Cilia Sawadogo and Najwa Tlili were among the early African women filmmakers to make Canada their home to work and live. As a young university student Cilia, of German-Burkina heritage, came to Quebec to study, now decades later she is a professor at Concordia University where she teaches animation cinema. Njawa has made an important contribution to Quebecois screen culture, bringing a perspective that highlights the evolving diversity of Canadian society. She has been especially active at the Vues d'Afrique International Festival, an institution that has been at the forefront in promoting the African and Creole cultures of Canada.
In the past two decades other women have followed their footsteps, migrating from diverse African and Caribbean countries, as well as navigating between European African diasporas or connecting within the global francophonie. For instance, Dorothy A Atabong from Cameroon studied in the U.S. and Canada and navigates between the two locations. Also filmmaker, Lula Ali Ismaïl, based in Canada, has a foot in three continents, in Paris, Montreal and on diverse locations in Africa. Similarly, Malagasy cultural producer Tiana Rafidy followed a similar transnational trajectory.
Notes continuing…by Beti Ellerson
Following is a selection of articles focusing on women of the African Diaspora of Canada published on the African Women in Cinema Blog:
Gentille M Assih - Sortir de l’ombre | Into the Light
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2021/04/vues-dafrique-2021-gentille-m-assih.html
Cilia Sawadogo - Presidentes des jurys FESPACO 2019 : Séries télévisuelles et de cinéma d’animation | TV serials and animation
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/02/cilia-sawadogo-presidentes-des-jurys-fespaco-2019.html
Fespaco 2019 @CNA : Dhalinyaro by/de Lula Ali Ismail (Djibouti) – Village Cinéma Numérique Ambulant | “Digital Mobile Cinema”
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/02/fespaco-2019-cna-dhalinyaro-byde-lula.html
IIFF 2018 - International Images Film Festival for Women : Sound of Tears, Dorothy A. Atabong, Cameroon/Canada
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/08/iiff-2018-international-images-film_22.html
LAFF 2015 - Nadia Zouaoui : Post-9/11: Fear, Anger and Politics | Peur, Colère et Politique
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/03/laff-2015-nadia-zouaoui-post-911-fear.html
FESPACO 2015 - Rachèle Magloire and/et Chantal Regnault : Deported | Expulsés
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/02/fespaco-2015-rachele-magloire-andet.html
World Premiere: “The Flying Stars” by Ngardy Conteh George (Sierra Leone-Canada) and Allan Tong – 14 November 2014
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/11/world-premiere-flying-stars-by-ngardy.html
Femmes de cinéma, cinéma de femmes | Women of cinema, cinemas of women de/by Djia Mambu, Africiné, Montréal
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/04/femmes-de-cinema-cinema-de-femmes-women.html
FESPACO 2013 - Lula Ali Ismaïl : Laan | Les Copines | Girlfriends
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2013/02/fespaco-2013-lula-ali-ismail-laan-les.html
Tiana Rafidy: Lorety sy Mardy
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2011/03/tiana-rafidy-lorety-sy-mardy.html
Najwa Tlili: Reflections on her film "Rupture"
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2010/06/najwa-tlili-reflections-on-her-film.html