Cinema and Development in West Africa
Cinema and Development in West Africa

Author: James E. Genova

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2013-09-25

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 025301011X

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“Illuminates the enduring importance of political and economic dynamics not yet fully explored in the study of African cinema.” —Africa Cinema and Development in West Africa shows how the film industry in Francophone West African countries played an important role in executing strategies of nation building during the transition from French rule to the early postcolonial period. James E. Genova sees the construction of African identities and economic development as the major themes in the political literature and cultural production of the time. Focusing on film both as industry and aesthetic genre, he demonstrates its unique place in economic development and provides a comprehensive history of filmmaking in the region during the transition from colonies to sovereign states.

Cinema and Development in West Africa
Cinema and Development in West Africa

Author: James Genova

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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The paper examines the struggle for decolonization in West Africa through the critical lense of the cinema industrial complex. One of the pioneers of African cinema and also a leading anti-colonial cultural activist Paulin Soumanou Vieyra insisted that film should be regarded as a crucial terrain in the fight to end colonial rule as well as a central vehicle in the post-colonial economic and cultural regeneration of Africa's societies. He highlighted the cinema's dual nature as art and industry as providing a unique mix of elements that could be utilized to achieve full sovereignty from foreign rule as well as a pathway for development that was not resource-dependent. Drawn from my forthcoming book of the same title (Indiana, 2013), the paper argues that the representational and materialist dimensions to the cinema industrial complex constituted important modalities of colonial rule that were contested by agents like Vieyra, Ousmane Sembene, Med Hondo, and others in the transition from imperial control to political sovereignty. I argue that this study illuminates some of the possibilities inherent within the project of using film as a means of decolonization while also revealing important structural constraints that limited the potential for Africa's post-colonial cultural and economic development.

Cinema and New Technologies
Cinema and New Technologies

Author: S. Benagr

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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This research investigates the development of digital video filmmaking in West Africa using Ghana and Burkina Faso as case studies within the context of new technologies. The key research questions that guided the study were how do the economic, social and political contexts of video filmmaking affect the development of a digital video film industry in Ghana and Burkina Faso? and how have the perceptions of digital technologies (held by filmmakers and other stakeholders) impacted upon the development of digital video film making in West Africa? Using field interviews with stakeholders in the video film industry in Ghana and Burkina Faso, as well as with the West African diaspora community in the UK, document research, textual references, and personal observation, the research discusses the challenges of new digital and video technologies, and their implications for the development of the video film industry. The research establishes that video and digital technologies are offering many people the opportunity to make films. There is however, a plethora of new digital technologies that enable the work of video film producers, which require closer examination. The research suggests that the impact of the digital revolution has been limited, and a number of factors account for this. The study offers recommendations that might contribute to discussions on finding solutions to the development of a professional, regulatory and practical video filmmaking environment. This would lead to the formulation of policies that impact positively on filmmaking in the region, and consequently increase the capacity of local productions to compete on the international film scene.

Tropical Dream Palaces
Tropical Dream Palaces

Author: Odile Goerg

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-02-01

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 0197530966

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Many studies focus on film in Africa. Few, however, study cinema as a leisure activity: one that has influenced several generations and opened up spaces to dream, discuss or contest. Movie theatres offered a break from the daily routine, as places of escape and of education. Cinema was also potentially subversive, offering an alternative to colonial discourse. Tropical Dream Palaces seeks to trace this history in a West African context: of broadening horizons on the one hand, and of censorship and control on the other. It fills a historiographic void, following cinema's arrival in the region in the early twentieth century up until the Independence era, and also looking further afield to Central Africa and its different models. Goerg addresses questions of film distribution in colonial times; of screening venues, their implantation, spread and different categories; while also focusing on audiences, their gender or age; the acquisition of a film culture; and the impact of screening foreign images. Her book draws on extremely varied sources to paint a broad picture of this cinematographic landscape: archives, the accounts of African and European spectators or administrators, novels, autobiographies, the local press, interviews and iconography.

New African Cinema
New African Cinema

Author: Valérie Orlando

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2017-04-15

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 0813579589

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New African Cinema examines the pressing social, cultural, economic, and historical issues explored by African filmmakers from the early post-colonial years into the new millennium. Offering an overview of the development of postcolonial African cinema since the 1960s, Valérie K. Orlando highlights the variations in content and themes that reflect the socio-cultural and political environments of filmmakers and the cultures they depict in their films. Orlando illuminates the diverse themes evident in the works of filmmakers such as Ousmane Sembène’s Ceddo (Senegal, 1977), Sarah Maldoror’s Sambizanga (Angola, 1972), Assia Djebar’s La Nouba des femmes de Mont Chenoua (The Circle of women of Mount Chenoua, Algeria, 1978), Zézé Gamboa’s The Hero (Angola, 2004) and Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu (Mauritania, 2014), among others. Orlando also considers the influence of major African film schools and their traditions, as well as European and American influences on the marketing and distribution of African film. For those familiar with the polemics of African film, or new to them, Orlando offers a cogent analytical approach that is engaging.

