Titled "W.A.K.A." (an acronym for "Woman Acts for her Kid Adam"), the film was shot entirely in Cameroon, and tells the story of of Mathilde, a 30-something-year-old single woman abandoned by her family, who works as a waitress in a bar, when her life is shaken up after her boss finds out that she’s pregnant, and opts to fire her. But that’s just the beginning of her post-pregnancy struggles. Mathilde is faced with the choice of either getting rid of her baby and keep her job, or having the child, losing her job, but managing as best as she can to raise him/her. She chooses the latter, is fired from her job, and finds it extremely difficult to get hired elsewhere. That’s when Max, a pimp, enters her life, and, you can probably imagine what comes next.
For the full story, you’d have to watch the film. which, unfortunately, has yet to be made available in the USA… that is, until now!
Ellong’s film will make its USA premiere at the Hollywood Film Festival (HFF), which runs from Sep 23-27, 2015 at Arclight Cinemas, as one of 20 strong narrative features. "W.A.K.A." screenings twice; first on Thursday Sep 24, 2015, at 4:30 PM, and again on Friday, Sep 25, 2015 at 3 PM.
So for those of you in the Los Angeles area, add this to your calendars.
The film stars Patricia Bakalack, Bruno Henry, Alain Bomo Bomo, Yoli Fuller, Celine Victoria Fotso, and Frank Ateh.
It’s been traveling the international film festival circuit since last year (when I first learned about it), picking up awards along the way, like the Special Jury Prize at the 17th edition of the Festival du cinéma africain de Khouribga – Morocco, and the Dikalo Award for Best First Feature at the Festival International du Film Panafricain de Cannes – France.
It was released in Cameroon last summer (2014), and in France in the fall.
Look for our review of it before it premieres at the HFF.
In the meantime, check out the trailer below for a glimpse at what to expect (poster above):
