Mambar Pierrette

Dir. Rosine Mbakam. Cameroon, Belgium. 2023, 93 mins. In French, Bamileke, Cameroon Pidgin with English subtitles. DCP. The feature narrative debut of Cameroonian filmmaker Mbakam (Chez Jolie Coiffure) is a rapturous, elegantly observed quotidian portrait of a seamstress working to support her young children and mother in the city of Douala. As the start of the school year looms, a long line of customers come to Pierrette to prepare their clothes for upcoming social events and ceremonies. Cheerful yet increasingly exhausted, Pierrette is a sort of den mother for the community. Hardships begin to mount, however, in the form of both natural and manmade disasters, threatening her livelihood, and calling up her boundless resilience. Inspiring while skirting platitudes, Mbakam’s moving, gently antipatriarchal film celebrates beauty blooming despite daily oppression. 

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

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