So, last Sunday, I decided to check out a film that screened at the African Diaspora Film Festival. The festival, which started November 28th, is scheduled to conclude on December 14th. As I’ve been looking at the festival guide, I have been circling those films which spark my interest. I came across Princess of Africa, which is a film by Juan Laguna, shot in both Senegal and Europe. The film juxtaposes two stories: that of Marem, a 14 year-old Senegalese dancer and Sonia, a Spanish dancer. The two have very different lives, but what links them is Marem’s father, Pap Ndiaye, who is also Sonia’s husband. Pap, however has two other wives, in Senegal, who don’t seem to mind that Pap is also married to Sonia. However, the viewer doesn’t really get an insight into what the Senegalese wives think about the arrangement; I wasn’t really buying that they were okay with this. But then again, I wasn’t offered much insight into their lives.

I would have liked to know more about them. The film really focuses on Sonia, the dancer who nervously makes her way to Senegal to see Pap in his native country, and also perform a dance this is visibly inspired by African dance styles. What I liked about the film was the footage of Marem, her siblings, and many of the young children dancing in the village, and preparing for their own performance. There were scenes of them juxtaposed against Sonia and her dancers. Just watching those scenes, I saw a difference in intensity and passion in the dance. I actually found Marem’s and the children’s dancing to be more intense and full of life than Sonia’s, in both the practice scenes and the actual performances.

It appears that the filmmaker’s overall goal was to show how these different cultures are brought together through dance, as there was a candid scene in which Pap Ndiaye speaks directly to the camera and tells us that he relocated to Europe to help make a better life for his children, especially Marem, who aspires to dance professionally in Europe. Although I felt the film was visually pleasing, there were some points where I cringed. When Sonia makes her way to Senegal, she looked more like a Peace Corps volunteer than a woman who was coming to reunite with her family – as Pap’s third wife. She patted the children on the head and even some elders (which to me is unfathomable. If I ever tried such a gesture, I would receive the scolding of my life). I didn’t feel that Sonia truly felt comfortable in Senegal, although it seemed she tried her best to present such a case.

In another scene, during a celebration welcome for Sonia, Pap speaks before his community and bluntly states, “Here is a white woman that is better than any Wolof.” That was the point in the film where I turned to my friend to confirm if I had heard correctly. Before his wives, his father, and those who had raised him, Pap Ndiaye asserted in essence that Sonia was better than any Wolof by virtue of her being white. This illustrates the twisted perspectives that unfortunately are expressed by some within our larger community; that so absolutely equates the word ‘white’ with better. I will say it will take a lot of continued re-education to dispel these myths that Blacks are somehow less than in comparison to others.

Overall, I gave the film two drums, because I would have liked to know more about other characters other than Sonia. I don’t feel that I left the screening feeling that I had learned something particularly insightful about Marem, other than she wanted to dance professionally and that she was thankful for the support of Sonia.

To check out what other films are screening at the ADFF, check out the festival website here.

Producers synopsis
The story of two dreams. Marem’s dream, a 14 year old dancer from Senegal, to migrate to Europe, and Sonia’s, a Spanish dancer, attracted by the magic of Africa. Both are linked by Pap Ndiaye, Marem’s father and at the same time Sonia’s husband.
Africa did not turn out to meet Sonia’s dream (Pap Ndiaye had two additional wives), nor was Europe what Marem expected (no children in the street and a lot of poverty).
Princess of Africa is a love story, full of music and dance, where nothing is what it seems and women are the main characters