Tropical Dream Palaces
Tropical Dream Palaces

Author: Odile Goerg

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2020-03

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 0190089075

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Many studies focus on film in Africa. Few, however, study cinema as a leisure activity: one that has influenced several generations and opened up spaces to dream, discuss or contest. Movie theatres offered a break from the daily routine, as places of escape and of education. Cinema was also potentially subversive, offering an alternative to colonial discourse. Tropical Dream Palaces seeks to trace this history in a West African context: of broadening horizons on the one hand, and of censorship and control on the other. It fills a historiographic void, following cinema's arrival in the region in the early twentieth century up until the Independence era, and also looking further afield to Central Africa and its different models. Goerg addresses questions of film distribution in colonial times; of screening venues, their implantation, spread and different categories; while also focusing on audiences, their gender or age; the acquisition of a film culture; and the impact of screening foreign images. Her book draws on extremely varied sources to paint a broad picture of this cinematographic landscape: archives, the accounts of African and European spectators or administrators, novels, autobiographies, the local press, interviews and iconography.

African Film Studies
African Film Studies

Author: Boukary Sawadogo

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-12-15

Total Pages: 135

ISBN-13: 1000821692

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African Film Studies is an accessible and engaging introduction to African cinemas, showcasing the diverse cinematic expressions across the continent. Bringing African cinemas out of the margins and into mainstream film studies, the book provides a succinct overview of the history, aesthetics, and theory of sub-Saharan African cinematic productions. Updated throughout, this new edition includes new chapters on Nollywood, Ethiopian cinema, Streaming, and the rise of televisual series, which serve to complement the book’s main themes: Overview of African cinema(s): Questions assumptions and defines the characteristics of African cinemas across linguistic, geographic, and filmic divides History of African cinemas: Spans the history of film in Africa from colonial import and ‘appropriation of the gaze’, the rise of Nollywood and local TV series to streaming, as well as building connections with the development of African American cinema Aesthetics: Introduces new research on previously under-explored aesthetic dimensions such as cinematography, animation, and film music Theoretical Approaches: Addresses a number of theoretical approaches and critical frameworks developed by scholars in the study of African cinemas Traditions and practices in African screen media: Features Ethiopian cinema, Nollywood, Local Televisual Series in Burkina Faso and South Africa, and the Streaming rush for Africa All chapters include case studies, suggestions for further reading, and screening lists to deepen the reader’s knowledge, with no prior knowledge of African cinemas required. Students, teachers, and general film enthusiasts would all benefit from this accessible and engaging book.

A Companion to African Cinema
A Companion to African Cinema

Author: Kenneth W. Harrow

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2018-09-18

Total Pages: 525

ISBN-13: 1119099854

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An authoritative guide to African cinema with contributions from a team of experts on the topic A Companion to African Cinema offers an overview of critical approaches to African cinema. With contributions from an international panel of experts, the Companion approaches the topic through the lens of cultural studies, contemporary transformations in the world order, the rise of globalization, film production, distribution, and exhibition. This volume represents a new approach to African cinema criticism that once stressed the sociological and sociopolitical aspects of a film. The text explores a wide range of broad topics including: cinematic economics, video movies, life in cinematic urban Africa, reframing human rights, as well as more targeted topics such as the linguistic domestication of Indian films in the Hausa language and the importance of female African filmmakers and their successes in overcoming limitations caused by gender inequality. The book also highlights a comparative perspective of African videoscapes of Southern Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Côte d’Ivoire and explores the rise of Nairobi-based Female Filmmakers. This important resource: Puts the focus on critical analyses that take into account manifestations of the political changes brought by neocolonialism and the waning of the cold war Explores Examines the urgent questions raised by commercial video about globalization Addresses issues such as funding, the acquisition of adequate production technologies and apparatuses, and the development of adequately trained actors Written for film students and scholars, A Companion to African Cinema offers a look at new critical approaches to African cinema.

The African Film Industry
The African Film Industry

Author: UNESCO

Publisher: UNESCO Publishing

Published: 2021-10-01

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 9231004700

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The production and distribution of film and audiovisual works is one of the most dynamic growth sectors in the world. Thanks to digital technologies, production has been growing rapidly in Africa in recent years. For the first time, a complete mapping of the film and audiovisual industry in 54 States of the African continent is available, including quantitative and qualitative data and an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses at the continental and regional levels.The report proposes strategic recommendations for the development of the film and audiovisual sectors in Africa and invites policymakers, professional organizations, firms, filmmakers and artists to implement them in a concerted manner.