Go Fund Me: Nos Errances, un film de Sorana Munsya et Monique Mbeka Phoba

Go Fund Me: Nos Errances

un film de

Sorana Munsya et Monique Mbeka Phoba

 

Nos Errances retrace les parcours croisés de Clémentine Faïk-Nzuji, première professeure africaine dans une université belge, et Véronique Clette-Gakuba, militante et sociologue. À travers leurs récits, le documentaire explore l’errance de ces deux personnages dans un monde académique marqué par la discrimination.

 

Nos Errances retraces the intersected paths of Clementine Faik-Nzuji, the first African professor at a Belgian university, and activist/sociologist Véronique Clette-Gakuba. Through their stories, the documentary explores the peregrinations of these two figures in an academic world marked by discrimination. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/nos-errances-un-documentaire-de-sorana-m-et-monique-mb

Africa Reframed - Sosena Solomon journeys across Africa to capture the continent’s rich cultural heritage

Africa Reframed

Sosena Solomon journeys across Africa to capture the continent’s rich cultural heritage

In a new 12-part film series commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the World Monuments Fund, Ethiopian-American filmmaker Sosena Solomon journeys across Africa to capture the continent’s rich cultural heritage and through the eyes of those who protect it.

Image Source: Forbes Africa : Solomon interviews a priest at Abuna Yemata Guh, an ancient monolithic church carved into the sandstone cliffs of Ethiopia’s Tigray Region (Image by Stephen Battle)

Also see: https://www.forbesafrica.com/entertainment/2025/07/31/africa-reframed-how-this-ethiopian-american-filmmaker-captured-the-continents-rich-culture/

Alice Diop talks about her project for a film adaption of Michel Leiris's Afrique fantôme (Phantom Africa)

Alice Diop talks about her project for a film adaption of Michel Leiris's Afrique fantôme (Phantom Africa)

 

In the context of the exhibition Misson Dakar-Djibouti (1931-1933) organized by the Musée du quai branly Jacques Chirac,  Alice Diop talks with Gaêlle Beaujean, head curator of the African collections of the museum, about her project for a film adaption of Michel Leiris's Afrique fantôme (Phantom Africa).

The exhibition is the culmination of four years of investigation into the conditions of acquisition of each object, conducted by French and African historians, archivists and researchers. Inventories, mission books, period correspondence from L'Afrique fantôme - the notebook kept by mission secretary Michel Leiris were probed and analyzed. The exhibition description is presented in this way:

Different perspectives on colonial history. The exhibition presents new research associated with one of the most emblematic missions of the 1930s.

Between 1931 and 1933, the 'Dakar-Djibouti Ethnographic and Linguistic Mission' journeyed through 14 African countries. Led by French ethnologist Marcel Griaule, it tested new methods of ethnographic survey and collection. In 1933, it contained over 3,000 objects, 6,000 natural specimens, as many photographs, 300 manuscripts, around 50 human remains, some 20 recordings and over 10,000 field notes resulting from observation 'surveys' or 'interrogations'. This scientific expedition also attracted a great deal of media attention with the publication of L'Afrique fantôme, the personal diary of the mission's secretary, Michel Leiris, in which he reveals the relations between the colonised and the colonialists, as well as the conditions under which the surveys and collections were carried out.

Through a selection of objects, photographs and archives, the exhibition revisits documented facts, placing at the heart of the subject the results of research and the current viewpoint of professionals from the African continent. These counter investigations, carried out jointly by a dozen African and French scientists, aim to retrace the conditions under which these heritages were acquired and collected in order to shed light on the colonial context and the stories of men and women who have remained anonymous until now.

For Alice Diop the political significance of L'Afrique fantôme as a report of the events that took place eighty years ago, is that it may now serve as a valid means to actually reclaim those objects that had been acquired in a totally fallacious and violent way.

She also views her film project as a form of counter-archive as a means to reinvent archives through fiction. Hence giving an existence, an incarnation, a humanity, a visibility, to the people who have not been seen or filmed, heard or listened to, and in so doing, reveal their depth, intimacy, sensitivity.

 

Alice Diop follows the footsteps of Mati Diop’s Dahomey—which mixes fantasy fiction and documentary—from the basements of the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac to the presidential palace in Cotonou, who accompanies the return journey of illegally-acquired statues to their country of origin. She gives voice to both the stolen statues and the Beninese students, immersing the viewer within the heart of the postcolonial debate on the restitution of African material heritage by European countries. She describes the objective of the film: “to return to these twenty-six royal treasures their story, their voices, to make them the narrators and actors of their own epic return." Alice Diop’s project seeks to exhume the parts that remain silent, those in the shadows, the missing parts, the things that Michel Leiris did not see, could not see or omitted to say. Similar to Mati Diop it is also a means for her to free herself from the hegemony of western knowledge production. Mati Diop described her experience in this way:  “As a Franco-Senegalese, afro-descendant cineaste, I chose to be among those who refuse to forget, who refuse amnesia as a method.”
 

