Zjili: A Story of Sisterhood and The Burdens of Excess

A bale of dead Western clothing weighs about 120 pounds, and at Accra's Kantamanto market it rides on the head of a woman called a kayayo. Christine Boateng and Hajara Musah Chambas built their debut feature around three women whose lives cross there, following Zoya down from a village in the north, and it is the first time kayayei have reached a cinema screen at all. One of the closing scenes is unscripted: a group of them work out, on camera, that they need a union to stop retailers bidding their rates against each other. Written by Marcia Abdul-Korah, Daphne M. Atsutse and Denzel Owoo. World premiere in Discovery, TIFF's first-feature strand, September 10–20. Note what it isn't: a fast-fashion ethics segment with West African labor as B-roll.