The film “Barbie” banned in Cameroon in the name of “values”

Pierre Junior Ebollo still can’t believe it. The director of the Eden cinema in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, continues to express his incomprehension after the ban issued on August 21 in his country to broadcast the film Barbiea worldwide success. “This film does not promote homosexuality. At no time is there any scene that talks about that, neither in dialogue nor in action. This film has been played several times in front of parents and their children. No parent came out of the room to complain,” the operator wonders.

After Vietnam, Algeria or Kuwait which banned the feature film directed by Greta Gerwig for, among others, “undermining public morals” And “promotion of homosexuality and sexual transformation”Cameroon in turn banned it, after a month of screening in theaters.

Cameroon remains one of the countries where homosexuality is heavily penalized. Article 347-1 of the Penal Code provides “a sentence of six months to five years in prison and a fine of up to two hundred thousand francs for anyone who has sexual intercourse with a person of his sex”. As such, at the end of June, Jean-Marc Berthon, the French ambassador for the rights of homosexual, bisexual and transgender people, was to go to Yaoundé, but his visit was finally canceled in the face of government opposition.

“We ban any film that does not align with our values. We censor all films whose content is not appropriate for our young people. The film Barbie has content that is not acceptable to them,” justify to the World Africa Professor Faï Donatius Tangem, Director of Cinematography and Audiovisual Productions at the Ministry of Arts and Culture.

“Block the way to negative influences”

According to him, the feature film was banned “the day after viewing” by the Ministry’s National Motion Picture and Sound Recording Control Commission. According to a document obtained by The world, Barbie was banned from screening on July 22. “According to the law, the commission has sixty days to view, analyze and give its opinion (…) It is up to the exhibitors to ensure the result. They did not do it “ in the case of Barbieassures Fai Donatius Tangem.

“Barbie was released in our theaters on July 21 after going through a censorship committee which did not notify us of its ban”, retorts Pierre Junior Ebollo. According to him, during viewings, when the members of the commission observe scenes that do not correspond to the ” Cameroonian mores or the law, they let us know immediately. They notify us directly before even reporting to the minister that this film must be censored”.

Without a negative response, cinema operators in Cameroon therefore programmed the film. Barbie, ” while waiting for the visa of diffusion”. “It generally happens like this for most films because, if we wait for the visa, we will be late with the worldwide distribution and we will not be able to make money. We were convinced that Barbie was validated. We never received a note or anything.” supports a person in charge of another room wishing to remain anonymous.

According to him, the situation changed in mid-August. Online articles and social media posts then accuse the film, which has already made more than a billion dollars (920 million euros) worldwide, of promoting homosexuality , which in Cameroon is also punishable by law. In a press release published on August 18, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Pierre Ismaël Bidoung Mkpatt, protests against “the proliferation of works without regulatory visas, displaying no age restrictions “.

The Minister also reminds movie theater operators that compliance with the laws governing the sector makes it possible to “to respect ethics and public morals, to preserve good morals and national cultural traditions, and to block the way to negative influences on youth”.

Stupefaction

On the side of the professionals, it is amazement. “The ban that was finally given is backdated, assures Pierre Junior Ebollo, director of the Eden cinema in Douala. They want us to take the blame and I do not accept it. At no time did the people who came to watch the film mention that this film should not be played. »

According to our information, the promoters are summoned by the Ministry of Arts and Culture on Wednesday August 30. Some already think that “heavy fines” are waiting for them.

“It is an injustice. We broadcast Barbie because there had never been a ban. The minister, cornered by public opinion, wants to hold us accountable,” complains a room manager who also wishes to remain anonymous. For him, this censorship of Barbie “already has an impact on revenue” as cinemas try to survive in a context marked by the high cost of living.

After the boom of the 1980s, the dark rooms indeed closed one after the other in the 1990s and 2000s. Today, the country has only five. According to Pierre Junior Ebollo, it is time for the authorities to review the 1988 law on cinema and “expand the censorship committee”by adding representatives of civil society such as religious and teachers… so that their decision ist “immediate and definitive”.