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African cinema

African cinema. A Primer. African cinema . Nollywood vs. “Parallel” African Cinema i.e., Commercial vs. Art/Parallel Cinema (borrowing the term “parallel” from Indian cinema) Nollywood : Nigerian commercial film industry Mostly Anglophone, with some indigenous languages used

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African cinema

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  1. African cinema A Primer

  2. African cinema • Nollywood vs. “Parallel” African Cinema • i.e., Commercial vs. Art/Parallel Cinema (borrowing the term “parallel” from Indian cinema) • Nollywood: • Nigerian commercial film industry • Mostly Anglophone, with some indigenous languages used • By far the biggest African film industry; Second-largest film industry in the world, after India, in terms of number of feature released (~200 per month) • Shot on video (at first, tape...now, direct to drives) • Distributed on video—no theatrical release, direct to home on disc • Films are shot quickly and cheaply • Content emphasizes supposedly “authentic” Nigerian issues, including the intersection of indigenous cultural heritage elements such as witchcraft (juju) or voodoo, and religion (Christianity and/or Islam) • See the documentaries Welcome to Nollywood(2007) and Nollywood Babylon (2008)

  3. African cinema • “Parallel” African Cinema • Anglophone: • Colonial Office of the British Film Institute created the Bantu Educational Cinema Experiment in present-day Tanzania in 1935, with a goal of educating Africans (e.g., Post Office, Savings Bank); ended in 1937 • British set up the Colonial Film Unit in 1939 with branches across Anglophone Africa; the immediate goal was to encourage African participation in WWII, according to Jean Rouch • Spurred by a report to UNESCO by John Grierson, the CFU established a film school in Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1949 • CFU involvement in Africa ended around 1955, as British African colonies achieved independence • Nigeria’s film industry was an indirect offshoot of this (e.g., the CFU left behind 16mm film equipment)

  4. African cinema • “Parallel” African Cinema • Francophone: • The Laval Decree of 1934 limited African involvement in films made by the French in Africa (to limit subversive content) • In the 1950’s, documentarist Jean Rouche’s work in Niger and Ivory Coast demystified film for Africans • Filmmaking was subsequently fostered by the French, via the French Ministry of Cooperation (the cinema division was headed by Jean-Rene Debrix, who described himself as a student of Abel Gance); the Cooperation operated either as front-end producer, or as post-production distributor (e.g., Sembene’sLa Noire de. . . ) of African films • The Cooperation is viewed as a “neo-colonialist tool” by some historians • Through the 1970s, 80% of African films were Francophone • The real setup to these systems of film influence by Europeans was the imperialistic “Scramble of Africa” in 1884; at a meeting in Berlin, European nations met to carve up the continent of Africa (they had a “duty” to civilize Africans):

  5. “Parallel” african cinema • Three Francophone nations will be examined: • Senegal • National monetary support, but no national cinema production facilities • Mali • In 1961, the government set up a Centre Malien de Cinema for the “political education of the citizen and the worker”; JorisIvens was invited to make an educational film • Burkina Faso • Substantial government support...a national cinema...with private film companies springing up in the late 1990s

  6. Senegal • OusmaneSembene (1923-2007) • “The Father of African Film” • Key films: • La Noire de. . .(Black Girl)(1966) • Turned down for pre-funding by the French Cooperation because of its pseudo-slavery theme • FaatKiné(2000) • Looks at the place of women in post-colonial Senegal • Moolaadé(2004) • Focus on female genital mutilation

  7. Senegal • DjibrilDiopMambéty (1945-1998) • Worked experimentally, with non-linear narratives • Key films: • ToukiBouki(1973) • A cowherd with a motorcycle and a student attempt to go to Paris; extremely French New Wave-y • Hyènes (1992) • An adaptation of Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt’sThe Visit

  8. Mali • ManthiaDiawara (1953- ) • Scholar and filmmaker, professor at NYU • BOOK: African Cinema: Politics and Culture (1992) • FILM: Sembene: The Making of African Cinema (1994)

  9. Mali • SouleymaneCissé (1940- ) • Yeelen(1987)—Warning!! Animal harmed. • A 13th-century tale based on a Bambara legend, an heroic quest

  10. Burkina faso • IdrissaOuedraogo (1954- ) • Tilai (The Law) (1990) • Intense tale of family conflict • Lumiere & Company (segment) (1995)

  11. Burkina faso • Gaston Kabore (1951- ) • ZanBoko(1988)—Full film only…see beginning, and 6:00 in, part 3 • The story of a simple farmer who resists, and then must deal with, encroaching urbanization • Lumiere & Company (segment) (1995)

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