MOOLAADE Launch – FORWARD Host The UK Premiere

On Monday 30th May 2005, FORWARD was honoured to be invited to launch the UK Premiere screening of MOOLAADE; an African film produced by the legendary Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene. The film, which won the Prize for Best Film in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes film festival in 2004, brilliantly tackles the controversial subject of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in
Africa and depicts women’s grass roots resistance to it.

A panel discussion by development experts from around the globe followed the screening and the opportunity was taken to launch the FORWARD FGM FUND. The funds collected will enable the
scaling-up of the campaign to accelerate the prevention and abandonment of FGM in Africa.

FORWARD believes that MOOLAADE is a great advocacy tool which can be used to draw international attention to FGM as a sexual and reproductive health and human rights issue and to promote
positive change for women in modern day Africa. The filmmaker has dedicated the film to African women. Moolaade is available to purchase from HMV and Amazon and is seriously recommended
viewing- enjoy!

Press Release
Please see below the FORWARD Press Release for the film launch:

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Artificial Eye and FORWARD present

MOOLAADÉ (15)

A film by Ousmane Sembene

WINNER – BEST FILM UN CERTAIN REGARD Cannes Film Festival 2004

Image from the movie Moolaade

Senegal 2004 / 124 mins / In Bambara and French with English
subtitles / colour

Starring FATOUMATA COULIBALY, MAÏMOUNA
HÉLÈNE DIARRA and SALIMATA TRAORÉ

A co-production of Direction de la Cinématographie
Nationale (Burkina Faso), Centre Cinématographiqie
Marocain (Morocco), Cinétéléfilms (Tunisia),
Les Films de la Terre Africaine (Cameroon), Executive producer:
Ciné Sud Promotion (France)

Ousmane Sembene is the legendary Senegalese filmmaker,
regarded as the Father of African Cinema. His career stretches
over a period of more than forty years and he is still very
active as a writer and film maker. His latest film,
MOOLAADÉ, won the Prize for Best Film in the Certain
Regard section in Cannes 2005 last year. A patriarch with obvious
feminist sympathies, in MOOLAADÉ he brilliantly tackles
his most controversial subject to date: female genital mutilation
(FGM).

Colle Gallo Ardo Sy, a circumcised woman, has managed to help
her only daughter escape from the ritual of purification
organised every seven years. Now that the next ritual is about to
happen, four young girls have fled from the village to escape
from excision and are seeking protection (MOOLAADÉ) from
Ardo. The village is on the boil as two kinds of values clash
dramatically: the right to protection and the attachment to
tradition symbolised by excision. MOOLAADÉ is a wonderful
embracing and life-affirming film with the power to change the
world. It celebrates the strength of women in modern day Africa,
to whom it is dedicated:

“Female genital mutilation is practised in 38 of 54
member states of the African Union. Whatever the method used
(traditional or modern) to the excise is a violation of the
woman’s dignity and integrity. I dedicate MOOLAADÉ to
mothers, women who struggle to abolish the legacy of bygone
days.” Ousmane Sembene

FORWARD (Foundation for Women’s Health, Research and
Development) is an international African-led women’s
organisation with a long history of campaigning to end female
genital mutilation (FGM) – a harmful traditional practice that
affects between 100 -140 million women and girls worldwide.
Together with Artificial Eye they are launching the UK premiere
of Moolaade in an effort to draw international attention to FGM
as a sexual and reproductive health and human rights issue. A
panel discussion led by FGM and development experts from around
the globe will follow the screening.

DATE: Monday 30th May 17.45 RENOIR Cinema, Bunswick Square,
WC1N 1AW.

For tickets contact [email protected] or telephone 020
8960 4000 £10 Full Price/£7 (concessions).

An Artificial Eye Release.

Links
Below are some links to FORWARD’s media coverage over
the summer (2005) when FORWARD launched the award winning film
MOOLAADE in London:

Asharq Alawsat (Arabic International Daily) May 28th 2005
‘Senegalese Film Moolaade Wins Certain Regard Reward at
Cannes Film Festival: FORWARD launches the film in London’
(ARTICLE IN ARABIC):
“http://www.asharqalawsat.com/details.asp?section=30&issue=9678&article=301919&state=true”>
http://www.asharqalawsat.com/details.asp?section=30&issue=9678&article=301919&state=true
The Guardian June 1st 2005 ‘Rites and
Wrongs’:
“http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,,1496168,00.html”>http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,,1496168,00.html
BBC June 29th 2005 ‘Girls still facing Life of
Pain’:
“http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4631741.stm”>http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4631741.stm