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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24 December 2017

Safi Faye to young filmmakers: “Dare! You are free to do whatever you want” by Mame Woury Thioubou. Le quotidien.sn

Safi Faye to young filmmakers:
“Dare! You are free to do whatever you want”
by Mame Woury Thioubou. lequotidien.sn.
Published, 8 December 2017.
Translated from French by Beti Ellerson

If Ousmane Sembène is considered one of the fathers of African cinema, Safi Faye is indeed the mother. Though she has been away from the camera for many years, the first woman filmmaker of Africa agreed to come out of her voluntary retirement to participate in the 4th Edition of the Saint-Louis Documentary Film Festival [Senegal], of which she is the guest of honor. On Wednesday, she presented a Masterclass with a focus on her film Lettre paysanne. Safi Faye urged the younger generation of filmmakers to "dare".

For several years filmmaker Safi Faye had moved out of the spotlight. Far from festivals and even further from the media, living peacefully between France and Senegal. However the heritage city of Saint-Louis welcomes her as part of the 4th Edition of the Saint-Louis Documentary Film Festival. Guest of honor at the festival, Safi Faye responded to a letter of invitation from the educational director of the Master's in documentary filmmaking at the l’Université Gaston Berger (UGB) of Saint-Louis. In his letter, Mamadou Sellou Diallo urged the illustrious elder to make herself known to this new generation of young filmmakers who, since 2003, have been constructing another gaze and imaginary on the screen. "For the numerous young people in Africa who have decided to make documentary films, fully aware of the absolute necessity of reconstituting a language that speaks anew to our societies and to give information regarding Africa to the world, it would be an honor to receive you.”


Touched by these words, Safi Faye agreed to come and present her film Lettre paysanne (Kaddu baykat) to the young film students in the  department. The Masterclass, which was held at UGB with the young people eager to learn from her experience, turned out to be an intergenerational exchange. “Dare!” is the advice that Safi Faye gave to these young students. “I encourage you to dare to imagine. You are free to do what you want”, urges Safi Faye in front of these students who fell under the spell of the film made in 1975. “It is a very militant and political film that was censored and whose end is a premonition,” Mamadou Sellou Diallo emphasizes. Indeed, in "Kaddu baykat", Safi Faye depicts the problems of a Senegalese peasantry bent under the yoke of an agricultural system dominated by groundnut cultivation. "The only use of groundnuts is to pay taxes", a farmer seated under the palaver tree states with indignation. “Peanut crops harm us,” another adds.


With the droughts of the 1970s, in the world of the peasantry, the consequences were devastating. Empty granaries do not prevent the State from claiming payment of debts from the peasants. “It's realism. We had sprinkled the farmers with pesticides and it caused a scandal,” recalls Dr Saliou Ndour of UGB. At the end of the film, one of the characters, Ngor, forced to look for work in the town with the hope of paying the dowry that will allow him to marry his fiancée Coumba, addresses the villagers urging them to remain on their land, which is more beautiful and serene than the big city. Dr. Ndour observes that this “remarkable film lays out the first warning signs of this movement of rural exodus whose consequences are still being felt today”. “What African countries went through in the 1970s is no different from what is happening now. The State is the principal enemy by its external-focus mode of operation”, asserts Abdoulaye, student of UGB.


A final work
As a teacher, Safi Faye simultaneously began studies in ethnology at the Sorbonne and studies in pedagogical cinema at Louis Lumière in Paris. “After the World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar in 1966, all the intellectuals spoke of an Africa that I did not know. I never had black professors. And I wanted to go to the Sorbonne to find out where I came from. I started learning anthropology and ethnology. And I saw my community that always told me about the negative side of the peasantry. In the film, they repeat what they had told me,” she explains to the students. These images that speak, these remarkable images that she filmed, “to allow her non-literate mother to read the images”.


Deeply rooted in her Serer traditions, Safi Faye draws on this breeding ground to explore and share the experiences of the Senegalese peasantry. “When my father speaks, I listen. That's why you'll see a lot of static shots in the film,” she explains. Away from the cinema world for many years, Safi Faye does not intend to put away her camera before giving a final oeuvre to posterity. “My current project talks about where I come from. I want to follow my journey beginning where I was born in the Gueule-Tapée. Then, I’m done”, she says to the young students, who have fallen under the spell of this “mother of African cinema”.