  

Sisters of the Screen : African Women in Cinema @ 25

Sisters of the Screen:

African Women in Cinema @ 25

Reflections by Beti Ellerson 

“African women must be everywhere. They must be in the images, behind the camera, in the editing room and involved in every stage of the making of a film. They must be the ones to talk about their problems.” (1)

Sarah Maldoror’s words inspired me to do just that, discover the voices and experiences of African women in the myriad sectors of screen culture: directors, producers, actors, DPs, screenwriters, editors, and the numerous technical crew members, and also, to extend that idea to encompass those in front of the screen as cultural readers, scholars, critics and theorists of African women in cinema studies; as they too have a vital function in the study and analysis of cultural production as it relates to women’s role in creating, shaping and determining the course of their cinematic history, the intellectual and cultural capital that it produces, and the intangible cultural heritage to which it contributes. (2)
 
Hence, I took on this call, initiating the African Women in Cinema Project in 1996 as a postdoctoral study, which includes the book (Sisters of the Screen, Women of Africa on Film, Video and Television), published in 2000, and the film (Sisters of the Screen, African Women in the Cinema) completed in 2002. Sisters of the Screen, a title that envisioned a veritable screen culture in which the moving image visualized on myriad screen environments from white cloth to movie screen, television set, computer monitor, inflatable movie screen, mobile phone, tablet and diverse transmedia platforms that continue to emerge, all of which become the meeting point for African women in cinema to tell their stories. Moreover, the title contemplated an imaginary community where African women’s experiences of cinema may be shared, analyzed, documented, historicized, and archived.  
 
Following the release of the book and film, the Project developed into the Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema whose organizing principle is based on two key elements: the work of the pan-African organization of women professionals of the moving image created in 1991 and the experiences of these individual women recounted in interviews, speeches, artists intentions, mission statements, and in their films. Drawing from the objectives of the organization: to provide a forum for women to share and exchange their experiences and to formulate mechanisms for continued dialogue and exchange, I have worked to develop a historiography in an attempt to chronicle and bring together the disparate parts.

What drew me to “African Women in Cinema” as a study and research focus was its extremely broad range of discourse and practice. Women on, in front, behind the screen—as storytellers, makers, producers, scriptwriters, actresses, role models, consciousness raisers, practitioners, technicians, organizers, fundraisers, social media community managers, bloggers, agents of change, activists, advocates, audience builders, cultural producers, cultural readers, film critics, scholars and researchers—all contribute to the idea of “African Women in Cinema” as a conceptual framework.

In have built on this organizing principle throughout the past two and a half decades in my teaching, presentations, research and writing on African women in cinema. Based on the initial research I have developed materials to be adapted for courses, seminars and presentations in women’s studies, African studies, film studies, communications, modern language and culture, art history and visual culture, to a global public: students, specialists, stakeholders and interested cultural readers.

While the book has only been published in English, though the women included also gave interviews in French, I was able to broaden the conversation linguistically in the film version with both French and English subtitles, and in 2017, a German version was available to viewers based in Germany and to other German speakers. Through the African Women in Cinema Blog and the numerous social media platforms that have emerged since the publication of the book and release of the film, I have been able to present a variety of resources, as I have not been bound by the limitations of accessing materials and to linguistic restrictions. Thus drawing from a range of languages, information and technologies.

Moreover, I have attempted to frame the tone of my work within a spirit of affirmation in order to show the empowering and positive visual representations, voices and discourse, from the pioneers and trailblazers to the students and newcomers—all have their story to tell and their place on the continuum of the ever-expanding timeline of African women in cinema history.

What I learned above all from the experiences of teaching and developing materials on this sub-discipline was the irrefutable fact that when African women’s historiography is mined, structured and archived, their rich experiences are available and accessible for all to draw from.

