Rosine Mbakam
Mambar Pierrette
Part of
Mambar Pierrette

Mambar Pierrette

Rosine Mbakam

2023
93 min.
Belgium
French
Subtitles: Catalan and Spanish

Mambar Pierrette is the story of a powerful woman who struggles to maintain her profession and her life.

Datasheet

Show
Direction
Rosine Mbakam
Sound
Aline Gavroy, Loic Villiot, Roger Mboupda
Distribution
DocsBarcelona Distribution
Production
Tândor Productions
Co-production
Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, RTBF (Belgian Television), Tândor Films – Cameroon, TV5MONDE, Fonds Image de la Francophonie, Coopération belge au développement, Centre de l’Audiovisuel à Bruxelles
Original title
Mambar Pierrette
Recommended age
Tots els públics
Synopsis

When it rains in Douala, the water overflows from the ravines and runs into the streets. People go on their own, looking for any dry space where they can put their feet. Mambar Pierrette, our protagonist, empties the water that has entered her house with the help of her children.

On arriving at her sewing workshop, located in a slum in the city of Cameroon, the same ordeal begins again. The start of the new school year is a busy time for the seamstress. Pierrette is exhausted, from dawn to dusk with school uniforms. But she always finds time to listen to the concerns of her neighbours and friends who pass by.

It's not that she doesn't have her own worries: she is the mother of three children and has a husband who refuses to contribute to the household, she never has enough money, her customers always pay her back and the repair of her old sewing machine costs her a fortune. But these are minor inconveniences compared to the misfortune that befalls him. Her days are long and dense, the expectation of her children is great, but will the Douala rain allow Pierrette to offer her children a beautiful return to school?

Strictly speaking, Mambar Pierrette is a feature film, but the director, Rosine Mbakam, who has experience as a documentary filmmaker, films Pierrette's daily life as if it were really happening to her. The fact that most of the actors are not professionals and play themselves reinforces the sense of authenticity. This drama is real.

About the direction
Rosine Mbakam

Rosine Mbakam

Director

Rosine Mbakam grew up in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in a popular neighbourhood that nurtured her imagination...

DocsBarcelona Trajectory

2011
Les Portes du Passé
Edició 2011
2012
You will be my Ally
Edició 2012
2016
The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman
Edició 2016
2018
Chez Jolie Coiffure
Edició 2018
2021
Delphine’s Prayers
Edició 2021
2020
Prism
Edició 2020

Awards and festivals

Cannes Film Festival
Francia, 2023
Toronto Film Festival
Toronto, 2023
IDFA
Païssos Baixos, 2023
Göteborg Film Festival
Suïssa, 2024
Rosine Mbakam
Mambar Pierrette
Watch the trailer
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