgium ( March 2022) and once in Burkina Faso (October 2021).
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The encouraging and at times moving feedback challenged me to change my mind about filmmaking. Before the world première of my film Juwaa in october 2021 at FESPACO (in Burkina Faso), I swore that Juwaa would be my first and last feature film. Now I am already working on other narratives to be produced with other refreshing characters.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Get in touch with more inspiring voices and platforms.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Distributors, buyers, sales agents, international film festival directors, journalists and of course more international audience members.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Beside experiencing a beautiful and subtle cinema moment with the film Juwaa, I would like to encourage people to talk more about their very own traumas and inspire them to create at home a healing process that will open doors to more love and joy.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Silenced traumas are intimate ticking bombs, don't you think ?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you for sharing your platform with us.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
My second feature film, a photographic exhibition and a poetry collection.
Interview: April 2022
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Juwaa
Length:
1:25
Writer/Director
NGANJI MUTIRI is an award-winning artist born in Bukavu (D.R. Congo), working in Brussels (Belgium) and in Kinshasa (D.R. Congo). Storytelling through photography, poetry, filmmaking and acting is his favorite way of searching links and perspectives between the singular and the universal.
Producer
Dancing Dog Productions (Contact person : Antoine Sanchez)
Key cast:
Edson Anibal (Amani), Babetida Sadjo (Riziki), Claudio Dos Santos (Raphaël), Francisco Luzemo (Giga), Ady Batista (Raïna), Senso Nzuzi (Alino), Mireille Mbayoko-Yaba (Linda), Benjamin Boutboul (Ben), Marc-Anthony Bokuma (Amani as a child), Nganji Mutiri (Paul), David Scarpuzza (Greg).
Looking for:
distributors, sales agents, buyers, film festival directors, producers, journalists
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/nganji.laeh
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/nganjilaeh/
Hashtags used:
#Film #JUWAA #Juwaa #NganjiMutiri #EdsonAnibal #BabetidaSadjo #FilmJuwaa
More info:
www.filmjuwaa.com