Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 23, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE C2 C 2 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMARTS ● LIFE I IN THE DOUG HOUSE AFRICA is a continent of widely diverse cultures, and so the third an- nual African Film Festival in Manitoba (AM-FM) promises corresponding diversity in its program of 18 films screening this weekend, from a magic- realist meditation on relationships from Nigeria (The Lost Café), to a fan- ciful tale of a boy confronting a mythi- cal monster in Martinique (Doubout), to a political thriller from Cameroon in which a female cop takes on a contro- versial case involving a politician abus- ing an underage girl (Innocent(e)). There is even a Manitoba-made comedy about student elections (Popu- lar Vote) from local filmmaker Tope Babalola, whose parents were born in Nigeria. Events kick off Saturday morning with a 10 a.m. symposium with the theme Racism in Cinema: Representa- tions of Blackness in Films. Called “a mini town hall on anti-Black rac- ism,” the symposium panel is moder- ated by the festival’s executive director and founder, Ben Akoh, who says the festival is arriving later than originally planned owing to the pandemic. “We originally had it scheduled for sometime in May,” Akoh says in a phone interview. “The circumstances did not allow that to happen. “So yes, we are kicking off with some conversation of racism in cinema and representations of blackness in films and we think this is a timely con- versation,” he says. “We think that the media plays a big role in the percep- tions that every one of us has in terms of race and culture. And what better place to have that conversation than at a film festival?” The wide scope of films reflects the multifaceted output of African cinema right now, Akoh says. “African cinema has just been thriv- ing in the last decade. There’s been so much going on,” he says. “Video-on- demand services are beginning to capi- talize on that because they recognize that not only is there a lot of content coming from this part of the world, there’s also a lot of viewers across the world, all over the world. “For instance, Nollywood (the film industry of Nigeria) is the third-largest growing movie industry after Holly- wood and Bollywood. So we do know that there is growth and there’s such a huge amount of diversity coming out,” he says. “The festival, it’s just a snap- shot — a tiny little glimpse — of what’s going on across the continent in terms of film production.” The festival will proceed with a di- minished audience capacity at the Gas Station Arts Centre because of provin- cial restrictions on indoor venues. “The capacity is 232 and under normal circumstances we could fill the room up, but of course we can’t do that, so there is a limit of 50 people to the room— that’s within provincial health guidelines,” he says. “We will have a host outside who will usher customers in. Families can be grouped together if they want, but everyone is going to be socially distant and we are encourag- ing our clients to put on masks when they arrive. We will sanitize the venue after each event, just to make it a lot more safe and comfortable for people coming. “We’re taking a lot of measures to make sure that we are compliant to provincial health regulations and that people feel safe and enjoy the festival.” randall.king@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @FreepKing Year of woe proves never to be a boar Rising feral threat simply another troublesome swine of the times W HAT with being caught in the middle of a surging global pan-demic, I thought it would be a good idea for me to find something else for everyone to worry about. There’s no need to thank me — as a big-shot newspaper columnist, my job largely consists of rooting around online until I find something that will cause innocent readers to perspire heavily and rub their hands together in a nervous manner. So there I was the other day, ran- domly Googling various words, when I stumbled on a batch of alarming news reports stating that the United States is scrambling to deal with what all the headlines described as, quote, “a tick- ing swine bomb.” That is a pretty catchy phrase to slap in a headline, and it turns out to be true — there has been a population explosion among wild boars in the U.S. and millions of so-called “super pigs” are running rampant across much of the country. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are about nine million feral hogs in the country, and that number is ballooning rapidly. The USDA says the out-of-control wild hogs cause an estimated $2.5 billion in dam- age in the U.S. each year. “I’ve heard it referred to as a feral swine bomb,” is what Dale Nolte, manager of the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program at the Department of Agriculture, told re- porters a few days ago. “They multiply so rapidly. To go from a thousand to two thousand, it’s not a big deal. But if you’ve got a million, it doesn’t take long to get to four (million), then eight million.” Normally I am not critical of any- thing that is capable of contributing to the world’s supply of delicious bacon, but these huge hogs are famously naughty creatures, mowing down farmers’ crops, destroying native plants, animals and habitat and eating everything in sight. I know what you are thinking. You are thinking: “Whew! I am sure glad we do not have hordes of these hairy monsters running around in Canada.” You could not be more wrong. The situation here is not nearly as alarming as it is in the U.S., but feral hogs are now beginning to wreak havoc in Brit- ish Columbia, Manitoba and especially Saskatchewan. Ryan Brook, a wildlife researcher with the University of Saskatchewan, told National Geographic magazine the creatures, which can weigh up to 270 kilograms and sport nasty sharp tusks, have even been known to build above-ground shelters that researchers call “pigloos.” There are even calls for Manitoba to start offering wildlife damage compen- sation for wild pigs, but that is not to- day’s central point. No, today’s central point is that I would not be warning you about these “super pigs” if it weren’t for a shocking story I have just read that appeared under this alluring headline: “You swine! German nudist chases wild boar that stole laptop.” This naked news story was covered by almost every news organization in the world and featured photographs of the aforementioned nudist streaking along in hot pursuit of the aforemen- tioned boar. If you are able to look at these photos without wetting yourself, then you are made of stronger stuff than this sensitive columnist. What happened, according to breath- less news reports, was a group of nud- ists were enjoying a refreshing dip in a lake near Berlin late last month when a mama wild boar and her two piglets wandered onto the beach and helped themselves to a pizza brought by one of the swimmers. Then the mother boar ventured over to investigate a bright yellow shopping bag. “They were probably looking for some dessert,” is what witness Adele Landauer, who happened to be relax- ing nearby when the pigs arrived, told news outlets. “So they took this bag and ran away.” Which is when a large naked man spotted the three pigs and began chas- ing after them au naturel because, as it turns out, the plastic bag contained his laptop computer, which in my view is a really stupid thing to bring to the beach in the first place. “Because the bag contained his laptop, he gave it his all, even though he was in his birthday suit,” Landauer said. “He just ran and he clapped with his hands and then he found a stick, and made some noise. “It was a very, very funny and light scene, so everyone was laughing and supporting him. ‘Go for it,’ people said. ‘Go for it! Yes, do it!’” Had you been there, you would have seen three not-so-little pigs toting a yellow bag and being chased into the woods by an angry naked German man. In the end, the man returned to the beach with the bag, and the rest of the sun worshippers hailed him as a conquering hero. So, along with physical distancing from wild hogs, I will leave you with two more important safety tips: Never take your laptop to the beach; and if you stumble on one of these “pigloos,” you should probably huff and puff and blow their house down. doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca DOUG SPEIRS IN THE DOUG HOUSE MATTHIAS SCHRADER / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Wild boars go for a stroll near Munich, Germany. Huge hogs are growing a problem the world over. Two-day film festival showcases thriving African cinema scene Growing industry reflective of increasing global appetite for more diverse content RANDALL KING TV PREVIEW THE 3RD ANNUAL AFRICAN MOVIE FESTIVAL IN MANITOBA (AM-FM) ● Gas Station Arts Centre ● Sept. 26-27 ● Tickets from $7.50 (event pass) to $36.67 (festi- val pass) at www.am-fm.ca On the program: SUPPLIED Un air de Kora from Senegal, directed by Angele Diabang, will be screened Sunday. SATURDAY, SEPT. 26 10 a.m.: Symposium: Racism in Cinema: Representations of Blackness in Films 12:45 p.m.: A short film program including Mama Lova (France), The Blue White Red of My Hair (France), Prisoner and Jailer (Libya) 2 p.m.: The short film Doubout (Martinique) followed by the feature film Popular Vote (Canada) 5:30 p.m.: The short films My Beloved Co-Wife (Senegal), Bablinga (France) and the feature The Lost Café (Nigeria) 7:45 p.m.: The short film Blaké (France) and the feature Everything But a Man (USA/Haiti) SUNDAY, SEPT. 27 1 p.m.: The short films Zombies (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Tithes & Offerings (Kenya) 2 p.m.: The short film Dark Day (Senegal) and Balolé, the Golden Wolf (Burkina Faso/Senegal) 5 p.m.: The short film Sowing Hope (Nigeria) and the feature Duga, The Scavengers (Burkina Faso) 7:20 p.m.: The short film Un air de Kora (Sen- egal) and the feature Innocent(e) (Cameroon) For more information on the listed films, go to www.am-fm.ca C_02_Sep-23-20_FP_01.indd C2 2020-09-22 5:28 PM ;