The purpose of the African Women in Cinema Blog is to provide a space to discuss diverse topics relating to African women in cinema--filmmakers, actors, producers, and all film professionals. The blog is a public forum of the Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema.

Le Blog sur les femmes africaines dans le cinéma est un espace pour l'échange d'informations concernant les réalisatrices, comédiennes, productrices, critiques et toutes professionnelles dans ce domaine. Ceci sert de forum public du Centre pour l'étude et la recherche des femmes africaines dans le cinémas.

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31 May 2017

Yolande Ekoumou Samba : Faire un Film de fiction : à l’intention des Profanes, Amateurs ou Débutants (To make a fiction film : for laypersons, enthusiasts or beginners) – Cameroun | Cameroon

Yolande Ekoumou Samba : Faire un Film de fiction : à l’intention des Profanes, Amateurs ou Débutants (To make a fiction film : for laypersons, enthusiasts or beginners) – Cameroun | Cameroon (Editions Alternative, décembre 2016)


Description du livre : (See English text below)

Suite à la fermeture des dernières et principales salles de projection commerciales de Yaoundé et Douala en janvier 2009, et compte tenu de la situation globalement désastreuse de notre cinéma, de nombreuses réflexions ont régulièrement été menées par les Professionnels du secteur.

L’un des problèmes majeurs de notre production audiovisuelle tient avant tout au manque criard de formation de ceux qui décident de faire des films chez nous.

L’existence d’une multitude de centres de formation n’y change pas grand-chose, dans la mesure où on y dispense prioritairement une formation simple et accélérée, axée sur l’apprentissage technique, destinée à faciliter l’auto-emploi, ou à défaut, l’insertion dans les petites structures de diffusion qui essaiment dans nos villes.

La perception du film comme un produit économique qui, pour avoir des chances de se positionner sur le marché et d’être rentable, doit reposer sur des règles précises de conception, de fabrication, d’adaptation aux attentes du public, est encore loin d’y être connue, et encore moins enseignée.

Le présent ouvrage a pour ambition de combler ces lacunes et bien d’autres, de manière à encadrer efficacement, et à un coût dérisoire, tous ceux qui veulent se lancer dans l’aventure du film de fiction, pour que dans un future proche, des films camerounais de bonne facture, compétitifs et plus nombreux, soient présents sur l’échiquier national et même international.

Yolande Ekoumou Samba est conceptrice, réalisatrice, productrice à la Cameroon Radio Television depuis 1994, où elle a piloté le Service des Fictions pendant de nombreuses années. Elle compte à son actif de nombreuses productions : films, feuilletons, séries, etc.

[ENGLISH]
Translation by Beti Ellerson of book description, which is published in French:

Following the closure of the last main commercial screening venues in Yaoundé and Douala in January 2009, and considering the overall disastrous situation of our cinema, numerous deliberations have been regularly made by professionals in the field.

One of the major problems of our audiovisual production lies, above all, in the severe lack of training of those who decide to take up filmmaking in our country.

The presence of a host of training centers has not changed much, since their priority is to provide user-friendly, accelerated training, focusing on technical instruction, in order to facilitate self-employment, or if this is not possible, integration into the small distribution structures that are present in our cities.

The perception of cinema as an economic product which, in order to be able to position itself in the market and to be profitable, must be based on precise rules of design, construction and adaptation, and according to the public’s expectations; a concept that is still a long way from being recognised, and even less so, being taught.

The aim of this book is to fill these gaps as well as others, in order to give effective support, on a shoe-string budget, to all those who want to embark on the fiction film adventure. Hence, in the near future, Cameroonian films are more numerous, of good quality, and of a high level of competitivity, on a national and even international scale.


Yolande Ekoumou Samba is a designer, filmmaker and producer at the Cameroon Radio Television since 1994, where she has managed the Fictions Department for many years. She has produced numerous productions: films, sitcomes, series, etc.

L'entretien avec Hadja Maï Niang du 27 mars 2017 Theme : Sembene Ousmane, la didactique de l'écriture, l'image.

L'entretien avec Hadja Maï Niang
du 27 mars 2017
Theme : Sembene Ousmane, la didactique de l'écriture, l'image.
Présenté par Sada Kane. www.2stv.net

 Writer, director, playwright and academic. Born in Fatick (Senegal), Hadja Maimouna Ndiaye Niang has a doctorate in General and Comparative Literature. She defended her thesis in 2009 at the University Paris 12 Val-de-Marne, on the topic "Literature and cinema in the creative works of Ousmane Sembène: the source of the adaptations." She also holds a Master II in professional film and audiovisual with an option in image studies, at the University Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle. She currently teaches communication techniques at the University of Thies (Senegal).

