Choose me (Amchilini)(Chad)
LENGTH: 69 Minutes
DIRECTOR: Moussa Tidjani Ousman
RATING:
Synopsis
Screenings/Awards: FESPACO 2023, Sheffield DocFest 2023
The Director Allamine kadar Kora visits his mother’s village on the edge of the Chadian desert where there has been a drought. The male village elders and religious figures believe that the source of this calamity is caused by all the unmarried women in the village. The men convene and decide to remedy the situation by resurrecting Amchilini, a long disused custom requiring unmarried women to publicly choose a husband from a selection of candidates. We see the women revolt, questioning authority, and expressing distaste of what they see as an attack on their dignity. The seemingly tranquil fabric of the community is changed by this debate between the generations about the tension existing between genders with regards to autonomy, equal rights and freedom to choose.