Mbini: Cazadores de Imágenes en la Guinea Ecuatorial

Dublin Core

Title

Mbini: Cazadores de Imágenes en la Guinea Ecuatorial

Subject

The reception of Hermic Films visual materials in the Post-Franco Period

Description

Mbini: Cazadores de imágenes en la Guinea Ecuatorial is a documentary film spearheaded by Agueda Ortín and Samuel Pereiró, focusing on the historical and visual representation of Equatorial Guinea through the lens of contemporary Spanish filmmakers. The project utilizes archival footage from Hermic Films, a company that documented life in Equatorial Guinea during the colonial period. By revisiting this footage, the documentary aims to explore and critique the narratives and perspectives embedded within the colonial gaze.

The primary objective of the documentary is to critically examine how Equatorial Guinea was portrayed by Spanish filmmakers during the colonial era, highlighting the colonial ideologies and perspectives that shaped these representations. In doing so, the project seeks to foster a dialogue about the enduring impacts of colonialism on both the colonizers and the colonized.
The DVD include five films. Three are original shorts of the series la Guinea Española (Balele, Una cruz en la selva y Bajo la lámpara del bosque) and other two created and produced by We Are Here! Films (Le Mal d’Afrique y Cazadores de imágenes).

At first glance, the films included in the project may appear to reproduce exotic and untamed representations of Guinea from a contemporary Spanish perspective. However, the inclusion of an interview with Guinean writer Donato Ndongo Bidyogo provides a crucial critical counterpoint. Ndongo Bidyogo offers a powerful critique of the colonial gaze evident in the archival footage, pointing out how Africans are often depicted in infantilized and subaltern roles. He argues that the concept of civilization associated with the colony underpins the colonizing discourse found in the visual material, diminishing the role of Africans and framing them within a paternalistic narrative that justifies colonial domination.

The documentary also delves into the reactions of contemporary Guinean spectators to the archival footage, revealing a paradoxical alignment with the colonial perspective, especially in the positive perception of modernization and development. Some Guineans, reflecting on the conditions of their ancestors, express a perception of their grandparents as "poor" and "primitive," thereby inadvertently adopting the evolutionary and paternalistic logic of the colonial narrative.

This paradoxical appropriation of colonial discourse by some Guineans highlights the need for deeper reflection on the audiovisual material from Hermic Films. Valenciano and Bayre point out that this phenomenon underscores the necessity to critically engage with and deconstruct the colonial ideologies embedded in historical representations.

Mbini: Cazadores de imágenes en la Guinea Ecuatorial serves as an important work that resurrects historical footage and prompts critical discussions about the lasting impacts of colonialism on visual culture and collective memory. By juxtaposing archival footage with contemporary critique, the documentary encourages viewers to reflect on the complexities of historical narratives and their modern-day interpretations.

Creator

We are here! Films

Source

Ortín, Pere y Pereira, Vic. Mbini: Cazadores de imágenes. Barcelona: Altair, 2006.

Open access to the documentary series Mbini-Cazadores de imágenes en la Guinea Ecuatorial through Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Lnn4vYfWw

Mañé, Alba Valenciano, and Francesca Bayre. “Cuerpos Naturales, Mentes Coloniales: Las Imágenes de Hermic Films En La Guinea Española.” Afro-Hispanic Review, vol. 28, no. 2, 2009, pp. 245–68. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41349287. Accessed 22 July 2024.

Publisher

Altaïr

Date

2006

Rights

Ortín, Pere y Pereira, Vic.

Format

Book/DVD

Language

Spanish

Coverage

Equatorial Guinea

Moving Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

DVD and Book

Duration

1:48:01