23 December 2017

Livre/Book : Regarder des films en Afriques (Watching films in Africas)

Regarder des films en Afriques (Watching films in Africas). Édité par/by Patricia Caillé, Claude Forest. A French-language publication. Septentrion Presses Universitaires, Oct 2017.

[Français]
Le cinéma en Afriques se trouve devant une situation inédite. La disparition des salles de cinéma sur ce continent coïncide avec une production de films accrue, y compris de ces pays, et une diffusion considérablement développée pour une grande partie des populations urbaines. Mais où et comment sont-ils vus ? De quels films s'agit-il ? Sommes-nous toujours dans le cinéma ?

Un ensemble de travaux tente de répondre à ces questions, posant un jalon dans une réflexion sur les rapports que des publics entretiennent aujourd’hui avec des films en Afriques. Ces recherches rendent compte de la façon dont les mutations technologiques affectent le rapport aux films dans des régions caractérisées jusqu’à très récemment par la rareté dans des économies du cinéma et de l’audiovisuel largement dominées par les pays occidentaux. Sont livrés également les premiers résultats d’une enquête comparative inédite menée en Tunisie, au Togo et au Tchad sur la façon dont les spectateurs voient aujourd’hui des films.

[English translation of book description in French]
Cinema in Africas faces a unique situation. The disappearance of cinema houses on the continent at the same time coincides with increased film production in these countries, and a significantly expanding circulation for a large part of the urban populations. But where and how are these images viewed? Which films are we talking about? Are we still in cinema?

This compilation of works attempts to answer these questions, paving the way for reflection on the relationships that audiences currently have with films in Africas. The research explores how technological changes affect the interaction with films in regions that have been characterised until very recently by the dearth of film and audio-visual economies largely dominated by Western countries. Also presented are the first results of a first-time comparative survey conducted in Tunisia, Togo and Chad on how viewers view films today.

Table of contents (in French)

Avant-propos. Vive le foot !
Nour-Eddine Sail
Introduction. Regarder des films en Afriques ou comment ajuster la focale
Patricia Caillé

Première partie
Concevoir les publics à partir de l'histoire
« Les nègres, ils t'emmerdent ! ». Rires, applaudissements et protestations : les formes de visibilité de publics africains en Afrique coloniale
Odile Goerg
Un public aux mille visages : Identifier l’expérience des spectateurs du cinéma américain dans le Maghreb de l’ère coloniale
Nolwenn Mingant
Écrans noirs sur l’Île Rouge. Voir le cinéma à Madagascar, hier et aujourd’hui
Karine Blanchon
Appropriation de l’œuvre audiovisuelle par le spectateur : le cas du film commenté au Sénégal et au Burkina Faso
Vincent Bouchard
Le spectateur de cinéma en Afrique aujourd’hui
François Fronty

Deuxième partie
Les pratiques spectatorielles contemporaines
Pratiques de films, représentations et cultures de cinéma en Tunisie. 
Que nous raconte l’enquête ?
Patricia Caillé
Les pratiques cinématographiques au Togo
Claude Forest
Les pratiques spectatorielles au Tchad
Patrick Ndiltah
Acteurs et public du cinéma au Burkina Faso : une nouvelle dynamique de la pratique cinématographique
Justin Ouoro

Troisième partie
Reconcevoir les publics à partir de l’accès aux films
L’offre de films dans les salles du Maroc, de 2006 à 2015, et leur réception
Michel Serceau
Le film en DVD-clubs dans le Grand Tunis. 
Profils des vendeurs et pratiques des publics
Lamia Belkaied-Guiga
Les transformations de la circulation de films vidéos nigérians en Côte d’Ivoire : du commerce informel aux grandes sociétés internationales
Alessandro Jedlowski
Les vidéo-clubs au Nord-Cameroun : une nouvelle forme de salle de cinéma interdite mais fréquentée
Honoré Fouhba
Pour une extension des projections itinérantes vers les établissements scolaires du Togo
Ati Komi
La réception des films en milieu rural au Togo (2012-2015)
Claude Forest et Juliette Akouvi Founou
Œuvres audiovisuelles africaines, marchés et publics. 
Étapes cinématographiques, télévisuelles et numériques : les constantes
Karine Prévoteau

