Africa in Motion Africa 3.0: Vanity

This programme of four short films from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa explores social media’s unremitting presence in our day to day lives.

Opening on a nightclub dancefloor in Kinshasa, Congolese-born musician Baloji’s Zombies is a hallucinatory depiction of our hyper-connected online identities. In Jim Chuchu’s bold art-world satire We Need Prayers, a young African visual artist hatches a sly plan to break into the global art market. In Jaco Bouwer’s this country is lonely, an artist stages endurance performance pieces on Instagram stories to re-enact indignities faced by marginalised people in post-apartheid South Africa. Sorcery, science and sisterhood rule in C.J. Obasi’s Hello, Rain, adapted from author Nnedi Okorafor’s short story Hello, Moto, which follows a scientist-witch who creates magical wigs which grant supernatural powers to their wearers.

More about the films

Zombies
BALOJI | Democratic Republic of Congo 2018 | 14m
A journey between hope and dystopia in a hallucinated Kinshasa, Zombie goes from the culture of the hair salon to a futuristic clubbing, from the urban parade to the glory of a dictator in campaign to a modern western. And interrogates the almost carnal relationship we have with our phones, outgrowths of the hand giving us the talent of digital ubiquity…

We need Many Prayers
Jim Chuchu | Kenya 2018 | English and Swahili with English subtitles | 5m
Have you heard of Afrofuturism? In this bold art-world satire, a young African visual artist hatches a sly plan to break through into the global arts market - will it work?

Hello, Rain
C.J Obasi | Nigeria 2018 | 30m
Sorcery, science and sisterhood rule in C.J. Obasi's colourful screen adaptation of the award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor’s short story Hello, Moto. The plot follows a scientist-witch who, through an alchemical combination of juju and technology, creates magical wigs which grant supernatural powers to herself and her friends supernatural powers. But when these powers grow uncontrollable, she must stop them by any means. Remember, “don’t ever mix juju with technology!”

this country is lonely
Jaco Bouwer | South Africa 2019 | 18m
Ratgirl is the digital avatar of artist Jazzard Jaslyn, who crafts endurance performance pieces staged through Instagram stories which re-enact indignities still faced by marginalised people in post-apartheid South Africa. But this country is lonely is most concerned with the dehumanising and flattening effect social media has on our understanding of complex humanitarian crises.

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This programme is part of Film Feels: Obsession, a UK-wide cinema season, supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. Explore all films and events at filmfeels.co.uk. These films are part of Africa 3.0 a touring package of films that shows obsession as represented in cinema from across the African continent and the diaspora, focused on joy, vanity and infatuation.