Directed by Peter Biella and Produced by Kelly Askew
"The Chairman and the Lions"
Directed by Peter Biella, Produced by Kelly Askew, Frank Ikoyo, Juma
Muriga and Howard Stein
The Maasai leader of a Tanzanian village battles many lions that
threaten his community-'bush' lawyers, land grabbers, migration and
lack of education. Chairman Frank Ikoyo provides a glimpse into the
current world of Maasai-burdened with problems that the community is
ill equipped to overcome. He advocates education as a key to village
self-determination, despite the fact that it can produce "educated
criminals." The film depicts Ikoyo's duties as Chairman-persuading
women to send daughters to school, interrogating spies in a lawsuit,
and eliciting help of a renowned elder to train young warriors in the
art of lion hunting.
The film was one of only 24 films from 520 entries to be selected for
the prestigious Jean Rouch International Film Festival in Paris in
November, 2012. It has also been accepted to a number of other film
festivals in places like Poland and Croatia.
Panel Discussion to follow with Producer Kelly Askew (DAAS and Anthro,
U of M.), Director Peter Biella, (Chair, Dept. of Anthropology, San
Francisco State University), the village chairman, Frank Ikoyo and
Juma Muriga, the associate chairman.
