MEDI1TV Afrique : Retour du festival international d'improvisation au Maroc - 20/05/2023
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00:09 Always with the same pleasure that we meet you on Mediantv for this new Escalculture in the heart of Africa.
00:17 And as usual, we will have fun with lots of subjects.
00:21 We will go to Ivory Coast, Abidjan, to discover a superb collection, a superb exhibition.
00:28 We will come back to this in more detail in a few minutes.
00:30 And we will also talk about cinema, with the "Croisette" that is in full swing.
00:35 The Cannes Film Festival has opened its doors and focuses on "Banele Adama", this Senegalese film,
00:40 so in official competition.
00:42 And we will only talk about it.
00:44 But first of all, thanks to our guest of the day.
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00:53 And today, we are talking about theater, we are talking about improvisation,
00:56 with the fourth edition of the International Festival of Theater Improvisation.
01:01 And to talk about it, we have the immense pleasure of welcoming the actor,
01:05 but also the co-organizer of this event, Adil Fehl, who is with us.
01:11 Hello Adil.
01:12 Hello Amna, thank you very much for the invitation.
01:15 It's a real pleasure to be here.
01:17 It's going to be impeccable.
01:19 Thank you for being with us.
01:21 The pleasure is especially for us to welcome you today on this set.
01:26 My first question, Adil, here you are at your fourth edition of this International Festival of Theater Improvisation.
01:35 What I would like to know first of all is how the idea of this festival was born.
01:40 How was it born? It's been four years now.
01:42 And what is its story?
01:44 It started five years ago, because there was a year off with COVID.
01:51 But it started five years ago, we were invited by a French troupe, a troupe Gap En Seine, from the city of Gap.
01:57 And there is such a big bond of friendship that was created during their festival,
02:02 that we thought we should re-invite these people, we had to give them the invitation.
02:08 And that's what we did.
02:10 And it started like that, we re-invited those who invited us the first day.
02:14 And it became a ritual, it was a tournament, it became a festival.
02:18 And today we are very happy to start the fourth edition.
02:22 And since the birth of this festival, which was a tournament and which has become a festival,
02:28 have you seen a metamorphosis, an evolution?
02:32 Can you tell us about the evolution of this very beautiful initiative?
02:36 Of course, of course.
02:38 So as I said at the beginning, it was a tournament.
02:40 So it was four teams facing each other in front of an audience.
02:43 A young audience, by the way, who didn't know too much about improvisation either.
02:47 Because in Morocco, you should know that improvisation has been around for a decade.
02:51 So it was a young audience who had just discovered the match of improvisation.
02:56 And over time, it has developed a lot, whether at the level of the audience,
03:01 at the level of the game, at the level of what we also propose, of the cultural program.
03:05 There, for example, this year there is only the match.
03:07 That's why it became a festival, it's because we offer a large panel of shows.
03:13 There is the improvisation match, there is the improvisation cabaret,
03:17 there is also the formalon, that is to say a fully improvised theater play.
03:21 So it's really a revolution between the first edition and the fourth, if you will.
03:26 To the great pleasure of the public.
03:28 Wasn't it too difficult for you to embark on an adventure?
03:33 As you just said, Adil, it's true that the Moroccan public wasn't necessarily used to this exercise.
03:39 Wasn't it a bit difficult to initiate this audience?
03:44 Between the first and the fourth edition, do you also see other requests from the public?
03:50 Is it more receptive, maybe?
03:53 So, indeed, it wasn't a restful time.
03:57 But I want to say that when you have the ingredient of passion in what you do, everything seems easy.
04:02 Even when it's difficult, you get by because you don't count the hours, you do it with love.
04:07 And inevitably, there is a result.
04:10 So, yes, I can say that it wasn't easy, but we got by.
04:15 And today we are proud of the product we have, of this festival.
04:20 In relation to the public, yes, the public has also evolved with us.
04:24 At the beginning, it was a more cheerful audience, with easy jokes, punchlines, etc.
04:30 Today, the public wants more.
04:32 It wants stories, it wants emotions, it wants to cry, it wants to have a chicken flesh.
04:37 And we have evolved with it.
04:39 Today, we are able to offer all this, all this panel of emotions for our audience.
04:45 And precisely, this fourth edition that is at our doors,
04:49 which will take place on May 25 and 27 between Rabat and Casablanca, Adil.
04:55 Can you tell us a little more about this fourth edition?
04:58 You said there were new things, including the cabaret.
05:01 What is waiting for us?
05:04 So, the first night, it will take place in Rabat, at the Villa des Arts de Rabat, on Thursday, May 25.
05:09 There will be a match of a pro, the classic, the match.
