The new film from acclaimed, BAFTA-winning director Rungano Nyoni (I Am Not a Witch), On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is a compelling drama about community and sisterhood.

Driving home from a party one night, Shula seems unfazed by the sight of her uncle's dead body on the deserted road. While preparations are made for his funeral, she finds herself plunged into the hidden secrets of her family. As tensions rise, Shula and her cousin Nsansa join forces to reconcile the past for a more hopeful future.

A fierce and darkly funny portrait of one woman’s strength in the face of crisis, Nyoni’s award-winning second feature proves her to be a distinctive filmmaker blazing a unique trail.

Winner Best Director - Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard 2024.

Our screening on Saturday 7 December was followed by a Q&A with director Rungano Nyoni and actors Susan Chardy and Elizabeth Chisela.

Winner Best Director and Breakthrough Performance at the British Independent Film Awards 2024.

The Garden Cinema View:

Rungano Nyoni’s (now very) long awaited follow-up to the marvellous I Am Not a Witch once again uses animal metaphor, uneasy humour, and strains of surrealism to critique patriarchal Zambian society. Starting extremely strongly with a beguiling and semi-unreal opening sequence, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl settles into a satire of bickering customs and manners during preparations for a funeral. But a swivel towards a deeply upsetting family history of sexual abuse drags us into a register of grief and troubling collective suppression.

As with her previous feature, narrative resolutions and meaning drift into realms of allegory and even magic. However, such flights of fantasy, dream, and memory remain grounded by cinematographer David Gallago’s (Embrace of the Serpent) studied framings, and the frequent flashes of humour that puncture the heavy atmosphere.

Cast:
Susan Chardy, Roy Chisha, Blessings Bhamjee, Henry B.J. Phiri