{"product_id":"ville-cruelle","title":"On the Traces of Cruel City (Sur les traces de Ville Cruelle)","description":"\u003ch1 itemprop=\"name\" class=\"name\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(206, 18, 18);\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2103\/9651\/files\/MONGO_LAMBALLE_1961_HDok.jpg?v=1776186774\"\u003eOn the Traces of Cruel City (\u003cem\u003eSur les traces de Ville Cruelle\u003c\/em\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003eDirected by Sarah Dauphiné Tchouatcha \u0026amp; Tamnou Koloko\u003cbr data-end=\"798\" data-start=\"795\"\u003eCameroon | 2025 | 62 min | Documentary | French with English Subtitles\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eSYNOPSIS\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dirs\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1078\" data-start=\"872\"\u003eSeventy years after the publication of \u003cem data-end=\"941\" data-start=\"926\"\u003eVille Cruelle\u003c\/em\u003e, filmmakers Sarah Dauphiné Tchouatcha and Tamnou Koloko return to the world that shaped Mongo Beti’s early critique of colonial society.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1320\" data-start=\"1080\"\u003eIn Mbalmayo, Cameroon—the town that inspired the novel’s fictional setting—the film follows two teenagers moving through spaces marked by that history. Their presence anchors a journey that connects lived experience, memory, and literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1638\" data-start=\"1322\"\u003eThrough conversations with Odile Tobner and others who knew Beti, the film reflects on the conditions that gave rise to his writing: the colonial economy, the cocoa trade, and the social realities of the 1950s. Without separating past from present, it traces how those structures continue to shape contemporary life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1860\" data-start=\"1640\"\u003eWinner of the Special Jury Prize at the Festival des Écrans Noirs, \u003cem data-end=\"1749\" data-start=\"1707\"\u003eOn the Traces of Cruel City\u003c\/em\u003e situates literature as a space of observation, resistance, and continuity—carried forward by a new generation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"AfricanFilm.com","offers":[{"title":"DVD Only","offer_id":46720186187934,"sku":null,"price":395.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Streaming Only","offer_id":46720186220702,"sku":null,"price":545.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"DVD + Sreaming","offer_id":46720186253470,"sku":null,"price":645.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2103\/9651\/files\/AfficheVillecruelle-Lauriers.jpg?v=1776186773","url":"https:\/\/www.africanfilm.com\/products\/ville-cruelle","provider":"AfricanFilm.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}