The Dancing Forest directed by Brice Lainé is currently making waves on the film festival circuit. Set in Togo, Africa, The Dancing Forest tells the story of the Centre International de Développement Agro-Pastoral (CIDAP), the Bakote Women’s Collective and how a community regained its connection to the land. It is a richly triumphant tale of an Africa we seldom see on film or in the mainstream media. We caught up with filmmaker Brice Lainé and asked him to tell us a bit more about his first feature-length independent film.
Why did you decide to make The Dancing Forest?
I grew up in Togo during my childhood and teenage years. Then I moved to London, and years later I decided to go back to school and learn TV broadcast production. As soon as I started using video cameras and making films, I knew in the back of my head that I wanted to make a film about this extraordinary community of farmers in the north of Togo and their struggle for survival. It was like an instinct, almost like I always knew, unconsciously, that I would make this film. The idea came up naturally and grew within me.
Then during my last year at university (Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication), an independent production company based in the university, RaveMedia, launched a competition open to all students from any courses. I submitted a proposal and treatment for my film; they liked it and gave me two awards that helped me start the production of The Dancing Forest. But this is not a university project in any way. I started the production after graduating from university. This is a real independent film, and it is my first feature-length film.
The Dancing Forest (La Foret Danse) is the name of a ceremony that happens every year in December. The forest is sacred; it is the place where the ancestors live.
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Where does the title come from?
The Dancing Forest (La Foret Danse) is the name of a ceremony that happens every year in December at the CIDAP Centre in the village of Baga. It is a celebration of the end of the agricultural season and its abundant harvests, and a celebration of the protection of the environment, the land and especially the sacred forests. The Nawdba people of Baga evolved in a deeply traditionally African society that dictates every aspects of life: personal, social, political, spiritual and religious.
The forest and the trees hold a very special place within that society. The forest is the birthplace of the Nawdba people, it is where the first man lived and built the foundations of the Nawdba society. The forest is sacred; it is the place where the ancestors live. So the forest is where the cultural, social and religious wealth of the Nawdba society is kept.
But for decades now, because of various social reasons, the forests have been neglected, destroyed, and are disappearing. But the CIDAP has decided to act, educate and train the people in the protection of the forests, with success. So they organize the dancing forest, a day of celebration where the community comes together and cuts specific branches from trees and then dance with the leafy branches for the whole day.
Rich in symbolism, because “when the forest has been cleaned and protected, the forest breathes, and in the rhythm of the wind, the forest dances”.
The dancing forest is a key event in the Baga calendar. It is the closure of a whole year of struggle for growing food, protecting the environment and improving life within the community. Therefore, it is a key sequence of the film, and a meaningful title.
How long did the film take to make?
From the development of the idea to the first festival screening: almost 3 years. The first and major challenge was to find the funding for the film. It is a 100% independent production through awards, donations, sponsorships, loans and my own money.
I spent 3 months on location in Togo to shoot the film (60 hours of footage!). I went there by myself with no crew, no money, no car, no hotel room, no electricity or running water. I trained 2 men from the village as boom operator and sound recordist. My twin sister, an ethnologist who lives in Baga for 6 months per year, came and helped me with the sound recording too.
I took the time to stay with the subjects of my film and create strong personal relationships with them. And that was made easier by the fact that I already knew most of them since I was a child.
But it's the whole post-production process that consumed most of the time. It is very expensive and I struggled to find the necessary money to pay for it.
The Dancing Forest is the voice of an untold Africa, proud and strong of its identity, an Africa walking its own path and taking its destiny into its own hands.
How would you describe the film to people who haven't seen it?
The Dancing Forest is a grassroots' film about a grassroots' African project. It is about Africa, rural development, women's emancipation, self-empowerment and survival. It's about hope, heritage and resistance.
The Dancing Forest is the voice of an untold Africa, proud and strong of its identity, an Africa walking its own path and taking its destiny into its own hands. With no voice-over, it is a lyrical and poetic portrait of a community, a culture and a way of life, and it is a powerful denunciation of the international Aid system, and of the corruption and authoritarianism of African states.
What is your connection to Togo?
Both my parents were French teachers. I was born in Morocco and we moved to Togo when I was 9 years old. I lived there until I was 16. Some very important years indeed. Togo was home. And I went back there many times since I left the country 10 years ago.
