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.

ABOUT THE BLOGGER

My photo
Director/Directrice, Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema | Centre pour l'étude et la recherche des femmes africaines dans le cinéma

Translate

Search This Blog

30 January 2018

Rama Thiaw: The Revolution Won’t be Televised - Friday 2 February, 8pm - Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, London, UK

RAMA THIAW
The Revolution Won’t be Televised (2016)
Friday 2 February, 8pm
Price: Free
Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, SW11 5TN, London, UK


PRESS RELEASE



A rare free screening of Rama Thiaw’s rousing documentary about protest and activism in West Africa.

Old men who brutally and relentlessly cling on to their roles as heads of state have become colossally negative images in many countries of Africa, including Senegal.


When President Abdoulaye Wade wanted to run for office yet again in 2011, a resistance movement formed on the streets. Shortly afterwards, a group of school friends, including rappers Thiat and Kilifeu, set up "Y'en a marre" ("We Are Fed Up"), with filmmaker Rama Thiaw soon coming on board to start documenting events – meetings, campaigns, arrests, concerts, states of exhaustion, trips – from an "insider" perspective.

Running Time: 110 mins

LINK : Rama Thiaw talks about the making of her film: "The Revolution Won't be Televised"

24 January 2018

London Feminist Film Festival 2018: Call for Submissions

London Feminist Film Festival 2018:
Call for Submissions

Women filmmakers! Made a feminist film? London Feminist Film Festival wants to see it! Submit now for the 2018 fest!

The London Feminist Film Festival is committed to supporting women filmmakers, getting women’s stories out there, and encouraging discussion/ activism on feminist issues.

Films by women directors from around the world, of any year, genre, or length.



The call for submissions for 2018 is open until 15 May 2018.

22 January 2018

Cairo International Women's Film Festival 2018 : Rough Cut Workshop for Arab Women Filmmakers

Cairo International Women's Film Festival

Rough Cut Workshop
for Arab Women Filmmakers

Deadline for application: 7th February 2018 

The Rough-Cut Workshop is an audiovisual consultation that will be offered to women filmmakers who are in the phase of working on the first rough-cut of their cinematographic work and need support regarding the content and the development of their film on an artistic and editing level. 

6 Arab women filmmakers, all working on the rough-cut of their films, will be selected and invited to the festival to engage in discussions of each other’s audiovisual works and to debate its different elements. They will also be discussing their works with an international jury made up of film critics, directors and editors.

The festival will cover the travel and accommodation expenses. 

The director(s) who has the most developed work on the editing and artistic level and the one who needs most facilities for the final cut, will receive: 

First Award: €4000 Post-production facilities. 
Second Award: €1000 to support the final cut. 

19 January 2018

African Women in Cinema Blog: Updates | Actualités 19-01-2018 News around the Internet | Les infos autour de l’Internet


African Women in Cinema Blog
Updates | Actualités
19 Jan 2018

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

Content | Contenu :

Cheryl Dunye
Kagendo Murungi
Akosua Adoma Owusu
Ngozi Onwurah

Cheryl Dunye
Cheryl Dunye: Blurring Distinctions . 21 January 2018. Indiana University

Kagendo Murungi 
The passing of Kagendo Murungi, producer of documentary films, and collaborative creative community spaces for social justice and peace. Outright International

Akosua Adoma Owusu
Mahogany Too by Akosua Adoma Owusu, Official Selection, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2018. The film interprets the 1975 cult classic, Mahogany, a fashion-infused romantic drama. Vimeo.

Ngozi Onwurah
Pioneer of black British cinema Ngozi Onwurah’s work features at 2018 London Short Film Festival. The British Black List


VIDEO :

Akosua Adoma Owusu: Mahogany Too

Mahogany Too by Akosua Adoma Owusu - Trailer from Obibini Pictures LLC on Vimeo.


Moikgantsi Kgama's ImageNation | l'ImageNation de Moikgantsi Kgama


Moikgantsi Kgama, founder and executive director of ImageNation Foundation, talks about its mission and the importance of audience-building. Originally published on 14 May 2012.