 

Also see: Dr Hadja Maï Niang and/et Daaray Sembène - la Maison de la pédagogie de l’image | the centre for image studies

29 May 2017

Festival Des 3 Continents Cinemas : Call for films | Appel à films

Festival Des 3 Continents - Nantes
Cinemas from
Africa, Latin America and Asia
21-28 Nov 2017
39th Edition

Call for films | Appel à films



Submit your film project!
The call for entries for the Produire au Sud Nantes workshop 2017 is now open.

It is dedicated to young professionals from the 3 Continents ‘Africa, Latin America, Asia). Producers and directors are invited to submit their fiction film project under development.

Please find the application online HERE.
Only fiction feature films are accepted.
The workshop will be held in Nantes November 20-26 2017.
The deadline to submit your film project is July 17th 2017.
The announcement of the selected projects will be published by early September.


Inscrivez votre projet de film !
L’appel à candidatures pour l’Atelier Produire au Sud Nantes 2017 est ouvert.

Cet atelier international s’adresse à tous les producteurs et réalisateurs des 3 Continents (Afrique, Amérique latine et Asie) porteurs d’un projet de long-métrage de fiction.

Vous pouvez trouver le formulaire en ligne ICI pour déposer votre candidature.
Seuls les projets de long-métrage de fiction sont acceptés.
L’Atelier Produire au Sud Nantes 2017 se déroulera à Nantes du 20 au 26 novembre 2017.
Les candidatures peuvent êtres adressées en ligne jusqu’au 17 juillet 2017.
L’annonce des projets sélectionnés sera faite en ligne début septembre 2017.


26 May 2017

African Women in Cinema Blog : Updates | Actualités 26-05-2017 - News around the Internet | Les infos autour de l’Internet

African Women in Cinema Blog
Updates | Actualités
26 – 05 – 2017

News around the Internet
Les infos autour de l’Internet

Content | Contenu :

Awa Traoré
Rungano Nyoni
Rihanna, Lupita, Issa, Ava
Nneka Onuorah
Amina Weira


Awa Traoré
[Sudu Connexion] Awa Traoré est la productrice malienne du long-métrage documentaire Renaissance d'Andrey Diarra, sélectionné au Ouaga Film Lab 2016 et au Pavillon Les Cinémas du Monde 2017. 24.05.2017. YouTube.

Rungano Nyoni
Cannes Hidden Gem: 'I Am Not a Witch' Satirizes Sorcery in Modern-Day Zambia. Alex Ritman. 21-05-2017. Hollywood Reporter.

Rihanna, Lupita, Issa, Ava
Twitter's dreams just became a reality: Rihanna and Lupita Nyong'o really will costar in a buddy movie directed by Ava DuVernay. Issa Rae is reportedly in talks to pen the script. The film will stream on Netflix, according to Entertainment Weekly. 22-05-2017. Harpersbazaar.

Nneka Onuorah
Interview – Nneka Onuorah, réalisatrice de « The Same Difference » : « Je voulais faire un film pour les femmes qui n’adhèrent pas forcément aux labels » 22 mai 2017. L’Afro

Amina Weira
Caméras des champs : l’uranium, thème central de la Colère d'Amina Weira 
20-05-2017. Republicain-Lorrain



25 May 2017

Unbound: Visions of the Black Feminine - 3 June 2017 (British Film Institute)

Unbound: Visions of the Black Feminine
British Film Institute
3 June 2017

Source: BFI 

An unbroken line of influence can be traced back from Beyoncé’s landmark visual album Lemonade to the imprint left on cinema by Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust: a connection highlighting the profound cultural legacy of images created by and about black women. With roots in theatre and activism – and springing from film movements such as the LA Rebellion and the Sankofa Film Collective in the UK – the works in this season are imbued with mesmerising poetic qualities, experimental techniques and a dedication to reflecting the black feminine in all its multitudes. As conversations about black womanhood dominate culture today, from #BlackGirlMagic to Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche declaring ‘we should all be feminists’, Unbound revisits works that have historically been obscured from view, and introduces a new band of pioneers, with stories that are ripe for rediscovery.


