African Women and the Documentary | Cinemas documentaires en Afrique au féminin

African Women and the Documentary: Storytelling, Visualizing History, from the Personal to the Political

Cinemas documentaires en Afrique

au féminin

by/par Beti Ellerson

“African Women and the Documentary: Storytelling, Visualizing History, from the Personal to the Political.” Beti Ellerson

Black Camera: An International Film Journal 8, no. 1 (Fall 2016): 223-239. Published by: Indiana University Press.

DOI: 10.2979/blackcamera.8.1.0223.

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/blackcamera.8.1.0223

Abstract

The practice of storytelling, of relating actuality, the real, of recounting history, the personal, the social, the political, are all features of the screen culture in which African women have evolved in myriad ways as stakeholders in the cultural production of their society and the world. Telling stories through documentary in particular has been a dominant mode of expression among African women, perhaps out of a genuine interest in addressing the pressing issues in their societies and relating stories that would otherwise not be told. Their filmmaking practice is indicative of the diversity of themes they address, using eclectic approaches: autobiographical, experimental, hybrid, consciousness-raising, socio-political, as well as within trans-local and transnational spaces—some going beyond the cultural references of the filmmakers. This article brings together current trends and tendencies incorporating African women who span the globe, utilizing diverse languages, reflecting a plurality of experiences, histories, cultures, and geographies. 

[Français]

Beti Ellerson. Cinémas documentaires en Afrique au féminin

La diversité du documentaire de creation en Afrique  ed. François Fronty, Delphe Kifouani

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2015/07/livrebook-la-diversite-du-documentaire.html

La pratique du récit, de relater l'actualité, du réel, de raconter l’histoire, les expériences personnelles, sociales, politiques, sont autant de traits de la culture de l'écran dans laquelle les femmes africaines évoluent de multiples façons en tant que parties prenantes de la production culturelle de leur société et du monde. Raconter des histoires à travers le documentaire en particulier était toujours un mode d'expression dominant parmi les femmes africaines, peut-être en raison d'une préoccupation authentique pour aborder les questions pressantes dans leurs sociétés et relater des histoires qui autrement ne seraient pas racontées. Leur pratique cinématographique révèle la diversité des thèmes abordés, en utilisant des approches éclectiques: autobiographiques, expérimentales, hybrides, de sensibilisation, sociopolitiques, ainsi qu’à travers les espaces trans-locaux et transnationaux - certains allant au-delà des références culturelles de la cinéaste. Cet article rassemble les tendances actuelles et les propensions qui intègrent les femmes africaines qui traversent le monde, utilisant des langues diverses, reflétant une pluralité d'expériences, d'histoires, de cultures et de géographies.

UPDATED TO INCLUDE FRENCH VERSION

BLACK CAMERA: AFRICAN WOMEN IN CINEMA DOSSIER BY BETI ELLERSON:

African Women on the Film Festival Landscape: Organizing, Showcasing, Promoting, Networking with Falila Gbadamassi (Fall 2019) 

Safi Faye's Mossane: A Song to Women, to Beauty, to Africa (Spring 2019)

African Women of the Screen as Cultural Producers: An Overview by Country (Fall 2018)

On-screen Narratives, Off-screen Lives: African Women Inscribing the Self (Spring 2018)

Traveling Gazes: Glocal Imaginaries in the Transcontinental, Transnational, Exilic, Migration, and Diasporic Cinematic Experiences of African Women (Spring 2017)

African Women and the Documentary: Storytelling, Visualizing History, from the Personal to the Political (Fall 2016)

Teaching African Women in Cinema, Part Two (Spring 2016)

Teaching African Women in Cinema, Part One (Fall 2015)