A story of resilience. Mambar raises her children, cares for her mother, and runs a business, standing as a voice of a generation that endures life’s hardships while resisting patriarchal oppression. Despite the challenges, she meets them with calm strength, drawing support from the bonds she shares with the women in her community.
The start of the school year in Douala carries a familiar sense of unease. At Mambar Pierrette’s modest tailoring workshop, a long line of clients gathers, eager to have their clothes ready for upcoming celebrations and social gatherings. Yet Pierrette is far more than a seamstress – she becomes a confidante to her customers, a voice for her generation. But when heavy rains threaten to flood her workshop – one of several misfortunes to strike in succession – Pierrette must find a way to stay afloat.
Mambar Pierrette is a lyrical meditation on the expectations placed on working-class women to keep moving forward, regardless of nationality, culture, or circumstance. It is also a proud, unsentimental celebration of how women offer support simply because it is needed. Compassionate men do appear, but they are exceptions; for the women, empathy is not a choice but a necessity. They are the driving force of their community, and without their energy and determination, everything would collapse.
This is a film where much happens, yet events themselves are not the focus. What matters most are the women – and their refusal to yield to forces that seem insurmountable. Not because they are superheroes, but because they have no other choice. It is a burden one might wish to escape, but one they carry nonetheless – simply because they must.
Rosine Mbakam
She grew up in Yaoundé in a popular neighborhood that nourished her imagination as a filmmaker. After working for 3 years at STV in Douala as a director
and producer, she joined INSAS, a Belgian film school. Her graduation film You will be
my ally is very remarkable. In order to be independent, she founded her own production company Tândor Productions. She directed 4 feature-length documentaries that were selected in the most important film festivals in the world. She is also a teacher and researcher at KASK in Ghent. “The
New Yorker” defines her as “an original filmmaker of exceptional sensitivity; one of the greatest documentary filmmakers working today”.
Director: Rosine Mbakam
Production: Tândor Productions
Language: Bamileke, French, Pidjin
Subtitles: Polish, English