Source: Facebook

“Some films are made because they need to be made. They’re works of passion” - Julie Dash

We’re co-presenting the season launch of the BFI film season ‘Unbound: Visions of the Black Feminine’. Inspired by the re-release of Julie Dash’s landmark Daughters of the Dust Unbound looks backward and forward to the present day at the generations of black women making innovative film work. Join us for a day of short films and panel discussions followed by music in the BFI Bar & Kitchen provided by BBZ and resident gal-dem DJs.

A special season introduction delving into the history, craft and unique visual quality behind images of the black feminine. With early narrative work from Julie Dash, a rich archival documentary about about Stonewall uprising hero Stormé DeLarverie and fearlessly bold work from Ngozi Onwurah, this event uncovers the imprint made by black women filmmakers and will inspire you to explore the rest of our Unbound season. With panelists Karen Alexander, Kelli Weston and Season Curator Tega Okiti. Hosted by Grace Barber-Plentie


Poster Image : Facebook Events


22 May 2017

Wild Track Newsletter #24 May 2017 about African women in cinema in Zimbabwe

Wild Track Newsletter #24 May 2017 about African women in cinema in Zimbabwe

The Wild Track Newsletter is published by the Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa (ICAPA TRUST) 

The Wild Track Newsletter covers information, issues and events relevant and related to African women in cinema in general and specifically those from Zimbabwe, including coverage of the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF), the annual film festival which takes place in Zimbabwe. In addition, it covers gender related arts-based activities in the Zimbabwe area.

Back issues are also available on the ICAPA Trust site: Issue 23, Issue 22, Issue, 21, Issue 20, Issue 19, Issue 18, Issue 17, Issue 15, Issue 14, Issue 13, Issue 12, Issue 11, Issue 10, Issue 9, Issue 8, Issue 7.




21 May 2017

Nneka Onuorah launches a crowdsourcing campaign for “Rotten Fruit” film project

Image: Rotten Fruit Indiegogo Page
Nneka Onuorah launches a crowdsourcing campaign for “Rotten Fruit” film project

Visit the Rotten Fruit Indiegogo Page for details about the crowdsourcing efforts and to make a contribution.


About The Project

Rotten Fruit centers on the relationship between the LBGTQI community and the attitudes of the Black Church in the United States.

According the crowdsourcing page, Nneka Onuorah plans to explore the following topics:


- History of Church Institution and Slavery
- Gay Civil Rights VS Black Civil Rights
- Projected patriarchy onto LGBT
- Elitism
- Ironic sexism in the black church
- Cognitive Dissonance
- Emotional Repression
- Molestation
- Measurement of sins
- Similarities between the ideology of the black church and White Supremacy
- Contract between church and U.S Politics 

20 May 2017

Quartiers Lointains - (From distant neighborhoods) a traveling cinema program

Quartiers Lointains - (From distant neighborhoods) a traveling cinema program


Quartiers Lointains, the name conjures local quarters in far-flung districts, and more visually: experiencing the life of vibrant neighborhoods from afar—which reflects the films selected in the ongoing programming seasons. 


The traveling cinema program, an initiative of Franco-Burkinabe journalist, film critic and activist Claire Diao, launched in 2013, navigates three continents: Europe, North America, Africa—with screenings of the growing cohort of afro-descendant French filmmakers—who in reality are part of what Claire Diao describes, "the Double Wave" of the contemporary French cinema landscape, giving "new energy to its film culture.


During each Quartiers Lointains Season, a theme is chosen to present the multifarious nature of the dynamic, multi-dimensional experiences of these "neighborhoods from afar."


The ongoing and continuing list of the Quartiers Lointains Seasons: Updated 13 November 2023


7th Season: Metamorphosis with patron/marraine Alice Diop

6th Season: Afrofuturistik with patron/marraine Selly Raby Kane

5th Season: Self-Image with patron/parrain Lucien Jean-Baptiste

4th Season: Justice with patron/marraine Jihan El Tahri

3rd Season: Love, à la French with patron/parrain Melvin Van Peebles

2nd Season: Family with patron/parrain Alain Gomis

1st Season: Identities


See: https://www.sudu.film/quartiers-lointains

African Diasporas. Claire Diao : Double Vague, le nouveau soufflé du cinéma français (Double wave, the new energy of French cinema) 2017

Claire Diao : Double Vague, le nouveau soufflé du cinéma français (Double wave, the new energy of French cinema) 2017


L’attribution de la Caméra d’or à Houda Benyamina en 2016 pour Divines a braqué les projecteurs sur ces réalisateurs de double culture grandis dans les quartiers populaires, souvent autodidactes et déjà auréolés de prix internationaux. Pour en finir avec les clichés sur « le cinéma de banlieue », plus de cinquante réalisateurs parmi lesquels Alice Diop, Maïmouna Doucouré, Rachid Djaïdani, Djinn Carrenard, Franck Gastambide, Jean-Pascal Zadi… s’expriment ici. Une génération montante qui, affranchie de la Nouvelle Vague, incarne un nouveau souffle du cinéma français, audacieux, réaliste et surtout très divers. Riche d’une centaine d’heures d’interviews, cette enquête journalistique conduite sur dix ans leur donne enfin la parole.

