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A Country in a Corner
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A Country in a Corner
IDFA 2022

A Country in a Corner

Neema Ngelime
Belgium, Hungary, Portugal, Tanzania
2021
16 min
World Premiere
Festival history

Homesickness drives Neema Ngelime to the district of Matonge in Brussels, which is home to a large African community. The busy shopping streets evoke memories of her life in Tanzania. She wants to record the similarities with her native land for her grandmother, but that is easier said than done. As in Tanzania, most people on the street prefer not to be filmed. Yet, Ngelime gradually gets closer to the shopkeepers and customers of Chaussée de Wavre, and shares her observations with the viewer.

Ngelime sees that the stifling morality she recognizes from Africa has also been transported to Belgium. She explains that respect for women in Tanzania is measured by the length of their skirts. The hairstyle you choose also shows how you want to be respected. At her every stop, from the hairdresser and nail salon to the grocer’s, Ngelime is obliged to make choices: will she follow tradition or take her own path? She wants to be part of the community, but at what cost? “I wish, as with a skirt, we could alter parts of our country we don’t like.” Without passing judgement, A Country in the Corner shows the dilemmas migrants face worldwide.

Credits
Director
Production
    Neema Ngelime,
    DocNomads
Cinematography
    Faizan Ali,
    Jamil Alvi
    Faizan Ali,
    Jamil Alvi
Editing
Sound
Sound Design
    Aurélien Lebourg,
    Wilbert Ntukula
    Aurélien Lebourg,
    Wilbert Ntukula
Music
    Dominic Arcard
    Dominic Arcard

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