Cinema of Africa covers both the history and present of the making or screening of films on the African continent, and also refers to the persons involved in this form of audiovisual culture. It dates back to the early 20th century, when film reels were the primary cinematic technology in use. As there are more than 50 countries with audiovisual traditions, there is no one single 'African cinema'.
Figueira, D. V. F., photographer. Baobab tree, Africa.1900-1920.
Early Influences and Colonial Representations
The growing popularity of cinema throughout the world began in the early 20th century, immediately following the Scramble for Africa and the European colonization of the continent. During the colonial era, Africa was represented largely by Western filmmakers. In the first decades of the twentieth century, Western filmmakers made films that depicted black Africans as "exoticized", "submissive workers" or as "savage or cannibalistic".
Colonial era films portrayed Africa as exotic, without history or culture. Examples abound and include jungle epics based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burrou, and the adventure film The African Queen (1951), and various adaptations of H.Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines.
Much early ethnographic cinema "focused on highlighting the differences between indigenous people and the white civilised man, thus reinforcing colonial propaganda".[20] Marc Allégret's first film,Voyage au Congo (1927) respectfully portrayed the Masa people, in particular a young African entertaining his little brothers with a baby crocodile on a string. Yet Africans were portrayed merely as human, but not equals; a dialogue card, for example, referred to the movements of a traditional dance as naive. His lover, writer André Gide, accompanied Allégret and wrote a book, also titled Voyage au Congo.
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In the French colonies, Africans were prohibited by the 1934 Laval Decree from making films of their own. The ban stunted the growth of film as a means of African expression, political, cultural, and artistic. Congolese Albert Mongita did make The Cinema Lesson in 1951 and in 1953 Mamadou Touré made Mouramani based on a folk story about a man and his dog.
Before the colonies' independence, few anti-colonial films were produced. Examples include Statues Also Die (Les statues meurent aussi) by Chris Marker and Alain Resnais, about European theft of African art; the second half of the film was banned for years by the French authorities. Also doing film work in Africa at this time was French ethnographic filmmaker Jean Rouch, controversial with both French and African audiences.
The Rise of African Filmmakers
African cinema evolved through different historical phases, each reflecting the socio-political landscape of the continent. However, the post-independence era saw a surge in films by African filmmakers who sought to portray authentic African stories, often focusing on themes of decolonization, identity, and cultural heritage.
Recognised as one of the pioneers of Senegalese cinema as well as cinema developed on the African continent at large, ethnologist and filmmaker Safi Faye was the first African woman film director to gain international recognition. Faye's first film La Passante (The Passerby) was released in 1972 and following this, Kaddu Beykat (Letter from My Village), the filmmaker's first feature film was released in 1975.
The first African film to win international recognition was Sembène Ousmane's La Noire de... also known as Black Girl. It showed the despair of an African woman who has to work as a maid in France. It won the Prix Jean Vigo in 1966. Initially a writer, Sembène had turned to cinema to reach a wider audience.
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African cinema came to strongly feature social and political themes and the neocolonial condition. In 1969 the Pan-African Film Festival, Fespaco, was created. Held in Burkina Faso every two years, it is the biggest film event that is regularly held on the African continent.
Sarah Maldoror, a French filmmaker and the daughter of immigrants from Guadeloupe has been recognised as one of the pioneers of African cinema in the diaspora. She is the founder of Les Griots (The Troubadours), the first drama company in France made for actors of African and Afro-Caribbean descent. Originally in the theatre, she went on to study filmmaking at the State Institute of Cinematography of the Russian Federation (VGIK) in Moscow. In 1972, Maldoror shot her film Sambizanga about the 1961-74 war in Angola. Surviving African women of this war are the subject of the documentary Les Oubliées (The forgotten women), made by Anne-Laure Folly 20 years later.