The 2016 Caméra d’or Award for the film Divines by Houda Benyamina has put the spotlight on those bi-cultural filmmakers who grew up in working-class neighbourhoods, often autodidact and already crowned with international prizes. Putting an end to the clichés of "the cinema of the banlieue" (housing estates, immigrant neighbourhoods), more than fifty directors express themselves, including Alice Diop, Maïmouna Doucouré, Rachid Djaïdani, Djinn Carrenard, Franck Gastambide, Jean-Pascal Zadi. An up-and-coming generation, liberated from the New Wave, represents a new energy of French cinema: audacious, realist and above all very diverse. With a hundred hours of interviews, this ten-year journalistic exploration gives them, finally, a voice.


Claire Diao ©FIFF/Yoann Corthésy

Claire Diao est une journaliste et critique de cinéma franco-burkinabè, à l’initiative du programme Quartiers Lointains, la revue Awotélé et la société Sudu Connexion.

Claire Diao is a Franco-Burkinabe journalist and film critic, at the forefront of several initiatives: the Quartiers Lointains programme, the journal Awotele and Sudu Connexion.




Links | Liens



19 May 2017

African Women in Cinema Blog: Updates | Actualités 19-05-2017 - News around the Internet | Les infos autour de l’Internet

African Women in Cinema Blog
Updates | Actualités
19 – 05 – 2017

Content | Contenu :

African Female Filmmakers
Rungano Nyoni
June Givanni
Claire Diao, Aset Malanda, Nina MeloJosza Anjembe,
Jihan El-Tahri



African Female Filmmakers
The Centre for Film Studies (SOAS) 3rd Postgraduate Symposium: 'Global Cinemas Speak Back'. 31 May 2017. Centre for Film Studies.
Todun Joseph: Female Representation by Female Filmmakers in Nollywood Films
Robin Steedman: Negotiating Transnational Circuits of Screen Media: Nairobi-based Female Filmmakers and World Cinema

Rungano Nyoni
Cannes First-Look: Rungano Nyoni's Buzzy Feature Debut, 'I Am Not a Witch'. Tambay Obenson. 19 May 2017. Shadow and Act.

June Givanni
Black Film British Cinema Conference-University of Greenwich. 18-19 May 2017. UnivGreenwich

Claire Diao, Aset Malanda, Nina MeloJosza Anjembe
Le Grand Débat: Un autre visage du cinema français. 17 mai 2017. Africa1

Jihan El-Tahri
La cineasta egipcia Jihan El Tahri propone recontextualizar el continente a través de películas. 8 May 2017. Elpais.com

18 May 2017

A conversation with Twiggy Matiwana | Une conversation avec Twiggy Matiwana - South Africa | Afrique du Sud

©Twiggy Matiwana
A conversation with Twiggy Matiwana and Beti Ellerson, April-May 2017

Une conversation avec Twiggy Matiwana and Beti Ellerson, avril-mai 2017

Twiggy Matiwana of South Africa was the laureate of the Silver Poulain the European Union and ACP special prize at Fespaco 2017 for her short film The Bicycle Man. The film is part of the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival.

La sud-africaine Twiggy Matiwana est lauréate du Poulain d'argent et du Prix spécial Union européenne et ACP au Fespaco 2017 pour le court-métrage The Bicycle Man. Le film fait partie du Short Film Corner à la 70e édition de Cannes.

English [Français ci-après]

Twiggy, I want to first congratulate you on the Fespaco 2017 Best Short Film award for your film The Bicycle Man ! Before discussing the film could you talk a bit about yourself, how you came to cinema?

Thank you Beti, I am woman from a small town called Grahamstown, who has dreamt of making films at a very young age. I used to do acts at a Sunday school. My mom used to say to me that if I had not ruined my teeth by sucking my thumb I would have become a singer. I then thought maybe I should write songs for others who can sing. I had so many journals and music books. I started by writing short poems and short stories.

What were your experiences with the moving image when growing up in South Africa? 

