African Women of the Screen and New Media

African Women of the Screen

and New Media

Beti Ellerson

The advent of social media and digital technologies marked a new era in African film production, spectatorship, reception, diffusion, critique and pedagogy. Its impact on the visibility of women and their work is undeniable, as these devices have become the dominant tools and strategies for visual exchange and communication. The emergence of an online community of African women of the screen since the 2010s has proven to be a game-changer as a network of stakeholders interconnected as colleagues, friends, fans, followers, group members, navigates within a collective virtual space.

The above observations, discussed in my article, “African Women of the Screen at the Digital Turn,” A Special Report featured in Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media 10 (Winter 2015–16) <http://alphavillejournal.com/Issue10/HTML/ArticleEllerson.html>, were drawn from my analysis of trends and tendencies and critical engagement of African women makers with the strategies and devices of new media and their evolution in screen culture practices. Since the report, written in 2016, social media is ever-present in all aspects of their screen culture practices. And the urgency of the cinema world's collective response as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is evident in the pervasive presence of virtual environments. Forced into lockdown mode and social distancing, film festivals, screenings and related events, already scheduled throughout the remainder of the year quickly adjusted to the new reality. Some were postponed or cancelled, others spontaneously converted to online versions. The pandemic underscored the ubiquity of digital technologies, which quickly restructured the platforms and resources needed to support the ever-expanding transmedial practices of the moving image. The virtual event has become the norm. Zoom meetings, panel discussions and interviews, on-line festivals and film streaming and other transmedial events appear to be part of the future post-Covid-19 screen culture landscape.

The African Women in Cinema Blog regularly features African women makers' engagement with ever-evolving New Media technologies and its empowering and expansive influences on their work. Following are a few examples, which will be updated with relevant links.

The CNA, Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Afrique (Mobile Digital Cinema-Africa) : facing the challenges of/face à la COVID-19
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2021/02/cna-afrique-covid-19.html

Conférence du Pavillon des Cinémas d'Afrique : Programme Tables Rondes : "Porter haut et fort la voix des femmes dans les cinémas d'Afrique" (Women's voices heard loud and clear in the cinemas of Africa)
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/06/conference-du-pavillon-des-cinemas.html

Warkha TV : Briser le Silence (Breaking the Silence)
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/02/tv5monde-warkhatv-briser-le-silence-des.html

Monique Mbeka Phoba: "Sister Oyo", the importance of social media, and the Kisskissbankbank crowdfunding campaign
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/05/monique-mbeka-phoba-sister-oyo.html

Single Rwandan / Celib Rwandais by/de Jacqueline Kalimunda analyse/analysis by/par Viviane Azarian
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/06/single-rwandan-celib-rwandais-byde.html

Ghanaian-German Jacqueline Nsiah’s digital Sankofa storytelling experience and other diasporic journeys
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/10/ghanaian-german-jacqueline-nsiahs.html

Julie Djikey: Performance "Ozonisation"
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/04/julie-djikey-performance-ozonisation.html

A Portait: Mayye Zayed
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/07/portait-mayye-zayed.html

A Conversation with Angéla Aquereburu
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2010/05/conversation-with-angela-aquereburu.html