05:12 There will be France-Morocco and France-Belgium, I think.
05:16 Because there are two French teams, we receive Paris-Toulouse, a Belgian team and us, Morocco.
05:22 And the day after, in Casablanca, the final of the matches that were played the day before in Rabat will be played.
05:28 Plus a cabaret of a pro.
05:31 And we will close our festival at the Bahnini Hall on Saturday, May 27, by a long format,
05:37 by two shows for the price of one.
05:39 There will be a long format and a hybrid format.
05:42 So really, the audience will have a wide choice of shows.
05:47 And it's true that this fourth edition is a little more eclectic,
05:51 where there are more choices, maybe also new experiences,
05:54 new things to experience with the audience.
05:58 And what is new, there are also teams from abroad.
06:06 And why this choice? Is it for more eclecticism and to make people discover something else, maybe?
06:11 So, no, this choice is unfortunately not an option.
06:16 Because in Morocco we don't have too many improvement teams, unlike Europe.
06:21 In Morocco, we have maybe two or three teams.
06:25 In Algeria, we have one. In Tunisia, we have two.
06:30 In fact, we don't have many, whereas in Europe, for example, if we go to Paris,
06:33 just in Paris, there are about fifty teams. So there are many more choices.
06:36 And since we are a very active team, and we are often brought to play abroad,
06:41 today we are giving away invitations that we have received.
06:44 So we have a big list of teams waiting to come, and we have to give away invitations.
06:48 We are trying. But to answer your question,
06:54 I hope that next year there will be more surprises,
06:57 and I think we will be aiming for something other than Europe.
07:02 And we are already thinking about the next edition, which will be the fifth.
07:08 And we are talking about the lack of teams, whether in Morocco, in Algeria,
07:15 or in Tunisia, in the Maghreb, and in Africa, on our continent.
07:19 What can you tell us about this, Adil? Are there new emerging teams?
07:23 Do we see an increase in these disciplines? What is the improvisation?
07:27 Enormously. In fact, it is starting to take shape, etc.
07:32 And in fact, it is just by spreading the word, by coming to take workshops.
07:36 In fact, what happens most of the time is that these students or these people
07:40 who come to take workshops, who are not at all comedians at the base,
07:44 but rather architects, engineers, who find themselves in this discipline
07:50 and decide to create their own teams, in an amateur or semi-professional way,
07:54 or professional, etc. And from there, we start the exchanges.
07:58 We will receive them, they will invite us, etc.
08:01 So there we see that there are several people who are starting to give courses, etc.
08:05 So it's starting to take shape.
08:07 And so maybe Africa will also have a place next year,
08:14 maybe a little more important than this year?
08:18 Exactly. Well, listen, it's my big wish.
08:22 In any case, next year, I would like to welcome at least two African countries.
08:29 I already have a small contact with the Ivory Coast.
08:33 I think you will talk about the Ivory Coast later,
08:36 but I have a small contact with the comedian Wallace.
08:40 We are trying to organize something together.
08:42 It will be for the fifth edition of the festival next year.
08:45 I know there is something also being prepared in Senegal,
08:48 maybe Madagascar and Quebec.
08:51 These are the news for next year.
08:53 Nothing is yet certain, but we hope, God willing,
08:56 to open to these countries for next year.
09:00 Adil, we were talking about it for a moment.
09:02 How do we explain the lack of improvisation in Africa or in the Maghreb,
09:10 unlike in the West?
09:12 Are we less daring?
09:14 Are we afraid of getting wet, as they say?
09:16 Or is it really something very new and that is still having a hard time settling in?
09:21 No, I don't think the Moroccan is so afraid of getting wet.
09:26 One of my goals is to go to Marrakech or to set up a troop there,
09:29 because I know that the Moroccans are completely brave.
09:32 They have a crazy distribution.
09:34 One of my hobbies is to be able to get some time to train people in Marrakech.
09:39 Unfortunately, I can't do it.
09:41 It's more a matter of time.
09:44 Theater improvisation, if you will,
09:46 the discipline as such, has existed since the 1970s.
09:49 It comes from Quebec.
09:51 So, as long as it emerges in Quebec, it arrives in Europe,
09:54 it's just a natural way.
09:56 But I think it will work.
09:59 The Moroccans like the challenge.
10:01 The Moroccans like to put themselves in a bit of a difficult situation
10:04 to see if they can get by.
10:06 And that's a bit of theater improvisation.
10:08 Because we play with categories of authors that the referee will give us.
10:11 The audience comes to see if it's really improvisation.
10:14 They have prepared the thing or not.
10:17 I think it's a winning combo, Moroccan pro.