I used to spend my afternoons glued on the television screen, watching Huckleberry Finn, which was a great tale story for me, and our proudly South African film called There’s a Zulu on My Stoep and, back then as far as I can remember most films were produced by the majority of white people in our country. Ramadan Suleman’s films Fools and Zulu Love Letter, and Zola Maseko’s Drum were hard to access. Till this day cinema in my hometown is unknown. You can only experience the big screen in big cities. 

Could you discuss your other films, themes, choices and intentions?

Still from The Bicycle Man
So far my major focus has been on social issues, women abuse, stories regarding health. I use themes such as societal stereotypes and curiosity in humans. My intentions are merely to educate those who lack knowledge regarding these themes.

The Bicycle Man shows a sensitive side of the manner in which a man deals with what is generally viewed as a woman’s illness: breast cancer. Talk about why you chose this theme and decided to tell the story in this way.

Cinema is a great tool when it comes to telling a story. I had to make sure that I show those symbols with strong visuals and also not scare people, instead make them understand how things work and how to solve problems.

What have been the responses from the viewers? Men and women?

Still from Bicycle Man
Both men and women still don’t believe that men can have breast cancer; the film has been an eye-opener for them.

Attending Fespaco 2017 was a first experience for you. I was able to follow a bit of your journey there via social media. It appears that you made some productive connections and useful contacts.

Ouaga was amazing, even though Fespaco was a bit frustrating at times because of the language barrier; winning best short film has brought me greater opportunities. I’ve made connections all around the world. The film is now screening in Angers in France; I will be attending Cannes Film Festival for the first time in my life. The Bicycle Man has made it to the Cannes Short Film Corner and it’s in the Cannes Catalogue, wow. I’m truly grateful to everyone who made this film possible. 

Some future plans?

I’m trying to get a writing residency in France or London so I can complete my feature script. After my trip to Europe in May 2017 I will be directing a short film in June, a new slate from National Film and Video Foundation in association with Natives At Large producing ten more films from Youth Filmmakers Project 2016. 

Français

Twiggy, Tout d'abord je tiens à te féliciter pour le prix du meilleur court métrage du Fespaco 2017 ​​pour ton film The Bicycle Man (L’homme à la bicyclette) ! Avant de discuter du film, peux-tu nous parler un peu de toi-même, comment es-tu venue au cinéma?

Merci Beti, je suis une femme d'une petite ville appelée Grahamstown, qui a rêvé de faire des films dès le plus jeune âge. J'avais l'habitude de faire du théâtre à l'école du dimanche. Ma mère me disait que si je n'avais pas abîmé mes dents en suçant mon pouce, je serais devenue chanteuse. Je pensais alors que peut-être je pouvais écrire des chansons pour ceux qui peuvent chanter. J'avais tant de journaux et de livres de musique. J'ai commencé par écrire des courts poèmes et des nouvelles.

Quels ont été tes souvenirs d’enfance du cinéma en Afrique du Sud ?

Je passais mes après-midi collés sur l'écran de la télévision, en regardant « Huckleberry Finn », qui était pour moi, une conte géniale, et notre film fièrement sudafricain, « There is a Zulu on My Stoep ». Car à l'époque, aussi loin que je puisse me souvenir la plupart des films étaient produit par des Blancs dans notre pays. Les films de Ramadan Suleman : Fools et Zulu Love Letter, et Drum de Zola Maseko étaient difficiles d’accès. Jusqu'à ce jour, les habitants de Grahamstown ne connaissent pas le cinéma. On ne peut voir le grand écran que dans les grandes villes.

Parles nous de tes autres films, les thèmes, et tes choix et intentions.

Jusqu'à présent, j'ai mis l'accent sur les problèmes sociaux, les violences faites aux femmes, les histoires par rapport à la santé. J’emploie des thèmes comme les stéréotypes sociaux et la curiosité chez les êtres humains. Mes intentions sont simplement d'éduquer ceux qui n’ont pas de connaissance sur ces sujets.

The Bicycle Man montre un côté sensible de la manière dont un homme traite de ce qui est généralement considéré comme une maladie de femme: le cancer du sein. Pourquoi ce thème et ton choix de le raconter à cette façon ?

Le cinéma est un excellent outil lorsqu'il s'agit de raconter une histoire. Je pensais qu’il était important de montrer ces symboles avec des images fortes sans effrayer le public, de lui faire comprendre comment les choses fonctionnent et comment résoudre des problèmes.

Quelles ont été les réponses des téléspectateurs? Les hommes ainsi que des femmes?