[Français ci-après]

Moikgantsi, you have South African and African American roots. How did this transnational Africa-African Diaspora experience influence you?

Being half South African and half African-American has everything to do with my career choice. In my home, I was exposed to people from throughout the world. My parents had a broad mix of friends from different parts of the world. However, they raised us to be self-aware and to be proud of our Black heritage. I always saw Black heritage as one identity that manifests itself through different cultural expressions. To me Black: South Africans, African-Americans, Dominicans, Parisians, Brazilians, etc, were essentially the same.  I was surprised that my peers didn’t share my view and were pretty ignorant about both African-American and Black world culture. I always felt that there was power in Black pride and in being able to identify beyond the confines of the United States. I wanted to share that power. 

You are founder and executive director of ImageNation Foundation. What inspired you to create the foundation? What is its history and projects?

Well again I was inspired by my upbringing. I remember when I was about four years old, I drew a picture of a white family. My father questioned me about it. He wanted to know why – even though all of my dolls and books depicted Black people - I’d decided to draw a white family, instead of drawing a family that looked like mine.  And at that young age, I realised that I had been influenced by what I saw on television, in movies and in magazines. From that day on, I created and sought images that affirmed my racial and ethnic background. In that pursuit, I discovered that I was absent from most mainstream media.  I also realised that many of my peers held impoverished notions of their cultural identity and of themselves, and they lacked the positive reinforcement I received at home. Over time, I realised that this lack of representation had a long-term impact on the personal choices and professional aspirations of my Black peers.  
I always had an intense love of the cultural arts. And in college, I was introduced to Marcus Garvey and his vision for the UNIA. I also took an African-American Studies course where I learned that there were more than 45 Black-owned cinemas in the US prior to integration, and that had dwindled to none.  When I moved to New York City and immersed myself in the independent film community, I saw very few outlets for filmmakers of colour. I also noted that even after Black auteurs had managed to raise the funds and make beautiful films, they were in need of venues that would exhibit and market their works. These combined factors inspired me to create ImageNation, a vehicle for exhibiting and distributing progressive images of Black people worldwide through special events and a chain of boutique cinemas dedicated to progressive cinema from the African Diaspora.

   
The ImageNation mission states: “We edify our viewers' imaginations and galvanise their spirits with cinema, Soul Cinema.” What are the characteristics of Soul Cinema?

Soul Cinema consists of movies from any genre that explore history, examine social issues, highlight the humanity of pan-African people, stimulate the mind, and stir the spirit. Soul cinema must exhibit artistic excellence, it must interrogate, and it must inspire. It is highly stylised and it is gritty and real like James Brown and Erykah Badu; infectious like Stevie Wonder and Fela; classic like Miriam Makeba and Celia Cruz; and irresistible like collard greens, maduros, fat cakes, jerk chicken and truly inspired fashion. Some recent examples: The Prep School Negro, Rise Up, Restless City, Night Catches Us, Kinyarwanda, Gun Hill Road, Pariah and Better Mus’ Come. Trailers for most of these can be found at http://imagenation.us. We’d love to hear comments.

The 2011 Reel Sister Film Festival paid tribute to you as a trailblazer, and several years ago you were named by Essence Magazine as one of 25 women who are shaping the world. Congratulations on these accomplishments! A few reflections on the role you see for yourself as visual media professional, activist!
Thank you! Ultimately, I’d like to inspire others to look outside of commercial models and vehicles to empower themselves and their communities. I’d like to influence peoples’ perceptions of Blackness and help create new ways for the global Black community to connect. And I’d like to demonstrate sustainability. In pursuing my goal to establish a chain of cinemas, I realise that intention is not enough. And it is very important that we learn how to manage resources effectively, understand fiscal and government compliance, and to raise the capital needed to support our visions and dreams. And we must build institutions so that our creations outlive us. I have been able to inspire many people with my work. The challenge will be to build this concept into a sustainable institution. Haki Madhubuti said, “One of the most revolutionary things we can do is make payroll.” So, once I figure out how to feed my community progressive images, while helping to actually feed families through sustained employment, I will have reached my goal. Ultimately, I hope to offer a model that will edify our minds, instill pride, stimulate economic development and demonstrate sustainability. On that note, every bit helps. To make a contribution please visit us at http://imagenation.us.    
Audience development, your area of expertise, is becoming increasingly important, as the focus on spectatorship and audience response are key to the film industry’s interest in engaging with its viewers. What does this activity entail and how did you become interested in it?

