Bantú Mama Interview - Ivan Herrera and Clarisse Albrecht

Yé Moun La! This episode is a discussion with Ivan Herrera and Clarisse Albrecht, the creators of "Bantú Mama" (2021). 

We discuss our definition of Blackness, Caribbean identity from the perspective of a French-Cameroonian Black woman raised in different African countries and in France, from the perspective of an Afrocaribbean man raised in a Spanish-speaking country in the Caribbean, from my perspective as a French Afrocaribbean woman. 

0:00 - 0:35: episode introduction + opening credits

0:36 - 3:17: presentation of Ivan Herrera and Clarisse Albrecht + disclaimer on the sound quality because of Storm Elsa

3:18 - 4:55: how "Bantú Mama" had its world premiere at the 2021 SxSW Film Festival

Yé Krik Yé Krak

4:56 - 6:39: Clarisse tells the plot of the film + each of us describes the film in 3 words

Caribbean connections

6:40 - 10:05: the characterization of Emma as a French Black woman and not as a French Afrocaribbean woman

10:06 - 16:05: how T.I.N.A’s character was created

16:06 - 21:10: how headwraps became the connection between Emma’s and T.I.N.A’s Black identity

21:11 - 22:47: my inability to do headwraps + my journey to define my Black identity

22:48 - 27:38: their musical experiment to create the tale atmosphere

27:39 - 31:19: the definition of hood folklore in a Caribbean setting + example with “Ti Moun Aw” by Nelson Foix

31:20 - 35:19: the representation of the hood as a place where ordinary people live

35:20 -39:19: on the different languages spoken (French, Spanish) in the film to reflect the Dominican Republic reality

39:20 - 46:09: how Africa can be a place of freedom when you’re an Afrodescendant living in Europe or in the Caribbean

46:10 - 50:03: the differences of perspective about this “African dream” in Maryse Condé’s books and “Bantú Mama”

50:04 - 54:48: upcoming plans for “Bantú Mama” (European festival + movie theaters distribution)

54:49 - 55:30: outro + ending credits

55:31 - 58:46: funny moments: my fangirl moment over singer LS + when I realized I forgot to hit the video record button