Les hommes et les femmes ne croient toujours pas que les hommes peuvent avoir un cancer du sein; le film a été certainement une découverte pour eux et pour elles.

Participer à Fespaco 2017 a été une première expérience pour vous. J’ai pu te suivre via les médias sociaux…Facebook, Twitter…Il semble que tu as pu faire de réseautage productif.

Ouaga était incroyable, même si Fespaco était un peu frustrant parfois à cause de la barrière de la langue. Être primée pour le meilleur court-métrage m'a apporté de plus grandes opportunités. J'ai fait des contacts partout dans le monde. Le film est actuellement en projection à Angers en France et je participe au Festival de Cannes pour la première fois de ma vie. The Bicycle Man fait partie du Cannes Short Film Corner et donc se trouve dans le catalogue de Cannes, incroyable ! Je suis vraiment reconnaissante à tous ceux qui ont rendu possible la réalisation de ce film.

Quelques projets futurs?

J’espère d’être sélectionnée pour une résidence d'écriture en France ou à Londres afin que je puisse compléter mon scenario pour un long métrage. Après mon voyage en Europe en mai 2017, je vais réaliser un court métrage en juin, pour un nouveau calendrier de la National Film and Video Foundation en association avec Natives At Large pour produire dix autres films du Youth Filmmakers Project 2016.

Traduit d'anglais par Beti Ellerson | Translation from English by Beti Ellerson

Call for Submissions : CaribbeanTales and Durban FilmMart Join Forces to Support African Women Filmmakers - 2017

Call for Submissions : CaribbeanTales and Durban FilmMart Join Forces to Support African Women Filmmakers - 2017
CaribbeanTales and the Durban FilmMart present CineFAM - Africa, an accelerator program for African women filmmakers
For Immediate Release: May 17, 2017
Durban, South Africa
Toronto, Canada
CaribbeanTales Media Group (CTMG) and the Durban FilmMart (DFM) today announce a new partnership to support the development of original serialized television content created by women from Africa and the African Diaspora.
CineFAM is an initiative of CaribbeanTales to support bold original films by women of colour worldwide. “Cinefam” in the Haitian-Creole language means “films by women”. This Accelerator aims to build capacity and creative leadership among women of colour who are underrepresented in leadership roles. 
“We are absolutely thrilled to embark on this new partnership with CaribbeanTales. The Accelerator Incubator Program will provide an exciting new platform to support the development of women-led audio-visual content in Africa, and promote more representational narratives. Through this partnership, we hope to build a bridge between the two organisations that will raise the voices of African women filmmakers,” said Toni Monty, Head of Durban Film Office and DFM the co-production and finance market, which is a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), South Africa.
“CaribbeanTales was founded and run by women of color from the Caribbean and African Diaspora so this initiative is close to our hearts. This partnership provides an unprecedented platform and opportunities for South African, African and African Diaspora women film producers,” says CaribbeanTales CEO Frances-Anne Solomon. “Africa is a natural partner for us in the Caribbean and we couldn’t be more pleased to be building a relationship with DFM to bring our Incubator Accelerator program to Africa!”
CineFAM - Africa, which will be led by CaribbeanTales Vice-President Nicole Brooks, is a two-day program that will take place during the Durban FilmMart July 14 to 17, 2017.
For this first edition of CineFAM - Africa, South African women producers and African women producers living in South Africa are invited to submit their film projects of original serialized television content for consideration. A total of five projects will be selected, and entered into the program to be held at DFM exposing participants to CaribbeanTales’ accelerator unique process including a great overview and guide on how to create the basis of story, marketing, pitching and financing.
The accelerator will culminate in a Mini-Pitch. The winner will qualify to participate in the renowned CaribbeanTales Incubator (CTI), in Toronto, Canada. CTI is a year-round development and production hub for Caribbean and Caribbean Diaspora Producers that aims to create strong, compelling and sustainable content for the global market. The CTI's goal will increase the pool of world-class indigenous film and television content and build the Region’s audio-visual capacity.
Call for Submissions is open NOW!
Submissions closes June 16th, 2017