My work throughout these two decades has centered on nine broad themes in order to highlight the breadth and scope of women’s experiences:

1.    Towards an African Women Cinema Studies: Theory and practice
2.    Women voices
3.    Women's stories, experiences and realities
4.    Visual representations of African women
5.    Interrogating identities, bodies, sexualities, femininities
6.    Intergenerational perspectives
7.    Social media, new technologies
8.    Global and transnational diaspora
9.    Gendered sensibilities
10.  Women researching, mentoring, organizing

Hence, I have been able to bring together women across disciplines. One of the regrettable downsides to this endeavor, and even with the ubiquity of the Internet, is that those whose work are accessible, whose presence is visible, who are studied, focused on, talked about, written about, promoted, are often the ones who are most likely to be included in courses, studies, chapters, on websites and pages as well as social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… Hence, I consciously avoid any “starification” encouraged by gatekeepers and self-promoters. And thus, my objective is to give visibility to as many as possible, no matter how tiny their (online, researched, written, English-language) presence, by a variety of methods, and above all, by my own acknowledgement and recognition of their work.

The Sisters of the Screen project has been the point of departure for my work going forward, as a means to highlight women speaking for themselves, about their experiences with cinema.

Women Filmmakers' Voices: In the initial project, diverse women filmmakers spanning the continent and its global diasporas talk about diverse themes, from how they came to cinema, the specificities of being women directors, to the hazards of the profession. In recent interviews and discussions with women of the current generation, one finds similarities with many of the women interviewed in the mid- 1990s, in terms of themes, approaches and the reasons that brought them to cinema and the roles they want to play. This is not to say that there have not been changes and mutations in the past two decades. In fact there have been an incredible dynamism and phenomenal progress. Nonetheless, the commentary by women reflecting their desire to tell stories about the conflicts in their societies are echoed in the contemporary works of their compatriots, about the courageous women who are continuing to fight for their society. The women who spoke of their desire to makes films about women, their accomplishments, perspectives and experiences as a way to highlight women as role models, is in tune with current perspectives on women’s desire to tell stories to highlight the dearth of women as role models for their daughters.

Women Visualizing Their Stories: Several African women discuss their work or provide critical perspectives that are linked to specific excerpts from their films. Film topics include: Experiences of women in the countryside, whose men go to the urban sectors for work; women refugees, the practice of female excision, and also more uplifting positive stories of an adolescent’s dream of becoming a singer. Contemporary films continue to probe the question of migration with a focus on current issues, such as the outflow of young girls from the village who go to the city to be employed as domestic workers, which has similar consequences as other forms of external migration. Moreover, current films reveal that the practice of female excision continues with the same consequences for women and girls.

Actors' Experiences In Cinema includes a continuum of the role of actresses from veteran to beginner, as they talk about their experiences in various internationally acclaimed African films. While African women as actors were not always embraced by their societies, especially during the nascent period of African cinema in the mid-1960s, they have been dedicated artists, playing an important role in the evolution of African cinema. The historic general assembly of African actresses which took place from 12-16 November 2019 at the FESTILAG Festival international du film des lacs et des lagunes (International Lakes and Lagoons Film Festival) in Côte d'Ivoire, highlighted the well-deserved recognition of African women on the screen.

Critical Perspectives of African Women and Visual Representation: Women from diverse areas of the cinema (director, actor, producer, critic) give critical perspectives on the visual representation of African women in cinema as well as the public reception of the African female image on screen. It is from my experience in bringing together the voices of these women that my deeper exploration of African women as cultural readers developed, sketching in broad strokes, African women's engagement with the moving image as stakeholders and participants in both on-screen visual representation of women, and off-screen and behind-the-scene roles throughout and beyond the film production process. The first—on the screen—recalls the initial visual engagement with the film leaving the viewer to contemplate the actor’s role and the filmmaker’s intent. The second—behind the screen—conjures a team of film industry practitioners: screenwriter, director, cinematographer, crew, producer, editor, distributor, festival organizer and other professionals, and the third—in front of the screen— as cultural reader, evoking a discerning audience and the film critic. While African women cultural critics of the moving image have existed as long as African cinema practice, a cadre of African women researchers, scholars and professors is taking shape on the continent and the diaspora.

Identities: The myriad identities of African women are explored in this theme--bi-raciality, immigration, exile, dislocation, transnationality. In the works of some filmmakers during the last two and a half decades, one may find intersecting themes on nationality, racialized identity, especially as it relates to the search for self in the interstices of “in-betweenness”, as well as personal stories of womanhood and femininity, of national identity and transnational hybridity.

Women Coming Together: In the initial project on Sisters of the Screen, a complexity of issues around women organizing and working together is intertwined with a discussion of the place of women of the African Diaspora, especially from the United States. Twenty-five years later, as the U.S. African Diaspora incorporates immigrant and first-generation Africans, the discourse on visualizing diaspora expands and deepens. Moreover, with the coming of age of western-born African women or those who are settled in the west, issues of identity are negotiated in their films. The identity politics brought out through these voices are an important prelude to the discussion on the emergence of a cohort of first-generation Diaspora filmmakers of African parentage. Where is their positionality located? Contemporary women filmmakers who live “in between” cultures, races and ethnicities, problematize and explore this vexed space.

