The Master said that...

Trond Waage

Year of Production: 2000 (Remastered 2002) Category: D-film Duration: 49 min. Sound: mono Language: French English Subtitles [page not found]

This film is about Chehou, the schoolmaster in a small village in northern Cameroon. Both the Muslim elite and the Christian population in the village are critical towards the formal school. Chehou arranges village meetings, where he argues for the importance of modern knowledge. He tries to convince the fathers to let their children go to school instead of taking care of their cattle herd or their fields. Chehou also fights for his position as an respectable man. But he is unmarried, and with the salary given by the state and his uncertain future at the school, he can not marry. He has to find other income. Cattle herding seems like the only way to earn something.UNITED NATIONS wants to reduce the rate of illiteracy in the world with 50% within 15 years. This films tell one story about why that will be difficult.

The film can be seen here in QuickTime format.

Copyright: 2002 Visual Cultural Studies, University of Tromsø
For distribution, please contact:
Gøril Skotnes
Marit Gjertsen