Global African Hub is making waves at its first TIFF. As part of the inaugural TIFF: Market, Canex Creations (a subsidiary of Afreximbank’s Fund for Export Development in Africa led by Nigerian Osahon Akpata) which backs the Hub, has been doing its best to raise the visibility of African stories and African films, especially in North America. That mission was on display for the market screening of Muganga for buyers and a recruited audience late Friday night at the John W. H. Bassett Theatre.
Already successful in France, the film, whose full title is Muganga, the One Who Treats, stars acclaimed Ivorian-born French actor Isaach de Bankolé. It chronicles the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner’s extraordinary work and advocacy for women who have suffered brutal sexual violence as collateral damage from the never-ending wars in his native Democratic Republic of Congo largely driven by the global consumption of cobalt.
To bring increased awareness to the film in North America, David Oyelowo, who stars in the buzzy TIFF film Clarissa from Nigeria, and Black Panther’s Danai Gurira joined the post-screening Q&A with the film’s writer-director Marie-Hélène Roux and Dr. Mukwege (along with a French translator) moderated by Afua Hirsch.
