THE YAYAS DE L´ELÉGANCE
France, 2012, 28 min
Maria José Pavlovic
26.01.2013 19:30
S.A.P.E is a acronyme for the Society of Ambience Makers and Elegant People. The followers of this movement are called "sapeurs"; men devoted to elegant dressing originally from the Congo-Brazzaville, West Africa. Part of a sapeur´s achievement is to settle in Paris, the fashion´s capital so there they can become an experimented, recognised sapeur. In Paris they are called "yayas" a lingala expression to name the elderly, those who deserve respect and recognition within the community; those who have made the journey of the S.A.P.E. Through the story of Fuluzioni Di Aluzioni, Annick Bertin "General Firenze" and Chardel Matsanga, this film tries to reveal the main aspects of this congolese practise.
Independent filmmaker and researcher, Maria José Pavlovic was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. She recently finished her studies in Visual Anthropology at the Granada Centre (University of Manchester, 2012). Since 2006, Maria José has worked and collaborated in different documentary films produced in Chile. Based in Paris, "The Yayas de L´Elégance (2012) is her first film. She is currently developing projects in the Congo - Brazaville, Paris and Ireland.
Director: María Chosé Pavlovic
Production:María Chosé Pavlovic, Frédéric Thooris and The Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology (University of Manchester)
Language of dialogues:French
Language of subtitles: English, Czech
When inhabitants of rainforest walk under its canopy, they see resources for life. The ways of collecting, processing and utilization of these resources are based upon traditional indigenous knowledge which is for „western“ science examined by ethnobotany. The discipline generally focuses on cultural, social and economical relationships between plants and indigenous peoples. Movie camera is during field research used very rarely.Among the other goals of scientific expedition Wayvana Peru 2011 we have strived to answer the question: „Are methods of visual anthropology for preservation of traditional indigenous knowledge applicable? If so, what are pros and cons of this approach?“ The movie is part of „visual ethnobotany“ series and depicts „the story of resource“ piassaba palm (Aphandra natalia).
