UNESCO promoting African women in cinema

UNESCO promoting African women in cinema

UNESCO has become increasingly visible in it support and promotion of African women in cinema. In the past decade it has initiated and supported several high profile initiatives.

UNESCO: Women in African History [http://en.unesco.org/womeninafrica/] 

Its website UNESCO: Women in African History | Femmes dans l’histoire d’Afrique presents a wealth of topics on women in Africa. Its objective is to provide an ongoing exchange of information.

Prix Safi Faye pour la meilleure réalisatrice - Safi Faye Award for the best woman filmmaker - JCC - Journées Cinématographiques de Carthage

(CREDIF - UNESCO), 2015

This award was initiated by the CREDIF Centre de Recherches, d'Etudes, de Documentation et d'Information sur la Femme (Centre for the Research, Study, Documentation and Information on Women) and supported by UNESCO (United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture). It aims to reward a woman filmmaker whose film—be it a feature or a long documentary—has been selected in the official competition.

Action! UNESCO supports women and cinema in Africa at FESPACO

https://en.unesco.org/creativity/events/action-unesco-supports-women-cinema-africa-fespaco

UNESCO puts the spotlight on women and policies supporting the film sector in Africa during the 26th edition, 2019.

A high level round table entitled "50 years of FESPACO: 50-50 for women" takes place on 26 February at the Ouagadougou City Hall with the participation of Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, and Madame Sika Kaboré, First Lady of Burkina Faso. The roundtable brings together women filmmakers, film distributors, as well as ministers of culture from West Africa to discuss the challenges women face in accessing funding and training opportunities in the film and broadcasting industries in Africa. It also examines the issue of gender equality in national cultural policies and the representation of women in decision-making positions.

Alimata Salambéré honoured by UNESCO 

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/03/alimata-salambere-honoured-by-unesco.html

Alimata Salambéré honoured by UNESCO, 4 March 2019 for the ensemble of her work in the promotion of culture in Burkina Faso and Africa : "Our role as an elder is to transmit our knowledge to the younger ones. I am very touched by this distinction, I want to thank all the people who supported me, it is because of the support of all of you."

UNESCO seeks African female filmmakers for a residency in Japan

https://en.unesco.org/creativity/activities/nara-residency-young-african-female-filmmakers

UNESCO is offered a 2-week film-making residency from 29 March to 12 April 2020 for 10 young African women filmmakers from selected countries in Africa. The film and artist-in-residence workshop provided the transnational exchange and sharing of artistic experiences between young African and Japanese filmmakers in a productive creative environment. Its objective was to provide artistic guidance and put in place a genuine platform for experimental creation and artistic renewal, and foster collaborations between Africa and Japanese artists, provide international exposure to the work of young women artists, and open new opportunities for artistic creation, production and dissemination.

Women's place in the African cinematographic landscape | La place des femmes dans le paysage cinématographique africain

Conférence-débat, Les cinémas d’Afrique, November 2021 at UNESCO in Paris

With the participation, among others of Naomi Kawase, Fatou Senghor, Nadia El Fani, filmmakers, Nadira Shakur, co-ffounder of Nollywood Week Film Festival, Valma Pfaff, artistic director artistique and organizer of the 43rd edition of Durban International Film Festival , Henda Haoual, professor of cinema, representative of JCC Journées cinématographiques de Carthage…

Conference: Promoting Diversity and Gender Equality in African Cinema

From 24 to 26 November 2021, UNESCO's Africa Group is organizing the second half of Africa Week 2021 in a hybrid format. The week will include an opening ceremony, the launch of a publication on African arts at UNESCO, a virtual exhibition of African cultural elements and literary works.

The film industry can strategically address the issue of gender equality in different ways. For example, films can address how women are represented in front of and behind the camera, and film festivals can proactively promote films directed or produced by women.

UNESCO highlights African cinema at the 75th Cannes Film Festival

UNESCO organized a major round table to promote African cinema at the Cannes Film festival in 2022. The event highlighted the great development potential of the African film industry and UNESCO's initiatives to support it. Moderated by journalist Hortense Assaga, the round table was based on the recent UNESCO report The Film Industry in Africa: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Growth, a groundbreaking analysis of data on the film and audiovisual industries in 54 African countries.