The Chairman and the Lions 2013
Distributed by Documentary Educational Resources, 101 Morse Street, Watertown, MA 02472; 617-926-0491
Produced by Frank Kaipai Ikoyo, Juma Mriga, Kelly Askew, Howard Stein
Directed by Peter Biella
DVD , color, 46 min.
College
Sociology, Political Science, Africa
Date Entered: 03/02/2015
Reviewed by Andrew Koval, MSLSThe themes covered in this film are lion hunting, education, sustainability and globalization. Biella balances exploring a tribal village in need of lion hunters, revenue and educational opportunities. Lion hunting aphorisms, like “You must be like the dead,” are expressed by a master lion hunter. The film is candid and the chairman of the village’s competence shines through on camera. Equal balance is given to lion hunting and the advancement of more economic/educational opportunities for the village. Biella captures interesting settings that enhance the story i.e. the lion bunker, which develops toward the films climax. Greater emphasis could have been placed on how deprived the village was prior to the current chairman’s ascension to leadership in order to convey a better sense of proportion concerning the history of the village. Biella’s The Chairman and the Lions exhibits the quality of a National Geographic feature. This film is appropriate for libraries that serve academic populations focused on globalization, political science and world cultures.
Awards
- First Prize ETNO Film Festival for Anthropological & Ethnographic Film, 2013