Key Figures and Movements
Filmmaking by Africans began with Senegalese director Sembène Ousmane's 1961 feature La Noire de.../Black Girl. He began his artistic career as a writer, inspired by his time as a dockworker and soldier. This part of his life imbued his work with empathy towards the downtrodden. As his career unfolded, Sembène began to realize that due to the high rate of illiteracy in Africa, his work would be more effective in visual form, so he moved to film as a medium of social justice. La Noire de.../Black Girl, his first feature, is a French-language film based on the true story of a Senegalese housekeeper's suicide.
Med Hondo's Soleil O, shot in 1969, was immediately recognized. Souleymane Cissé's Yeelen (Mali, 1987) was the first film made by a Black African to compete at Cannes. Cheick Oumar Sissoko's Guimba (Mali, 1995) was also well received in the West.
Soon after FEPACI, the Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou/Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), in Burkina Faso, followed in a similar mission.
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Francophone African Cinema
There is no singular Francophone African cinema. The use of French by so many African directors is a legacy of colonization, the spread of the early French filmmakers' art and equipment throughout the empire.
An example of this is the Consortium Audiovisuel Interational (CAI), which provided aid for the production of documentaries and newsreels, or the Bureau du Cinéma, which provided technical advice and funding. Ties such as these meant that the vast majority of African films made after colonial independence were Francophone.
French directors were not immune to this ideological censorship on the subject of Africa. Films critical of the French government and military, especially in regard to the Algerian independence movement, were often censored or not shown in France until years or decades later. Examples are Algérie en flammes/Algeria in Flames (1958, dir. René Vautier), Le Petit Soldat/The Little Soldier (1960, dir. Jean-Luc Godard), La Bataille d'Alger/The Battle of Algiers (1967, dir. Gillo Pontecorvo), and Camp de Thiaroye (1988, dir. Sembène Ousmane).
Nollywood and Contemporary Trends
Nigerian cinema experienced a large growth in the 1990s with the increasing availability of home video cameras in Nigeria, and soon put Nollywood in the nexus for West African English-language films. The oil boom of 1973 through 1978 also contributed immensely to the growth of cinema culture in Nigeria, as Nigerians’ purchasing power increased.
The popular 2009 thriller film The Figurine is generally considered the game-changer which heightened media attention towards the ‘New Nigerian Cinema‘ revolution. The film was a critical and commercial success in Nigeria, and it was also screened at various international film festivals. Several grants have been given by the Nigerian Government, to support quality content in Nigerian films.
Africanfuturism and Afrofuturism is a growing genre, encompassing Africans both on the continent and in the diaspora who tell science or speculative fiction stories involving Africa and African people.
Challenges and Opportunities
Despite its growth, African cinema faces significant challenges, including limited funding, distribution difficulties, and competition with Hollywood and Bollywood. Many African filmmakers struggle to secure financing for their projects, and those who do often face hurdles in distributing their films both within Africa and internationally. The lack of a robust distribution network means that many African films do not reach a wide audience, limiting their impact and profitability.
Some African countries suffer a lack of freedom of speech, that undermine the film industry. The last movie theatre in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, shut down in 2004. Many of the former cinemas were converted to churches. In 2009 the UN refugee agency screened Breaking the Silence in South Kivu and Katanga Province.
The future of African cinema looks promising with the advent of digital technology and the rise of new platforms for distribution, such as streaming services. These advancements are making it easier for African filmmakers to produce and distribute their films globally. Additionally, there is a growing interest in African cinema from international audiences and film festivals, providing more opportunities for African filmmakers to showcase their work on the world stage.
Here is a table summarizing key aspects of African cinema:
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Early Cinema | Dominated by European filmmakers with colonial perspectives. |
| Post-Independence | Rise of African filmmakers focusing on decolonization, identity, and culture. |
| Key Figures | Sembène Ousmane, Safi Faye, Souleymane Cissé, and others. |
| Nollywood | Explosive growth of Nigerian cinema in the 1990s. |
| Challenges | Limited funding, distribution, and competition with international cinema. |
| Opportunities | Digital technology, streaming platforms, and growing international interest. |