Bibliographie
Présentation des auteurs

22 December 2017

African Women in Cinema Blog - Updates | Actualités 22.12.2017 - News around the Internet | Les infos autour de l’Internet
































African Women in Cinema Blog
Updates | Actualités
22.12.2017

News around the Internet |
Les infos autour de l’Internet

Content | Contenu

Safi Faye
Grada Kilomba
Oulaya Amamra, Déborah Lukumuena, Maïmouna Doucouré, Aicha Macky
Marian Edusei


Safi Faye
Safy Faye, première femme sénégalaise et africaine cinéaste, par Mame Woury Thioubou. Lequotidien.sn 

Grada Kilomba
International Film Festival Rotterdam Grant Winning Award 2018. Criterion.com

Oulaya Amamra, Déborah Lukumuena, Maïmouna Doucouré, Aicha Macky
Les lauréats 2017. Trophees-francophones.org

Marian Edusei
Dark Skinned Girls. Dazeddigital.com. Trailer on YouTube.
Un film qui explore les préjugés que les femmes noires à la peau foncée affrontent. Reinesdestempsmodernes.com.


VIDEO


Dark Skinned Girls by Marian Edusei



20 December 2017

Research Agenda: African Women in Cinema | Faire avancer la recherche sur les femmes africaines dans le cinéma (2017)

Research Agenda: African Women in Cinema |
Faire avancer la recherche sur les femmes africaines dans le cinéma (2017)

A key goal of the African Women in Cinema Blog is to feature current research and critical discourse, through interviews, conference proceedings and analyses. Here at the end of this year is a selection of these articles published since its creation.

Le Blog sur les femmes africaines dans le cinéma a pour vocation de mettre en exergue la critique et la recherche à travers les entretiens, les comptes rendus de conférences et les analyses. En cette fin d’année, voici un recueil d’articles publiés depuis la création du Blog sur les femmes africaines dans le cinéma.

2017

09 Nov 2017
19 Oct 2017
12 Sep 2017
16 Sep 2017
18 May 2017
15 May 2017
04 Apr 2017
13 Mar 2017
10 Mar 2017
28 Feb 2017

2016

29 Dec 2016
30 Nov 2016
22 Nov 2016
27 Oct 2016
11 Oct 2016
30 Sep 2016
25 Aug 2016
18 Jul 2016
05 Jul 2016
29 Jun 2016
26 May 2016
25 May 2016
21 May 2016
27 April 2016
25 April 2016
04 Apr 2016
24 Mar 2016
11 Mar 2016
03 Mar 2016
29 Feb 2016
17 Feb 2016

2015

22 Dec 2015
16 Dec 2015
10 Dec 2015
22 Nov 2015
22 Nov 2015
03 Nov 2015
26 Oct 2015
22 Oct 2015
19 Oct 2015
29 Sep 2015
29 Jul 2015
16 Jul 2015
13 Jul 2015
02 Jun 2015
12 May 2015
19 Apr 2015
17 Apr 2015
09 Apr 2015
23 Mar 2015
11 Mar 2015
28 Feb 2015
16 Feb 2015
16 Feb 2015
22 Jan 2015


2014

31 Dec 2014
18 Dec 2014
14 Dec 2014
05 Dec 2014
03 Dec 2014
21 Sep 2014
06 Sep 2014
05 Sep 2014
04 Sep 2014
03 Sep 2014
02 Sep 2014
01 Sep 2014
31 Aug 2014
30 Aug 2014
29 Aug 2014
28 Aug 2014
27 Aug 2014
26 Aug 2014
31 Jul 2014
06 Jun 2014
11 May 2014
16 Apr 2014
11 Apr 2014
08 Apr 2014

