​​Le Complot d’Aristote

In a town in the south of Africa, a group of youngsters hang around the Cinema Africa, where they regularly treat themselves to megadoses of the latest US action movies. They have even adopted the names of their screen heroes: Van Damme, Bruce Lee, Nikita, whilst their leader is called Cinema. One day, an enthusiastic filmmaker tries to screen more national and African films with the government’s help. ​​Le Complot d’Aristote was commissioned by the British Film Institute to represent Africa in a series of films commemorating the centenary of cinema. It turned into a cinematic allegory on the meaning of film in Africa: ​​Le Complot d'Aristote parodies rules and definitions, action movies and a kind of African cinema made for European audiences, while aesthetically reflecting on the nature of existence, its ambiguities and the absence of rigid categories. (EA)

Enoka Ayemba is a film curator and film critic focusing on African and Afro-diasporic cinematographies and anti-colonial movements. He has been a consultant for the Berlinale Forum since 2019 and most recently co-curated the special program Fiktionsbescheinigung. He is a member of the film selection committee for the 2023 Pan-African Film Festival (FESPACO).