I have been involved in the arts since I was a young girl. I used to draw, act, dance, and sing a bit. I ran a dance troupe with some friends; and I was entrepreneurial. So, developing audiences has always been integral to my efforts. It’s pointless to stage a great play, dance program or film screening if no one is there to enjoy it. So, I’ve always been promoting the arts in some way. When I started working in independent film, I saw a dearth in black film exhibition and marketing vehicles; and a natural niche for my skills. I was blessed to be a part of some really amazing projects and to work with serious arts activists like Kay Shaw and Jamal Joseph. Audience development is pretty simple. You must identify every and anyone with whom the film will resonate and then enlist their active support. By active, I mean they must become your drum majors, they must purchase tickets and they must enlist other to do the same. That’s how it works. And now, we have the Internet it’s easier to connect, but we have a lot to compete with so it’s important to offer offline experiences to support the online outreach. It’s about connecting, inspiring, passing it on, and reminding. Here we have shared the tip sheets that we distribute during our outreach campaigns. On our website, look under Restless City, Kinyarwanda and I Will Follow on http://imagenation.us.

Since the emergence of a democratic, multi-racial South Africa, a cinema representing the realities of the black majority is taking root. At the same time, South African cinema is positioning itself to be an important player on the continent. What ties does ImageNation have or would like to make in South Africa?

We presented a film festival in Mogale City, South Africa, in 2004, and we’d like to go back. Right now, we’re focused on opening our first cinema in Harlem, which will feature a monthly series called South African Cinema Now. So, we’ll offer a continuous vehicle for exposing South African cinema here in the US. We are producing a 100th Anniversary of the ANC celebration in partnership with Central Park Summer Stage on August 14th. Goapele and Yolanda Zama will perform and we’ll screen the classic Come Back Africa.

So, once we stabilise our New York venue, we’ll start implementing programs in South Africa to begin developing an audience that side. Our goal is to open our Harlem venue by the fall of this year.  We are a 501c3 nonprofit and are accepting contributions for our cinema fund at http://imagenation.us/support/capital-campaign/

Interview with Moikgantsi Kgama by Beti Ellerson, May 2012.

[Français]

l'ImageNation de Moikgantsi Kgama

Moikgantsi Kgama, ayant des racines sud-africaines et afro-américaines, a été fortement influencée par son expérience transnationale à l’intersection de l’Afrique et la Diaspora africaine. Fondatrice et directrice exécutive de la Fondation ImageNation basée à New York, le Reel Sister Film Festival lui a rendu hommage en tant que pionnière en 2011, et plusieurs années auparavant le magazine de femmes, Essence l’a nommée parmi les 25 femmes qui façonnent le monde. Elle nous parle de la mission de ImageNation qui a pour but d’édifier l'imagination de leurs téléspectateurs et galvaniser leur esprit avec le Soul Cinéma. Elle examine également l’importance de la dynamisation d’audience, une stratégie qui prend le plus en plus d’ampleur étant donné que l'industrie cinématographique met l'accent sur la réponse des spectateurs pour mieux comprendre leurs intérêts et leurs motivations. 

