Educational Media Reviews Online

Funeral Season (ou La Saison des funérailles), is an atypical and eccentric ethnographic exploration of central African culture through the lens of funeral rituals. The film captures a slice of life (and death, of course) in Cameroon, focusing primarily on the Bamileke ethnic group.

Matthew Lancit, directing his first feature, takes viewers on a mesmerizing – if sometimes rambling – journey between sprawling cities and remote villages. Funeral Season illuminates the contradictory nature of Bamilike funerals combining celebration and mourning, joy and sadness, and great displays of wealth amidst striking poverty. Lancit is himself a main subject of the film, and he takes advantage of the juxtaposition of his Caucasian-Jewish-Canadian persona within Africa’s unique post-colonial mélange of cultures and languages, ancient and modern. The interludes even feature original klezmer music to contrast with the traditional African drumming.

As in the title, the film is a mix of French and English, with a choice of subtitles in either language. Video is shot in multiple aspect ratios and in variable quality. In spite of all the contradictions, Funeral Season has an immersive and authentic feeling, and seems to provide an insider’s experience from an outsider’s perspective thanks to connections Lancit made with locals and discussions with scholars. Entertaining and thought-provoking, Funeral Season is a unique documentary and is recommended for library collections supporting African studies, and will interest general public audiences as well as academics.

Awards

• 2011 Prize for First Professional Film, Traces de Vies
• 2011 Rising Star Award, Documentary, Canada International Film Festival