Starting from the journey of Lebou priestess Mère Bi—here portrayed in the filmic work of Malian artist and Senegal-based Manthia Diawara—AI: African Intelligence dives into the vast technologies of the Ndoep healing practices that remain part of the culture and traditions of Lebou communities, despite colonial and other forms of oppression and cultural erasure. Also known as the people of water, the Lebou community place a strong importance upon spirituality and rituals of healing that connect with the high spirits of the waters,  witness to human existence and its evolution across ages. AI: African Intelligence confronts the claims of singularity proposed by artificial intelligence, instead centring on intangible and communal practices of pattern recognition and embodied knowledge production. What has been the role of matrilineal and female structures throughout history in keeping these practices alive for the common good of the community and the generations that follow? The presence of Mére-Bi invites reflection on the ways in which a broader recognition of the values embedded into traditional practices of healing might reshape understandings of modernity and society making, pluralizing visions of what artificial intelligence might mean.  

The screening is followed by a conversation + Q&A with the director and Kwasi Konadu. The film and conversation will be in English.