Film Review: Ten Years of Powering Lives in Africa by Giusy Alfieri

Ten years of powering lives is a documentary that in just 11 minutes shows the testimonies of Fatoumata Sanfo, Musasi Dawson, Elfinesh Birmeji and Susan Njogu, four African protagonists who have improved their lives thanks to bio digesters. From the very first seconds it is possible to clearly understand the style and the rhythm chosen by the director. The documentary, in fact, opens with a dynamic introduction in which the editing, characterized by a series of shots that follow one another quickly, gives us the opportunity to enter history, to feel and live in first person what is shown to us. The first few minutes, in fact, allow to know the environment, the lifestyle, the habits, the sounds and colors of a land as beautiful as Africa. In this regard, I particularly appreciated the use of aerial shots that give the opportunity to know the environment within which, subsequently, the viewer will be immersed. In my opinion, the initial shots in which the children are the protagonists are symbolic. This choice seems to want to show how the entire population is actively committed to finding a solution to the problems related to climate change. Showing children with "their hands in the ground" as the 4 adult protagonists will do later, in fact, seems to mean that you have to learn to take care of your home, understood as a planet, already as a child and that you have to work collectively to tackle a problem which affects the entire population, Africa as well as the rest of the world. The introduction ends with the rapid presentation of the 4 protagonists: they tell us who they are, where they come from and what work they do while the camera rotates around them as if it following the fast rhythm of the soundtrack.?

After the presentation of the territory and the characters, they are made known to us not only through the use of interviews. The documentary, in fact, is constructed in two ways: the participatory mode and the observational mode. If with the participatory mode the interviews are important to tell and move the narrative forward, the observational mode shows reality as it is thanks to the camera that tries never to be invasive in order to preserve the spontaneity of the action. Similarly, cinematography also has a realistic imprint and far from being artificial. It is the natural light, in fact, that frames the story of the 4 protagonists. If on the one hand the central body of the documentary shows the daily life of the protagonists while they carry out various activities such as cooking, fishing or working the land, on the other, through interviews, it explains not only what bio digesters are and how they are used, but also and above all how the protagonists' lives have changed and improved thanks to them: “Since I started using biogas, my produce has increased, my health has improved. Since there is no smoke, my lungs, nose, heart and eyes are not hurting. My children and I are healthier now” says Elfinesh Birmeji.?

The documentary is skilled in showing a different and more positive reality compared to what we think of when we talk about the territory and the African population. For example, think of Fatoumata Sanfo who, riding her scooter, she sells chickens and pharaohs, always with a smile on her face and showing the portrait of a strong woman who, being a friend of the environment, has improved her condition of life. The use of bio digesters, therefore, is important not only because they improves the quality of life but also because thanks to them, women also have the opportunity to be independent, to have their own business, to have their own money. The figure of the woman appears fundamental in the documentary. "Right now I'm able to plan myself, I'm able to have time as a wife, to have time as a mam" says Susan Njogu who, in the conclusion and as if she were a link capable of connecting all the stories, she is shown to be happy to do a job that the society tends to define as "manly".

Summing up and analyzing the documentary as a whole, I can say that I appreciated some choices, others less. In particular, as a spectator I would have preferred a more heterogeneous rhythm characterized by a rapid introduction, a slower development and a conclusion that becomes dynamic again.??The four stories, in fact, are so interesting that the fast rhythm of the documentary has sacrificed the stories of the protagonists which, in my opinion, they should have been investigated more or involving a smaller number of people or increasing the duration of the documentary itself. The key word, in fact, seems to be "dynamism", a speed present not only in the editing and in the consequent narration but also in the use of the soundtrack, present from the beginning to the end of the documentary and which overlaps with the testimonies of the protagonists during the interviews, as if it were a trailer. The soundtrack must be at the service of the narrative and must be used when necessary, without abusing it. Africa is a land rich in sounds, why not let us hear them and why not have that realism also on a sound level that, for example, emerges with the cinematography? The story of the protagonists manages to convey an important message. Climate change is a problem that exists and each of us must work to limit the damage. The 4 protagonists give a strong and positive message of progress and, in my opinion, their smile is symbolic which, shown at the beginning of the documentary as well as at the end, is the symbol of the possibility of being happy by adopting sustainable choices. And what are we willing to do?