LE MARIAGE D'ALEX

French Cameroonian filmmaker Jean-Marie Téno is at home in Cameroon for a vacation. A childhood friend, Alex, asks him to film his wedding. He reluctantly agrees, only to find out on the way to the ceremony that Alex already has a wife, but he wants a second wife so he can fulfill his self-appointed role of re-propagating the village. The film reveals how traditional cultural values and the modern world clash: The men of the village may like the arrangement, but as this unusual wedding film shows, the women dont necessarily agree. Polygamy is silently tolerated in Cameroon and in many parts of the world. Téno made this film to break that silence. «I was concerned about respecting peoples choices and didnt want to be accusatory. I positioned myself as an observer, capturing the reality of the event the official speeches and traditional rituals, as well as the unspoken pain that was palpable throughout the evening. The film presents a ceremony ostensibly in celebration of love, but during which dutyand submission were the preferred words.»
(Jean-Marie Téno)