ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL
ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL
A film from A24 and a British co-production with Zambia, a former colony. In the dead of night on a deserted road, Shula stumbles upon her uncle's body. As funeral preparations are underway, buried family secrets come to light. The film won the Best Director award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.
On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula was returning from a party in a car wearing a silver mask and stumbling upon the lifeless body of her uncle. Thus begins the stage of funeral preparations and mourning, which culturally only makes sense if it is loud and unbearable.
Although her late uncle was far from an angel, this is not to be said out loud. After all, we should only speak well of the dead. The story, set in Zambia in southern Africa, is a lens on the commonly held mechanisms of patriarchy that are still going strong in most parts of the world.
The portrait of the local community and their customs reveals toxic cultural dynamics, where women are expected to remain silent, no matter their perspective, emotions, or experiences. Director Rungano Nyoni (I AM NOT A WITCH – 2017) crafts a piece of feminist cinema that pierces deeply and unflinchingly beneath the surface. But wouldn't it be better to become a bold guinea fowl instead? The film was awarded Best Director in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. It was also selected for the main competition at the BFI London Film Festival. It is a co-production with the BBC and the iconic A24 studio.
Dorota Reksińska
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