According to Dr. Bryce, the majority of awards have been won by those of the Francophone community, with films like "Le Prix de Pardon-, "L'Afrance-, "Le Reve des Bruleurs-, "Silence Viole-, "Jugement d'une Femme-, "Moi et mon Blanc-, "Et Apres -, and "Madame Brouette-, to name a few - the majority coming from Sénégal and Morroco. According to her, the language is still predominately French since the French put the majority of the financial backing, though the majority of funding in the film "Starting Over.
by Paul Nwulu, came from an "American consortium called Britworld- and contributed US $150 000. .
There is still a lot of tension between the Francophone and Anglophone communities. During the festival in 1995, the delegates of the Anglophone communities felt marginalized by the former. The majority of the awards went to the French films. This tension still breathes within the festival. Those of the Anglophone community still see the French as still being colonized, while those of the Francophone see the other as being uncivilized.
The roles of women, according to Dr. Bryce, have changed considerably in that women are no longer only portrayed simply as sexual beings. Best actress Awatef Jendoubi plays the lead role as Fatma in the film directed by Khaleb Ghorbal. She plays the role of a strong woman who has had "to fly in the face of traditional values and her family, to work in her chosen profession- in a society where she say, the man "still believes he is a master."" .
In the past, the films presented at the festivals, were by directors featuring their viewpoints on Africa and what they believe Africa to be. It was a distortion of Africa and its culture. Over the years, African directors have worked to present Africa as it really is to counteract the work of previous directors. The messages this year have changed in that they are not focused solely around traditional African issues, but rather focus on more international issues - HIV/AIDS, male-female relationships, impoverished situations, journey from Africa to Europe and back and migration.