ABOUT CARIBBEANTALES
CaribbeanTales is a group of companies that produces, markets, and sells Caribbean-themed film and television content for global audiences.
It includes CaribbeanTales Inc. a registered Charity based in Toronto, Canada; the Caribbean-Tales International Film Festival (CTFF) that produces events around the world; the renowned CaribbeanTales Incubator Program, a development and production hub for original Caribbean content; CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution (CTWD), the largest  full-service distribution entity dedicated to the monetisation of Caribbean content; CaribbeanTalesFlix, our production arm, and CaribbeanTales-TV, a video on demand platform.
ABOUT THE DURBAN FILMMART
The Durban FilmMart (DFM) is a co-production and finance market and is a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). DFM provides filmmakers from across Africa with a valuable opportunity to pitch projects to financiers, distributors, sales agents and potential co-producers, and to participate in meetings, project presentations and a series of master classes and workshops on the latest industry trends. www.durbanfilmmart.com


15 May 2017

Black Camera, Spring 2017 - Beti Ellerson - Traveling Gazes: Glocal Imaginaries in the Transcontinental, Transnational, Exilic, Migration, and Diasporic Cinematic Experiences of African Women

Traveling Gazes: Glocal Imaginaries in the Transcontinental, Transnational, Exilic, Migration, and Diasporic Cinematic Experiences of African Women
Beti Ellerson
Black Camera: An International Film Journal
Vol. 8, No. 2 (Spring 2017), pp. 272-289


Abstract

The exilic and diasporic filmmaking experiences of African women of the screen have been evident from the start of African cinematic practices. Women have traveled and relocated outside of their homeland to study, edit, shoot, work, live, and network. Informed by Hamid Naficy's formulation of “accented cinema,” this article traces these peripatetic migrations framed within selected topics that are representative of the histories, trends, and tendencies throughout the evolution of African women in cinema: Oscillating between hostland and homeland, defining home(s) is a frequent practice. In the interstices of hostland and homeland, navigating in third space is a recurrent theme, as well as the mediation of exilic identities. The common phenomenon of intra-continental migration also leads to diasporic discovery. As a growing cohort of African women are born, raised, or settle in the United States, they are also negotiating within the dominant African American paradigm. Germany, a lesser-known site for Afro-women's cinematic journeying, is emerging as an important space for study, work, and exploration. Several questions are posed for reflection and research.

ERRATUM:

On page 274, it was incorrectly stated that Taghreed Elsanhouri was born in the UK. She was born in Sudan and migrated with her family to the UK as a young child.

There are several errors in the captions of the film stills:

Figure 2 should read: Still from Polyglot (dir. Amelia Umuhire, 2015).
Figure 3 should read: Still from Maman(s) (dir. Maimouna Doucouré, 2015).
Figure 5 should read: Still from African Booty Scratcher (dir. Nikyatu Jusu, 2007).

13 May 2017

REMINDER: African Student Film Festival 2017 Call for Entry

REMINDER: African Student Film Festival 2017 Call for Entry

2017 5th edition
Theme: Africa Potential. Our perspective

Call for Entry: 27 February 2017
Deadline: 21 July 2017


The African Student Film Festival in Nigeria is an initiative borne out of deep thoughts for the future of the beautiful continent of Africa, in order to promote and protect her cultural values.

African Student Film Festival Initiative is an annual Pan-African festival targeted at discovering, encouraging and rewarding African young filmmakers and helping them to get funds and grants. With six days intensive training and workshop on various film making techniques, participants will learn from participants what will make them masters of their own.

African Student Film Festival Initiative after the 2015 Edition decided to be a Traveling Pan-African Student Film Festival. The reason why we decided on this is, since ASFFi is a student event, it should be held in Higher Institutions to get more students participation and involvement. University of Lagos Creative Arts Department would be hosting the 2017 ASFFi event.

Country in Focus:
The country in focus for the year 2017 is South Africa, because of its rich Culture and Diversity. We are particularly focusing on BIG FISH School of Digital Filmmaking, this is because of their out standing documentary films which has continuously been winning the best Documentary Film since the inspection of ASFFi.


We are also taking a look at Kwazulu-Natal Film Commission South Africa, as they are encouraging Co-productions and also encouraging not only established filmmakers, but also emerging talents to come to Kwazulu to make their films. They have some kind of support and grants for this.

12 May 2017

African Women in Cinema Blog: Updates | Actualités 12-05-2017 - News around the Internet | Les infos autour de l’Internet


African Women in Cinema Blog
Updates | Actualités
12 – 05 – 2017

Content | Contenu :

Tibeb Girls
Katarina Hedren
La colère dans le vent d'Amina Weira
Ben and Ara by Nnegest Likké
Sarah Bouyain


Tibeb Girls
Article by Katie Dupere. 09 05 2017. Mashable.com 
These Ethiopian superheroes fight for girls' rights in badass new TV series.