10:21 It's something that should work, normally.
10:24 And apart from this new edition that is at our door,
10:29 can you please remind us of the date, Adil?
10:32 We will play on Thursday, 25th in Rabat, at the Villa des Arts.
10:36 Friday, 26th at Casablanca, at the Complex Culturel d'Enfants.
10:41 And Saturday, 27th at the Salle Bahnine.
10:44 So, apart from this theater improvisation festival
10:48 that will soon open its doors,
10:50 you are an actor, you are a theater expert.
10:54 Can you tell us about your personal projects, Adil?
10:57 So, in terms of improv, I am full-time in the Moroccan improvisation troupe.
11:03 In terms of theater, there are also very beautiful projects.
11:06 I am also part of the 19h Theatre troupe,
11:09 which is one of their flagship pieces, Laïs Lah.
11:13 I don't know if you've seen it,
11:15 but if you haven't seen it, I invite you to go see it.
11:19 It's an hour and a half of laughter and pleasure.
11:22 We played 25 times, for your information,
11:25 we played 25 times in closed bookings.
11:27 It's really a play where everyone, the Moroccan, recognizes himself, etc.
11:31 So, with this troupe, I play in a play called Ranger.
11:36 It's a dramatic comedy.
11:38 I also write next to it, I write about Morocco,
11:41 I write about my country, a play that...
11:44 I haven't decided on the title yet.
11:47 I co-write, sorry, I co-write,
11:49 which is called L'Ele L'Essidi,
11:51 where it's a Moroccan versé.
11:53 We'll see the woman take the place of the man,
11:56 and how it's going to go,
11:58 all the quiproquos that can be there, etc.
12:00 I think it's going to knock on the heads of some Moroccans.
12:06 So, there's the writing, the co-writing of this play.
12:10 I play in two or three theater plays, including Migrant,
12:14 a play by Matévis Nietzsche.
12:17 Migrant reveals to us the different types of migration there is,
12:22 the different types of immigrants.
12:25 It's a project that's sold a lot at schools.
12:29 We play it a lot for schoolchildren,
12:32 and we plan to open it to the general public soon.
12:35 So, a lot of great things to come, Inshallah.
12:38 And we'll be sure to meet you.
12:41 The closest we can get is from May 25 to May 27
12:47 for the International Theater Improvisation Festival.
12:52 Thank you very much, Adil, for being with us.
12:55 Thank you, and thank you for the invitation.
12:57 Thank you very much, Adil.
12:59 After talking about theater with Adil Fahl,
13:10 we're now in Côte d'Ivoire,
13:12 and we're focusing this week on this artist
13:15 who's originally from Benin,
13:18 the artist Julien Vinkini,
13:21 who's the owner of Côte d'Ivoire Plasticien.
13:24 He chose this country for his first solo exhibition
13:27 on the continent, called InterAction.
13:29 It's a racial and eclectic work,
13:31 inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat, as Julien himself would say.
13:35 I'm just linking the two,
13:37 using a barcode and the FA, which is the divination card,
13:41 in West African countries.
13:43 I'm linking the traditional divination cards of West Africa
13:46 and the West, which is the heart of Julien Vinkini's work,
13:50 which is currently on display at the Amani Gallery in Abidjan,
13:54 in Bourgogne.
13:55 Julien Vinkini is back at the source,
13:58 with InterAction, to draw inspiration and deploy it.
14:02 Let's take a look.
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14:09 For 2019, we have a project for the United States,
14:11 a large American museum that wants to make African-Americans,
14:17 Afro-descendants, and their "white" public, discover.
14:24 As I got older, I realized that something was missing.
14:29 It's the energy that Africa brings out,
14:31 which reminded me that I'm currently working on
14:34 technical plastic research,
14:36 and I'm working on faces that are a bit masked.
14:38 It's a bit of an archaeologist's work.
14:40 Julien Vinkini's paintings will impress Léon Guenta,
14:44 the director of the Amani Gallery,
14:46 during a collective exhibition in Abidjan
14:48 devoted to the Benin contemporary scene.
14:50 He will say that, compared to the others,
14:52 his writing was much more committed,
14:54 more, I wouldn't say violent,
14:56 but in any case, he wasn't there to please the gallery,
15:00 and above all, he had a message to convey.
15:02 Painters have things to say,
15:04 but not many, and in that sense,
15:06 I liked him a lot more.
15:07 I think that what Vinkini is looking for
15:09 is himself, a return to the source,
15:11 to the fact that he lived in France for a long time,
15:13 a return to his origins.
15:15 We can see that in his current painting.
15:17 Let's take a look.
