In Masterclass by Cameroonian director Jean-Marie Teno was held at the Ismailia Cultural Palace as part of the activities of the 26th session of the Ismailia International Festival for Documentary and Short Films, where Teno expressed his happiness to be present at the festival and his gratitude for being honored at this prestigious event, noting that this is his first visit to Ismailia
Teno spoke about the role of education in countries that suffered from colonialism and its impact on preserving identity and enhancing the ability to face challenges, stressing that cinema, according to the vision of Senegalese director Osman Salman, is a “night school” that contributes to educating and guiding individuals
Teno reviewed his beginnings as a journalist in the eighties and nineties, highlighting the severe censorship that limited freedom of the press during that period, but his passion for cinema prompted him to turn to it as a powerful tool for expressing and educating society, explaining that cinema in Africa, with the exception of Egypt, arose as a means of resisting colonialism
Jean-Marie Teno confirmed that the seventh art, in its essence, has a political character, even films Entertainment that may seem far from politics, pointing out that African cinema faced great challenges, especially in the sixties due to censorship and colonialism, but there are ongoing attempts to overcome these restrictions and express community issues and resist colonialism.
Regarding the definition of the documentary film, Tino pointed out that there are several different definitions, but he considered that the most famous is that it is a picture of reality. He also stressed that the difference between documentary and fictional is an imaginary and unreal difference.
