SCHREIBEN UM GELESEN ZU WERDEN – DIE LITERATUR ÄQUATORIALGUINEAS
Mischa G. Hendel, Pablo Rudich | Austria, Equatorial Guinea 2010 | 26 Min. | OmeU
In Equatorial Guinea, the third largest oil producer of Africa south of the Sahara and the only African country with Spanish as an official language, there are neither publishing houses nor libraries. Starting from these conditions, “Writing to be read” searches for answers to the value of art and culture in Equatorial Guinea. In doing so, the writers Donato Ndongo, César Mba and Guillermina Mekuy reflect on the brutal tyranny of the first dictator, Francisco Macías Nguema, analyze the role of Spain in the history of Equatorial Guinea and describe today’s situation with president Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has been maintaining a pseudo-democracy for 30 years.
The documentary switches between Equatorial Guinea and Spain, between past, present and future, and points out life in a discrepancy of African origin and a European metropolis. What relation do Guinean writers have towards the former colonial power? Do they feel a social responsibility for the readers at home in Equatorial Guinea? For whom and why are they writing anyway?