2013

04 Dec 2013
13 Nov 2013
06 Oct 2013
06 Sep 2013
02 Aug 2013
25 Jun 2013
07 Jan 2013

2012

26 Dec 2012
13 Dec 2012
04 Dec 2012
19 Sep 2012
17 Jun 2012
07 May 2012
10 Mar 2012

2011

30 Dec 2011
14 Dec 2011
03 Dec 2011
01 Dec 2011
30 Nov 2011
14 Nov 2011
26 Oct 2011
28 Sept 2011
06 Aug 2011
28 Jul 2011
25 Jul 2011
09 Jun 2011
05 May 2011
20 Apr 2011
12 Jan 2011

2010

13 Dec 2010
23 Nov 2010
26 Oct 2010
12 Jul 2010
26 May 2010

10 Jul 2009
14 Jun 2009
29 May 2009
08 May 2009
23 Apr 2009
16 Apr 2009
01 Apr 2009

18 December 2017

International Migrants Day | Journée internationale des migrants, 18.12.2017 : Focus on/sur “On Call” | “La Permanence” by/par Alice Diop

International Migrants Day | Journée internationale des migrants, 18.12.2017 : Focus on/sur “On Call” | “La Permanence” by/par  Alice Diop

[English]
This is a film about the pain of exile, but it is told through the contemplation of the faces of these men. What grabbed me when I started working on this subject were the images of these undifferentiated and anonymous masses who flock to our doors. While initially, this image was not negative in its intent, it produced something that can be experienced as threatening. For me it was important to put faces, to put names and specific stories on what is often treated as an all-encompassing problem.

[Français]
C’est un film qui raconte la douleur de l’exil, mais qui la raconte au travers de la contemplation du visage de ses hommes. Ce qui m’avait saisi quand j’avais commencé à travailler sur ce sujet, c’était les images de ces masses indifférenciées et anonymes qui affluaient à nos portes. Même si, à la base, cette image-là n’était pas négative dans son intention, elle produisait quelque chose qui peut être vécu comme menaçant. Pour moi, il était important d’aller mettre des visages, d’aller mettre des noms et des histoires singulières sur ce qui est très souvent traité comme étant un problème globalisant.

LINK | LIENS


15 December 2017

African Women in Cinema Blog - Updates | Actualités 15.12.2017 - News around the Internet | Les infos autour de l’Internet


African Women in Cinema Blog
Updates | Actualités
15 Dec 2017

News around the Internet |
Les infos autour de l’Internet

Content | Contenu :

Djia Mambu
Sofia Djama
Rahmatou Keïta
Kis Keya
Anisia Uzeyman


Djia Mambu
Livre: Peau noire, medias blancs. YouTube

Sofia Djama
Les Bienheureux, de Sofia Djama, Les noeuds de la mémoire
Olivier Barlet. 12 décembre 2017. Africultures

Rahmatou Keïta
La réalisatrice nigérienne Rahmatou Keïta est marraine de Toukountchi Festival de Cinéma du Niger 2017, Niamey. NigerDiaspora.net

Kis Keya
Extranostro. Afro queer webseries. YouTube.

Anisia Uzeyman
Rwandan Director Anisia Uzeyman Asks: “Can Black Love Survive the American Dream?” T. Anthony Schear. Reelydope.com


VIDEO :

Djia Mambu: Livre: Peau noire, medias blancs








01 December 2017

African Women in Cinema Blog - Updates | Actualités - 01 Dec 2017 - News around the Internet | Les infos autour de l’Internet
































African Women in Cinema Blog
Updates | Actualités
01 Dec 2017

News around the Internet |
Les infos autour de l’Internet

Content | Contenu :

Grada Kilomba
Jabu Nadia Newman
Safi Faye
Claire Diao
Lerato Mbangeni



Grada Kilomba
Na 32ª Bienal, a artista mostra The Desire Project. 32bienal.org

Jabu Nadia Newman
The Foxy Five. Frauen of Color erzählen ihre Narrative. Akweb.de

Safi Faye
Invitée d’honneur du Festival du Film Documentaire de Saint-Louis. 28 novembre 2017. ndarinfo

Claire Diao
Passeuse de cinema. Christophe Lehousse. 17 novembre 2017. Lemag.seinesaintdenis

Lerato Mbangeni
This South African Documentary Explores Skin Lightening Among Women of Color. Sabelo Mkhabela. 27 November 2017. okayafrica.com



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