Festival de Cinéma Africain de Tarifa-Tanger (FCAT) 2018 - Call for entries | Convocatoria de películas | Appel à films

Festival de Cinéma Africain de Tarifa-Tanger (FCAT) 2018
Call for entries
Convocatoria de películas
Appel à films

Call for entries - Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival - http://www.fcat.es/en/call-for-entries-2018/

Appel à films – Festival de Cinéma Africain de Tarifa -Tanger 2018 - http://www.fcat.es/fr/appel-a-films-ouvert-festival-de-cinema-africain-de-tarifa-tanger-2018/

Convocatoria de películas - FCAT’18 - http://www.fcat.es/ya-esta-abierta-la-convocatoria-del-fcat18/

envio antes del | à retourner avant le | to return before: 16/02/2018

18 January 2018

Mujeres por África : Ellas Son Cine - 2017-2016-2015-2014-2013

Mujeres por África : Ellas Son Cine
2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013

Ellas Son Cine, una muestra del audiovisual más reciente dirigido por mujeres africanas.

El objetivo es reconocer la contribución fundamental que realiza la mujer en este continente, Mujeres por África organiza esta muestra de películas provenientes del Magreb y África Subsahariana.


2017:  Africanas vistas por africanas
Ellas son Cine 5 - Mujeres por Africa  - PDF



2016: Una muestra de cine dedicada a las directoras africanas
Ellas son Cine 4 - Mujeres por Africa



2015: Tercera edición de la muestra "Ellas son Cine", organizada por la Fundación Mujeres por África
Ellas son Cine 3 - Mujeres por Africa




2014: Cinco directoras africanas toman la palabra
Ellas son Cine 2 - Mujeres por Africa



2013: Muestra de directoras africanas: Ellas son cine
La primera edición - La Casa Encendida


13 January 2018

Wild Track Newsletter #26 December 2017-January 2018 about African women in cinema in Zimbabwe

Wild Track Newsletter #26
December 2017-January 2018
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 25, Issue 24, 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.





12 January 2018

Mis Me Binga 2018 : Call for films | Appel à films - Cameroon | Cameroun

Mis Me Binga : Call for films | Appel à films Cameroon | Cameroun

PRESS RELEASE | COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE

Deadline | Date limite : 15 March | mars 2018

The MIS ME BINGA International Women's Film Festival is one of the most important women's film festivals in Central Africa. The international program includes three important competitive sections. The next edition is scheduled for June 26-30, 2018.

Le festival international de films de femmes MIS ME BINGA est l'un des festivals de films de femmes les plus importants de l'Afrique Centrale. Le programme international comprend trois importantes sections compétitives. La prochaine édition et prévue du 26 au 30 juin 2018.

GENERAL CONDITIONS | CONDITIONS GÉNÉRALES

• The film must have been produced after 1 January  2016 | Le film doit avoir été produit après le 1er janvier 2016.

• The film must be of a duration: | Le film doit être d'une durée :

from at least 52 minutes for feature-length documentaries | d'au moins 52 minutes pour les documentaires long métrage

at least 60 minutes for feature-length fiction films minutes |at least 26 for short films
d'au moins 60 minutes pour les fictions long métrages | au plus 26 minutes pour les courts métrages.

• The film must be registered no later than 15 March 2018 | Le film doit être inscrit au plus tard le 15 mars 2018.

Languages | Langues

For foreign films, English or French subtitles are mandatory | Pour les films étrangers, les sous-titres anglais ou français sont obligatoires.
For the selection process, they are not mandatory for English and French language films | Pour le processus de sélection, ils ne sont pas obligatoires pour les films en anglais et français.
All films selected for the festival must have subtitles in English or French | Tous les films sélectionnés pour le festival doivent avoir des sous-titres en anglais ou en français.

Projection formats | Formats de projection
T
he following projection formats are allowed | Les formats de projection suivants sont autorisés: DVD, Bluray, fichier numérique/digital file.

