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THE AFRIKA FILMFESTIVAL,
PANGAEA AND FEMINIST SOCIETY PRESENT
THE FRUITLESS TREE
FILM & ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION
24 APRIL 2018
“From Above, and around
Eyes that say
I haven't found
A purpose for
This fruitless tree
All I am now, an ornament you see
But what grows inside of me
It's not what you think,
It's not what you think First life I give
It is to me.” – Marianna Rousaki
AN EVENING DEDICATED TO DISCUSSING HOW FEMALE BODIES ARE STILL SEEN
AS FUNCTIONAL TOOLS AND NOT ENTITIES IN THEMSELVES. WHAT ARE THEN,
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIETAL CONSEQUENCES FOR INFERTILITY?
THE FRUITLESS TREE by Aïcha Macky. The director Aicha Macky turns the lens
on herself and her struggle with infertility. Married but childless, her circumstance
is judged unacceptable in her native Niger. In her conservative society, women are
always getting blamed for infertility, Macky bravely addresses the taboo of childlessness
and the stigma women like her must endure while finding a way to affirm
herself as a fulfilled individual among mothers.
PANELISTS:
Sabrine Ingabire is a published writer, freelance journalist, columnist and law student.
In 2017, she was elected as a youth adviser for the Vlaamse Jeugdraad (2018-2020). Her
main focus as an activist is the fight against inequalities: she writes about human rights,
feminism, and the struggle against racism.
Dorothy Abea considers herself an advocate for sexual and reproductive health of
women. She studies International relations and diplomacy at the University of Antwerp.
She dedicates her spare time as an HIV prevention worker at the Institute for Tropical
Medicine. Besides from that she also works for Sensoa, the Flemish centre of expertise
regarding sexual health.
Rose-Myrtha Fortuna Dorsant was born in Ayiti on the 8th of June in the year 1996. In
1998 she was adopted by two Belgian parents who named her Myrtha Vercammen. She
wore this name without questioning until she was 18 years old, still she never lost interest
in her own cultural and ethnic identity. This interest stimulated her into researching
topics such as racism, imperialism and decolonisation. A research which resulted in
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