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"I consider 'Sisters in Law' one of the best documentaries of all times and Kim Longinotto, one of the great documentary filmmakers of our day. I hope this film enhances her well-deserved reputation for excellence in this country," Stella Pence, Telluride Film Festival.
‘Sisters In Law’ boasts the kind of incident-packed but sustained narrative arc for which Hollywood screenwriters would sell their souls’, writes Mike Marqusee after a screening of the film in Toronto.
In the little town of Kumba, Cameroon, there have been no convictions in spousal abuse cases for seventeen years. Thanks to the tough-minded state prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Court President Beatrice Ntuba, however, things may be starting to change.
The only documentary selected for the Directors Fortnight in Cannes and winner of the Cannes Film Festival Prix Art et Essai, ‘Sisters In Law’ is a fascinating and often hilarious look at the daily work in one small courthouse in Cameroon. Six year old Manka is covered in scars, and has run away from an abusive aunt; Amina is seeking a divorce to put away an end to brutal beatings by her husband; the pre-teen Sonita has daringly accused her neighbour of rape.
Nassa and Ntuba are determined to help women in their Muslim village find their courage to fight these difficult cases, despite pressures from family and their community to remain silent. With an insightful and compassionate eye, ‘Sisters In Law’ presents a rare strong and positive view of African women – truly capturing an emerging spirit of courage, hope and the possibility of change.
Mike Marqusee went on to observe, ‘Mingling curiosity and respect, Kim Longinotto’s patient, compassionate art celebrates difference but also affirms universality, and is therefore a welcome antidote to the ‘clash of civilisations’ crudities currently filling newspaper columns and TV screens’.
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