I first went to Baga and discovered the CIDAP when I was 11 years old. It's in the north, far from the capital city in the south of the country, but we used to go and visit the CIDAP several times each years. My family therefore built strong ties with the people from Baga. When I go there, even today, I'm considered as one of the children of the community. I carry great love and respect for those people.
The Dancing Forest is a very personal film, and my connections to Togo are deeply rooted within me.
Would you say it is an environmental film? If so, why?
The Dancing Forest is not an environmental film in the strict traditional meaning behind 'environmental film'. It is more of a social documentary. It is about people, culture, heritage, way of life, ideas and reflection. But environmental issues lay at the core of the film; protection of the land, protection of the forests, organic and small-scale farming, opposition to chemical fertilizers, fighting against wild bush fires and man-made pollution, understanding and respect for nature and animals.
How did a deeper connection to the land create more prosperity for the CIDAP?
For an extremely poor community of farmers, the land is everything. The land is life. Through the harmony with nature, the respect and understanding of the land, they can cultivate better and increase the yield of the harvests. More yield means more food for the family for the whole year, but it also means more food to sell in order to buy all the products the farmers need but can't manufacture. And a deeper connection with the land not only create material but spiritual and personal life enrichment: for the people of Baga, to reconnect with the land means to reconnect with their roots, identity, tradition and their understanding of who they are. And this is a key to wellbeing, and the first step towards prosperity.
Did a respect for the land also create a stronger community?
Yes it does. The CIDAP tries to unify the community behind a certain philosophy, a certain way of life and a certain vision for development. This is all centered around a return to the traditional relationship to the land. A relationship the elders use to have, but that is nowadays disappearing. So the CIDAP actions do create a stronger community, but there is no Utopia there, and the community still faces many problems, many divisions and internal oppositions.
There is another reality, another side of Africa. One that never makes the headlines. And that's what The Dancing Forest is about.
How does The Dancing Forest differ from the information/images we see about Africa in mainstream media and cinema?
That was one of my main motivation behind making this film. The representation of Africa that we get in the mainstream media (TV, newspapers, magazines, etc...) is always the same: negative, condescending, patronizing. We hear about wars, violence, genocides, corruption, HIV, famines and flies on children's lips. We see poor Africans begging, and we hear the western governments, the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO and the big NGOs telling us they're here rescuing Africa and saving Africans.
And yes, the suffering and agony in Africa is all too real. But there is another reality, another side of Africa. One that never makes the headlines. And that's what The Dancing Forest is about. We see strong people thinking by, and for, themselves. We see them fighting and surviving. We see them transforming their lives through their own actions. The Dancing Forest is a vibrant cry for hope. Against the status quo, The Dancing Forest is Africa's strident retaliation.
Is The Dancing Forest the film you set out to make?
It is and it isn't.
I knew what the background and idea of the film was. I knew very well the story of the CIDAP and the people there. But I never did write a proper script. I really wanted to go there and let the wind carry me. I made this film in a very grassroots, organic and instinctive way. No reconstruction, no acting, no interfering with the events unfolding.
Filming in Baga was an incredible, unique personal and filmic experience. And the film grew richer as I was growing richer. The exchange with the people was great; they really opened up to me and the camera, adding another layer, depth to the film. And the views and analysis expressed by some of the interviewees are just so deep and powerful.
So I really made the film 'live' as I was filming, and then later on during the editing.
What do you hope people who see your film will take away from it?
I hope my film will make people understand more about this specific African culture and way of life. I hope it will make individuals, Aid agencies and governments rethink their relationships with the South and the way they see and do International Aid.
I also hope my film will make people want to get involve and help the CIDAP project and other similar projects around the world. And I hope that people will see that The Dancing Forest is also a mirror reflecting the alarming image of a Western society drifting away from its roots, losing its connections to the natural world and to its deep cultural identities.
Where can people see your film?
Up and coming screenings in November at the BFM International Film Festival (London, UK), and at the Cinema Paradiso (Aunay sur Odon, France). In January at the ReFrame Peterborough International Film Festival (Canada), and in March at the Cleveland International Film Festival (US).
Visit: www.thedancingforest.com
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