A woman discovers the corpse of her uncle, a man who caused her considerable pain, in this darkly funny portrait of Zambia’s matriarchal society that grippingly explores the younger generation’s desire to break free from the sins of the past.
Death and secrets permeate writer-director Rungano Nyoni’s dazzling second feature, the winner of Best Director in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival. Driving through the night after a party, Shula (Susan Chardy) happens across the corpse of her Uncle Fred. That she’s learned that he’s dead isn’t shocking—that she doesn’t care at all is. A portrait of Zambia’s matriarchal society and the lingering emotional scars left behind by sexual abuse, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl combines dark comedy and bruising drama—absurdism and stripped-down realism—to investigate lies that have smothered Shula’s family for years. The filmmaker of 2017’s equally stellar I Am Not a Witch continues to demonstrate an ability to craft modern parables that grapple with both history and a younger generation’s desire to break free from the sins of the past. Funerals have rarely been so cathartic. —Tim Grierson
Rungano Nyoni
Saturday October 5, 2024 4:30pm - 6:05pm PDT
BAMPFA
