MAMBAR PIERRETTE (NYFF 2023) – Review by Margaret Barton-Fumo
No stranger to experimentation, Rosine Mbakam returns to the NYFF in 2023 with Mambar Pierrette, an engaging profile of a seamstress in Cameroon. Known for her previous works of creative nonfiction, Mbakam’s latest is an unassuming yet powerful drama that draws heavily from everyday life. Following Mambar closely as she toils from day to day, sewing in a tiny shop and taking care of her family during her hours off, Mbakam ekes out a candid tale of perseverance. Struggling to keep up with her orders during the busy back-to-school season, Mambar is quickly overrun with major setbacks, with no other option but to carry on with a flooded home, a broken sewing machine and her earnings stolen. There are no easy outs for her, nor fixes for many of her problems, but the film still manages to maintain an essential levity. However difficult her issues may be, Mambar finds the will to push forward and continue to persevere on a daily cycle.
Often beset by patriarchal oppression, Mambar’s friends and family repeatedly discourage her from reporting her partner to the authorities for failing to support their children. Also in charge of her ailing mother, she relies entirely on her income from sewing, a profession in which she takes great pride. Her customers may be seasoned hagglers but they know that Mambar produces quality work, rich in detail and expertly tailored. Mbakam aligns these interactions into an assemblage of community–one in which Mambar develops friendships and alliances with returning customers and neighbors in the city of Douala. It is evident that each character in the film has their own story to tell, and Mbakam treats us to snippets of overlapping tales. Occasionally delightful in spite of overwhelming pressures, Mambar Pierrette is a significant accomplishment and proof that Mbakam can excel in multiple genres.
