PAS Niamey hosted a pre-screening of a documentary written and directed by a local artist, Aicha Macky as part of the Women’s History Month calendar of events. In this emotional documentary “L’arbre sans fruit” (“fruitless tree” in English) Macki discusses infertility in the Nigerien context. Macki says, “Being married with no kids is a very unusual situation in Niger. But, like anywhere else in the world, there are fertility problems.” Macki uses her personal experience to explore this taboo with sensitivity. The film also questions women’s status within Nigerien society and, in a wider perspective, femininity and motherhood issues. This pre-screening was organized to provide Macki with constructive criticism and feedback from people who are active Nigerien film-making in order to perfect the movie before it premieres on the international level at the États généraux des films documentaires de Lussas in August 2016. The audience congratulated Macki for her courage and dedication in shedding light on this sensitive topic. This is Macki’s first professional documentary but she wrote and directed two short documentaries about the perception of the female sexuality and the female body in Niger.
