A Malawian boy raised in a Chinese Buddhist orphanage is torn between his African culture and Confucian values. As a child he was a star performer and poster boy for the orphanage's cultural activities. He travelled widely and harboured dreams of becoming a martial artist like Jet Li. But now, in his final year of school, Enock is leaving childish things behind and making difficult decisions about his future. Will he return to live with relatives in his village or study abroad? Enock and his classmates negotiate the pros and cons of cultural assimilation as they try to find middle ground between losing their mother tongue, but gaining educational and financial possibilities, feeling like outsiders within their own community yet attracting foreign interest. Set against China's expanding influence on the continent, Buddha in Africa provides a unique insight into the forces of cultural soft power on the identity and imagination of an African boy and his school friends as they try to make sense of an increasingly globalized world and the cost of opportunity that comes at the price of identity.

Buddha in Africa

A Malawian boy, raised in a Buddhist orphanage, struggles to retain his cultural identity.

Director, Nicole Schafer introduces her film Buddha in Africa

Buddha in Africa: introduction

Dr June Francis, Associate Professor of Marketing and Director of the Institute for Diaspora Research and Engagement (SFU) explores some of the difficult questions about identity and colonization that Buddha in Africa raises as she talks with panelists Charlie Wu, Managing Director of Asian-Canadian Special Events Association&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Carol Arnold, a member of the British Columbia Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lizanne Foster, a South African-Canadian who has been teaching in the B.C. Surrey School District since 1996.&nbsp;

Buddha in Africa - panel discussion

Canada

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