AFRICA, CRADLE OF HUMANKIND AND MODERN CIVILISATIONS is a feature documentary which takes us to Africa to explore its original history before it was abruptly and brutally interrupted by slavery, which stripped it of all its humanity and erased its great contribution to humanity. It is a journey that allows us to travel the continent in search of its true identity and original civilizational projects. The film is directed by Benita Jacques.
For a long time, Benita Jacques has always had questions about her origins to which she never got any answers from her parents. Today, the young mother from Montreal wants to bring answers to her children who ask her the same questions that she herself could not have. So, she decided to leave for Africa, in search of her origins. Her journey took her to West Africa and began at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal, which hosts the exhibition: Africa, Cradle of Humanity and Modern Civilizations. She tries to find out what was the lifestyles of her ancestors who lived on the continent before the deportation. In order to reconstruct history, she meets with resource persons who have researched and written reference books on Africa. In their company, she travels through time and space through spiritual, historical and scientific testimonies of what remains of the golden age of the continent.
At a very young age, Benita Jacques realized that she and theatre were born for each other. When she decided to make the stage her natural habitat, she understood that this habitat was a place of pleasure, artistic expression and also a way to share her state of mind. The trained actress who holds a DEC in Arts and Literature from Marie Victorin College and a Bachelor in dramatic arts from the University of Quebec in Montréal (UQAM), she continues to be active in various theatrical and film productions including: Storyline, L'Auberge du chien noir, 30 Vies, Rupture, Mémoires Vives, Gason Makoklen, l'Innocence, Une démocratie assassée. Having several arrows in her bow, she serves on the board of directors of the Alliance Socioculturelle et Aides Pédagogiques (ASAP), which has allowed her to be versatile and put on the shoes of an assistant director alongside her mentor Evins Valcin. She is passionate about stage and theatre, with a background in arts and letters and drama, loves to share her skills and transmit her knowledge through teaching to all those who have received the call of the stage. The best way to excel in this field is to use her own platforms and set up her own productions from which she acts as director, scriptwriter, director and producer.
Businesswoman and philanthropist, Benita Jacques is at the head of the companies: Zen Queen Media Production, JB Solutions Immobilières, Benita and Jetro Fondation as well as Impact des arts, which is involved in socio-cultural and educational productions aimed at democratising theatre and producing plays in which members of cultural communities can find themselves and make themselves known.