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16:12 The last exhibition of Julien Vinkini,
16:14 called Interaction,
16:16 which is held at the Amani Gallery in Abidjan
16:18 until June 24, 2023,
16:20 brings together about twenty paintings and sculptures
16:22 that condense a little the soul and spirit of the artist's work.
16:25 Born and raised in Benin until the age of 20,
16:27 Julien Vinkini then pursued his studies in France,
16:30 at the Beaux-Arts in Dijon,
16:32 and then in Graphism in Paris.
16:34 The artist's work is a permanent dialogue
16:36 between traditional West African and Western arts.
16:39 He also studies divinatory arts
16:41 practiced in the Western countries of our continent.
16:45 His characters are often masked,
16:47 which immediately brings us back to the Benin mask,
16:49 where the ritual paintings,
16:51 whose colors are vivid and very contrasted,
16:54 remind us of Jean-Michel Basquiat's,
16:56 who is also his reference artist.
16:58 An entire universe to discover at the Amani Gallery in Abidjan
17:02 until June 24.
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18:30 After talking contemporary art with Julien Winnikin,
18:35 cinema is on the rise.
18:39 While the Cannes Film Festival is in full swing,
18:41 Senegal is represented by Banel and Adama from Ramatoulaya-Cinopsis.
18:46 They are two, they love each other,
18:48 and they live in a small village far north of Senegal and the world.
18:52 They only know that,
18:54 but the perfect love that unites them will be put to the test,
18:57 especially by the conventions of their communities.
18:59 Because where they live, there is not necessarily room for passions,
19:02 and even less for chaos, we immediately look at the trailer.
19:06 Adama?
19:11 Nothing.
19:17 I am your friend.
19:24 I am your friend, and I love you.
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19:53 Banel et Adama.
19:56 Banel et Adama, the first film by the director Ramatoulaya-Cinopsis,
20:02 titled Banel et Adama, which was selected for the competition
20:05 in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival 2023.
20:08 A first work and a promising drama,
20:10 which tells the story of love between two young people
20:13 who live in an isolated village in northern Senegal.
20:16 Banel et Adama follows the eponymous characters,
20:19 played by Khadimane and Mamadou Diallo,
20:21 who simply live a true, deep and sincere love.
20:25 They ignore the outside world a little bit.
20:27 Since their village, they are confronted with conventions
20:30 and restrictions imposed by their communities and their families.
20:34 Because here, there is not necessarily room for passion, for love.
20:37 The real, the film of Ramatoulaya-Cinopsis,
20:40 is centered a little on the question of love and the weight of conventions,
20:43 traditions and challenges to which young people living in these mini-societies,
20:47 are sometimes frozen in so-called immutable rules.
20:52 In any case, the director is primarily looking for the essence of the village life,
20:56 this microcosm in which the protagonists evolve.
20:59 She highlights emotions and especially the internal conflicts of the characters.
21:03 A film that represents Senegal at the Cannes Film Festival,
21:07 not to be missed.
21:14 And after talking about cinema, we immediately talk about literature,
21:18 with a broken heart, the fate of the Cameroonian poet Herman Camois,
21:23 who won the Grand Prix Martial Cinda de la Poésie Francographe
21:27 in March last year, during the 20th Spring,
21:29 "Poets and Africs and elsewhere".
21:31 Teaching in the west of Cameroon at the University of Yaoundé,
21:34 the author for cinema and theater, Herman Camois,
21:37 discovered poetry when he was still a student, he discovered it by chance.
21:41 And the announcement of the 2023 edition of the Cinda Hermann Martial Prize,
21:45 Camois immediately said to himself,
21:47 "Happy with the theme, history, memory, resistance".
21:50 So, under the title "Breaking the Fate", he decides to submit about twenty texts,
21:54 and he says, "I think poetry can be a tool of resistance,
21:58 insofar as it speaks to men,
22:00 where it addresses the soul of individuals,
22:03 a genre that can become a real instrument of struggle
22:05 against the various social problems that we encounter on a daily basis".
22:09 In any case, Herman Camois hopes that, in this way,
22:11 "Breaking the Fate" will be published soon,
22:15 even if the means of distribution are lacking.
22:17 He wants to continue to create spaces,
22:19 reading appointments in the neighborhoods and in the classes,
22:22 to share poetry.
22:24 Herman Camois will also be invited to the International Poetry Festival
22:27 of Trois-Rivières in Quebec, from September 29 to October 8, 2023.
22:31 So, a new African poet to follow urgently.
22:35 We are reaching the end of our Escale Culture.
22:37 Thank you for being with us,
22:39 and we'll see you next week,
22:41 always on Medea TV.
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