They must be sent before 15 March 2018 | Ils doivent nous être envoyés avant le 15 mars 2018 :

- A DVD or link to view the film | Un DVD ou lien de visualisation du film

- The registration form | Le formulaire d’inscription

- Press kit | dossier de presse

- Film poster | L'affiche du film (.jpeg)

- A photo of the director | Une photo du réalisateur/réalisatrice (.jpg)

- Film stills | Des photos du film (.jpg)

- A short biography and filmography of the director | Une courte biographie et filmographie du réalisateur/réalisatrice (.doc / .pdf)

- to the following address | À l’adresse suivante

1) by email to | par courriel : prog.mismebinga@gmail.com

2) by mail to the following address | par courrier à l’adresse ci-dessous :


Mis Me Binga
Festival Panafrician de Films de Femmes
Rue Joseph Mballa Eloumdem
S/c Evodie NGUEYELI, BP: 35013 Bastos
Yaoundé-Cameroun

03 January 2018

African Film Festival New York 2018 deadline for submissions is 19 January

African Film Festival New York 2018 deadline for submissions is 19 January


The deadline for submissions to the 2018 New York African Film Festival is 19 January 2018. Film submissions are also accepted throughout the year in consideration for our other year-round programs.
Films may be submitted as a private online link to submissions@africanfilmny.org.

Alternatively, films can be submitted as DVD screeners via traditional mail to:
154 West 18th St., Suite 2A
New York, New York 10011
USA

Please include the following information with all submissions:

Film title
Director’s name and brief bio
Film synopsis – 2 versions: 1 long, 1 short
Runtime
Country of production
Year of production
Language
Subtitle information (if any) – All non-English language film submissions MUST contain English subtitles
Filmmaker/distributor/producer contact information

02 January 2018

African women, cinema and LGBT subectivities | Les femmes africaines, le cinéma et des subjectivités LGBT

African women, cinema and LGBT subectivities | Les femmes africaines, le cinéma et des subjectivités LGBT

A key goal of the African Women in Cinema Blog is to feature current research and critical discourse, through interviews, conference proceedings and analyses on relevant topics. Following is a selection of articles regarding LGBT African women or by African women filmmakers on the subject of LGBT subjectivities that have been published on the Blog.

L'un des principaux objectifs du blog des femmes africaines dans le cinéma (African Women in Cinema Blog) est de présenter les informations courantes à travers des interviews, des actes de conférences et des analyses sur des sujets pertinents. Vous trouverez ci-dessous une sélection d'articles sur les femmes africaines LGBT ou des oeuvres faites par des réalisatrices africaines sur le sujet des subjectivités LGBT qui ont été publiées sur le Blog.


Maryam Touzani: Le Bleu du Caftan | The Blue Caftan. https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2023/01/maryam-touzani-le-bleu-du-caftan-blue.html Halim and Mina, who have been married for a long time, run a traditional caftan shop in the medina of Salé, Morocco. The couple has always lived with Halim's secret, his homosexuality. However, Mina's illness and the arrival of a young apprentice will upset this balance. United in their love, each will help the other to face their fears.

Josza Anjembe : Baltringue | Freed - Towards a self-interrogation | Vers un auto-questionnement. https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/05/recent-films-josza-anjembe-baltringue.html.Through this film about homosexual men in prison, Josza Anjembe was able to confront her interiorized lesbophobia and her own homosexuality.

Claudine Ndimbira : Support her film project “Living like a shadow” about the LGBTQ community in Rwanda. https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/12/claudine-ndimbira-support-her-film.html
Claudine Ndimbira had this to say about the film project: With this project “Living like a shadow” I want to give the voice to LGBTQ community members in Rwanda to tell their stories, what they have been through, what they wish their lives could be but also to the society so that they say what is the reason why they think being gay is a problem to them.

Rafiki: to our forbidden love! | à nos amours interdites ! Cannes 2018 (analysis/analyse, Falila Gbadamassi - Africiné)
A film about love, between two high school girls, which caused its director [Wanuri Kahiu] to be threatened with imprisonment in Kenya. Rafiki, a remarkable drama, is one of three African films in competition at the Un Certain Regard.

