Joyah defends sex scenes, language in movie

Filmmaker Charles Shemu Joyah screened his new movie The Road to Sunrise in Blantyre last weekend. This was the second screening after Lilongwe on November 3 2017. The movie, however, faces criticism for its sex scenes and use of vulgar language. Our Reporter JOHN CHIRWA engaged the artist to get his side of the story. Excerpts.

Q

: After screening the film in Blantyre and Lilongwe, what are your plans now?

A

: We are trying to put it in theatres. So, we are negotiating with M-Theatre in Blantyre to see if we can have a theatre run there. And then we are also trying to look for another venue in Lilongwe. At Crossroads Hotel there is a very nice movie theatre. We would like to negotiate with them to see if we can actually screen it there.

The plan is to take the film into theatre-like venues and see how people react to it. If our film industry is to develop we need people to start going to the cinemas again to watch movies.

Q

: How about other places such as  Mzuzu? Will they have an opportunity to watch the movie on the big screen?

A

:The logistics of Mzuzu and the cost of going to Mzuzu are quite expensive. I would really love to take my film to Mzuzu. I have lots of friends in Mzuzu and my former professor is in Mzuzu. I would love them to watch the movie. But I will need to see how it fares first then I will take it to Mzuzu.

I have taken my two other films to Mzuzu, but the patronage was very poor. When we checked most of the patrons were women and at night it’s difficult for them to come to watch our films.

So, you travel all the way from Blantyre and find patronage to be 20 people. From a business point of view that doesn’t help. So, if we can be assured of good patronage in Mzuzu and a good venue we can take the film to the city. I would love to take the film to Mzuzu.

Q

: What has been the response so far in Blantyre and Lilongwe?

A

: Almost everybody who watched the movie was very excited. And most people were very happy. I know some people have reacted on the strong language and sex scenes. But I personally feel that with the type of characters we were trying to depict, like sex workers, it was inevitable to use such kind of language.  I would never have been true to reality if I gave them the language used in boardrooms. That’s why we needed to use the raw rough language.

I understand the criticism though because Malawi is a conservative country. But it’s something that needs to ignite debate. And if it does then that’s fine with me. By and large everybody loved the film.

Q

: Some people have observed that sexuality as a theme is not explored in this film alone, but also in your other artistic works. What do you say about such an observation?

A

: Not all of them. I have seen people on Facebook talk about the use of sex scenes in the film. If you look at my films closely, they all have to do with women and women empowerment. And they are critical of male domination. I think that the key issue of male domination over women is sex. And therefore because I take my films from a feminine point of view, I look at how women suffer, things like gender based violence and how they are abused.

Now, if you look at a man and a woman and you look at the abuse that goes between a man and a woman. What is the core thing at the centre? It’s sex. If I am doing another film on the liberation and empowerment of women the key point that makes women to be dominated on is their sexuality. Unless people want me to explore other issues then that’s a different case altogether.

Q

: What do you think will be the success of this movie taking into consideration that Malawi is a conservative country?

A

: We can’t really say if the movie will be a success or not. Any piece of art depends on the consumption; how people are going to like it and so on. All I can say is that the reaction I have gotten so far has been very encouraging to the point that after premiering it in Lilongwe the German ambassador told me that this is one of the best films he has ever watched in Africa and he would want it at the German Film Festival. If I use that as a yardstick I would say it definitely struck a chord with some people. And even when I was in the cinema both in Lilongwe and Blantyre, I felt the reaction of the people as they watched the film that they were actually enjoying it. So, for the success we are looking both at the world in general and Malawi as a country. I know that it will annoy quite a number of people in Malawi. But I am an artist and I don’t think I really have to censor myself or think too much about the public. All I am trying to do is to say something which I see happening in society although some people don’t like it.

Q

: Do you have any other comment?

A

: The movie is talking about rape, mob justice, exploitation of women, among other themes. If people don’t like that I can’t stop it. But I can’t stop making a movie about things I observe in society simply because a section of society doesn’t like it. I am quite aware that Malawi is quite conservative and the language used there is quite harsh. But that is just a reflection of the society we are living in. We just have to take things as they are. If it is bad, then let’s start from there to see how we can change it rather than stopping artists from capturing the same in their works. These things are happening in our society. It is good that the pieces of art should actually be at the forefront to debate these things. Throughout history laws have changed because of literature. n