Aristotle's Plot

When Essemba Tourneur (aka E.T.) returns home to her unnamed African hometown after a number of years in Europe, everything has changed. A group of gangs led by the gang leader with the fantastic name 'Cinema' has taken over the local cinema, where the menu is exclusively “action packed movies”. Hollywood rules, and “African film” is a decidedly lighthearted word. As an independent African filmmaker, E.T. goes to counterattack the Cinemas gang and their Western ideals. But the more the conflict escalates, the more the film itself begins to resemble the kind of action movie that E.T. is against. Director Jean-Pierre Bekolo takes over the means of Hollywood, twists them out of their usual context and lets the form itself pose the question: Who really decides what “African cinema” is?

'Aristotle's Plot' is a meta-reflective film that challenges both the assembly-line products of 1990s Hollywood and the notion of pure, authentic African cinematography. Bekolo portrays the contradictions through which African film is made and seen through. The result is an incredibly entertaining, sickly and angry film about the relationship between African filmmakers and their audiences -- and about a film culture strained between global commercialism and the dream of cultural authenticity.

NB: The film appears in a digital copy, which has not been restored. Since it never received a commercial release, it has not been possible to find a better viewing format. That doesn't change its artistic merits or its importance to any conversation about movies unfolding in the cinema space. Don't miss this rarely seen movie.

Director: Jean-Pierre Bekolo
Starring: Albee Lesotho, Seputla Sebogodi, Ken Gampu, Anthony Levendale
Country/year: Cameroon, 1996
Running time: 68 min.
Formato: Digital DCP
Language: English Speech
Age limit: Allowed for children over 15
Original title: Le complot d'Aristote

Part of the series: The Many Lives of the Cinema
For 30 years, the cinema halls in Gothersgade have been the beating heart of Cinemateket. We celebrate this with a series of films set in and around cinemas, depicting life in the hall, the foyer and behind the scenes. Welcome to the cinema!

Part of the series: Back to 1996
Cinemateket turns 30 — we turn back the clock and invite you on a time trip back to 1996. Because in addition to being the year we opened the doors of Cinemateket in Gothersgade 55, 1996 was also a fabulous film year.