Rafiki by/de Wanuri Kahiu : Cannes 2018 - Un Certain Regard https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2018/04/rafiki-byde-wanuri-kahiu-cannes-2018-un.html
Rafiki is a love story about Kena and Ziki who live in a housing estate in Nairobi. The girls are unlikely friends and their fathers are rivaling politicians. When they fall in love and the community find out, the girls are forced to choose between love and safety.

Nneka Onuorah launches a crowdsourcing campaign for "Rotten Fruit" film project
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2017/05/nneka-onuorah-launches-crowdsourcing.html
Rotten Fruit centers on the relationship between the LBGTQI community and the attitudes of the Black Church in the United States.

The African Women in Cinema Blog spotlights Nneka Onuorah and her film “The Same Difference” during Women’s History Month
The documentary explores lesbians who discriminate against other lesbians based on gender roles and heteronormative notions of femininity and masculinity.

FESPACO 2017: Normalium by/de Siam Marley (Cote d’Ivoire)
In love with a man in a world where the norm is homosexuality, sixteen-year-old Charlotte will have to be exorcised for her "deviant" behavior. An exorcism authorised by her two mothers.

Amoureuse d’un homme dans un monde où la norme est l’homosexualité, Charlotte, 16 ans, va se faire exorciser pour son comportement "déviant". Un exorcisme approuvé par ses deux mères.

When Alice Diop takes us "towards masculine tenderness" | Quand Alice Diop nous entraîne "vers la tendresse" au masculin by/de Sylvie Braibant – tv5monde

Understanding lesbophobia in West Africa: sixteen women’s voices | Seize voix de femmes pour comprendre la lesbophobie en Afrique de l’Ouest

Frieda Ekotto: For an endogenous critique of representations of African lesbian identity in visual culture and literature

Frieda Ekotto : Pour une critique endogène sur les représentations visuelles et littéraires de l’identité lesbienne africaine

"Difficult Love" by Zanele Muholi
Visual activist Zanele Muholi of South Africa, repositions the African subject that is often represented by others, reclaiming her own space and that of other black lesbians and black South Africans as a whole. Telling her own story and taking ownership of her subject-position, she returns the gaze, re-writes the script that has often left black lesbians and Africans in general without a voice.

Zanele Muholi: Some Prefer Cake - Bologna Lesbian Film Festival - Italy

Zanele Muholi: Some Prefer Cake - Le Festival du film lesbien de Bologne - Italie 2012

Cheryl Dunye's "Black is Blue" Kickstarter campaign success

Marie Kâ : L'Autre Femme | The Other Woman (Senegal)

Naomi Beukes-Meyer (Germany-Namibia) launches crowdfunding for the 2nd Episode of THE CENTRE Web Series
Naomi has always felt that there is a distinct lack of film and television dramas highlighting first and second generation African female and, in particular, lesbian experience.

Wanuri Kahiu: "Homosexuality is not unafrican; what is unafrican is homophobia"

Boukary Sawadogo discusses his research: Three marginal figures in the cinemas of Francophone West Africa - the mad person, the homosexual, the woman

Sophie Kaboré’s Quest: Exploring African homosexualities
The film is about Abdou, the oldest son of a well-respected businessman, who, after a long stay abroad returns home. He has lived other experiences that brought about a psychological and sexual transformation. It is about a transvestite who returns to his social and cultural milieu, a milieu that is horrified by this practice.

OTHER LINKS | AUTRES LIENS

Kis Keya, creator of "Extranostro", a 5-episode new-media series about the gay black community: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE4GYm5GxQD1yzpPpbBav8Q

Black Gay Male Spectatorship in the United States: The Reception of the Films Dakan and Woubi Cheri: https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2009/06/black-gay-male-spectatorship-dakan-woubi-cheri.html

01 January 2018

2018 : POLYGLOT


Bonne Année

Dun titun ọdún

Feliz Ano Novo

Feliz Año Nuevo

Happy New Year

Heri ya mwaka mpya

Neujahrsputz

Obi ụtọ na afọ ọhụrụ

etc..

Blog Archive