ENC: The Fruitless Tree

The Bioscope is proud to welcome back The Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival.

Tickets R55

The Fruitless Tree (2016)

Directed by: Aicha Macky 

52min

The pejorative label for childless women in Niger provides the title for Macky’s award-winning film that tackles barrenness with surprising openness and honesty. Married and still childless, she explores hers and others private suffering. Macky’s poignant voiceover addresses her mother, who died in childbirth, asking the painful questions that arise during her investigation. The taboo of openly discussing infertility is handled with great sensitivity and what emerges is a community of women who have endured great distress, blamed – rightly or wrongly – for a couple’s inability to conceive. Beautifully shot and artfully composed, this film confronts the unspoken, and gives voice to the barren who wander among mothers.