Katarina Hedren
Discussion: European Film Festival returns with Katarina Hedren. 01 May 2017. YouTube

La colère dans le vent d'Amina Weira. Vues d’Afrique
Le festival Vues d'Afrique de Montréal s'est terminé avec deux prix pour "La colère dans le vent"d'Amina Weira : Prix du meilleur moyen et court métrage dans la section Afrique Connexion et Prix du meilleur film sur le développement durable. 

Ben and Ara by Nnegest Likké
On Amazon
Religious and cultural tensions escalate when an unlikely romance blooms between an African Islamic PhD candidate and her agnostic classmate. They must explore the limits of their inter-racial, intercultural relationship in today's society.

Sarah Bouyain
Forum cinema negro. 16 maio 2017. Facebook
No dia 16 de Maio começa o segundo ano das sessões do FICINE – Fórum Itinerante de Cinema Negro na Cinemaison.
Para a primeira sessão de 2017, teremos a projeção de “Nossa Estrangeira” (2010) da diretora franco-burkinabé Sarah Bouyain, filme que aborda questões contemporâneas acerca da identidade africana na relação com a diáspora através da história de duas mulheres burkinabés. O debate após a sessão terá como tema a participação das mulheres de África e diáspora na realização de filmes tomando como ponto de partida o filme de Bouyain. A discussão será mediada por Janaína Oliveira, idealizadora e coordenadora do Fórum Itinerante de Cinema Negro




11 May 2017

Call For Papers - Mothers Of Invention: Parenting and/as Filmmaking Practice

CALL FOR PAPERS

MOTHERS OF INVENTION: PARENTING AND/AS FILMMAKING PRACTICE 

In 1983, E. Ann Kaplan famously called second-wave feminist film culture a movement created by daughters “unwittingly…repeat[ing] the patriarchal omission of the Mother.” By way of what Charlotte Brunsdon has called disidentification, several scholars and practitioners associated with more recent varieties of film feminism, from its third wave to its “post” incarnation, have, unwittingly or not, followed suit. Swimming against this tide, Mothers of Invention invites contributors to help construct a feminist genealogy of a different sort, one that foregrounds the relationship between acts of production on the one hand and those associated with reproductive and caring labour on the other. More specifically, it seeks to build on the ground-breaking industry research already underway at the Raising Films campaign in the UK and Moms in Film in the US in order to create an interdisciplinary edited collection that considers the role that parenting, as both a theme and a diversified practice, plays in film and media cultures.

Mothers of Invention welcomes essays about fatherhood and film and media, but the balance of the volume will be weighted toward mothers and female carers, particularly those from communities that have been historically under-represented, marginalised, and/or excluded from film and moving image practice. As much as the film and media industries, especially at the commercial end, present a challenge for all people with caring responsibilities, those who identify as female remain disproportionately responsible for caring and domestic labour. It is precisely the nature of this challenge – as well as the acts of creative invention and innovative resistance it has inspired – that are of interest to this volume. Indeed, works as diverse as Mary Kelly’s Post Partum Document (1973-79), Agnès Varda’s Daguerréotypes (1976), Arnait Video’s Before Tomorrow (2008), and Sophie Hyde’s 52 Tuesdays (2013) incorporate parenting and caring labour into both their narrative content and their artistic practice and thereby contribute to a transnational and transgenerational body of work has yet to be considered through the lens of feminist parenting studies.

We invite contributions on historical and contemporary global moving image practices, across the spectrum from industrial to artisanal and concerning all key production roles. We are open to a wide range of approaches, from close readings of film and media objects to industrial analyses to studies of circulation and spectatorship, and we welcome work from a variety of disciplines, including the following: film, television, and/or media studies; cultural and creative industries; women and gender studies; moving image practice-based research; media anthropology; and cultural studies. Finally, following Lisa Baraitser’s definitional essay ‘Mothers Who Make Things Public’ (2009), we use the term mother to “denote anyone who both identifies as female and performs primary maternal work, with a ‘child’ being understood as the other whom such a ‘mother’ elects, names and claims as her child,” and carer to denote anyone who performs primary physical and emotional work unremunerated for a partner, parent, sibling, other family member, or friend.

Please submit a 500-word proposal and brief biographical note to corinn.columpar@utoronto.ca and sophie@sophiemayer.net by 1 August 2017.

We anticipate that finished essays will be approximately 6000 words in length, including notes, and we plan to send out acceptances of proposals by the end of September 2017. Feel free to email us prior to the deadline with any questions.

Corinn Columpar and Sophie Mayer

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