Is There an African Woman Sensibility?: The varying responses to this question reveal the fact that the concept "African women in the cinema" is not a monolith. That there are diverse cinemas and women experience them in different and varying ways. Some agree that there is a sensibility specific to women; others observe a complimentary between women and men; while still others conclude that there is ultimately only a human sensibility. Gauging from the number of women’s festivals and literature that has emerged in the last two decades, there is an implicit “yes” to the question and that the follow up question, “if so, what does a woman’s sensibility look like?” continues to be relevant.  

While the women’s testimonies in the film and book date to 1997-1999, ongoing interviews that I have conducted and published on the African Women in Cinema Blog, as well as those by others—in particular, the impressive collection of interviews in Sierra Leoneon Mahen Bonetti's New York African Film Festival series—provide a continuum of experiences and a measure in which to evaluate the trends, tendencies and evolution of themes attitudes and technologies, and transformations in the world based on myriad phenomena: migration, economic, and intracontinental and global developments.

The follow texts are excerpts from: Beti Ellerson, “African Women in Cinema Dossier: Reading, Writing, Researching African Women in Cinema—Reflections on Sisters of the Screen (2000) and the African Women in Cinema Dossier (2015–),” Black Camera: An International Film Journal 16, no. 2 (Spring 2025) 

At the Digital Turn
 
During interviews held in 1996-1997 and featured in Sisters of the Screen, the significance of video production, highlighting its relatively low cost and easy handling, was very much part of the discourse. A decade later, at the digital turn, a veritable screen culture established itself at the emergence of the Internet, notably Web 2.0. with its user-generated technology, which expanded existing ways of viewing and sharing visually. The ubiquitous smartphone technology, the all-encompassing reach of social media, the prevalence of visio-conferencing, highlights the omnipresence of screen culture. The notion of “sisters of the screen” has even more significance today as the evolving screen culture encompasses the traditional movie and television screen, as well as the computer screen, the tablet and smartphone. Hence, this global African women’s screen culture enables a growing glocal dialogue between the African continent and its ever-expanding diasporas.

 
Theories and Methods 
 
In the introductory chapter of Sisters of the Screen, I had already envisioned African Women in Cinema Studies as a process by which knowledge is produced. Therefore, the evolution of that thought actually came to fruition when I launched the Teaching and Learning Guide in 2004; and with it the aim to develop a structure in order to explore theories, methodologies and criticism that are relevant to the cinematic practice and experiences of African women. The article “Visualizing Herstories: Towards an African Women in Cinema Studies”, published as a centerpiece of the Guide on the faculty website in 2004, deepened the ideas developed in the introduction to Sisters of the Screen. With the creation of the Centre in 2008, the development of an African Women in Cinema Studies took form, concretized in a collection of articles written in the early 2010’s, that had as its mission to cultivate a language and framework. 

The African Women in Cinema Dossier

The Black Camera International Film Journal launched the African Women in Cinema Dossier in 2015, building on the Centre’s vision, and strengthening its overall goals. The Black Camera editorial announced the launch ten years ago with these words:
 
Beginning with this issue, Black Camera introduces a new feature, the African Women in Cinema Dossier, authored by Beti Ellerson, director of the Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema and creator of the African Women in Cinema blog. We at Black Camera wanted to expand the reach of Ellerson's important work, feeling that she is writing and conducting research in a vital yet still under-recognized and under-analyzed aspect of global culture, feminist issues, and dynamic artistry. Ellerson's critical inquiries into African women's experiences encompass historiography and spectatorship as well as the hands-on work of advocacy and production. Moving images are a particularly compelling component of these inquiries, she writes, because of cinemas capacity to address complex social issues within specific cultural contexts, as well as its value as a pedagogical tool and a means of building audiences' awareness of the lives and circumstances of others.

 The Journey Continues
 
With the passing of Sarah Maldoror (2020) and Safi Faye (2023), the pioneering elders of the first generation of African women in cinema, there is a heightened interest in legacy building, an increased awareness of the necessity of preserving a heritage, the imperative to ensure that the torch will be passed. And equally important, that the continuity of their history moves forward, that the knowledge, ideas, works in progress, continue to cumulate into cultural and intellectual capital for future generations.

1. Sarah Maldoror : "Il faut prendre d'assaut la télévision / "We have to take television by storm by Jadot Sezirahiga. Ecrans d’Afrique | African Screens, no. 12, 1995.

2. Excerpted from “Teaching African Women in Cinema, Part One”, Black Camera: An International Film Journal, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Fall 2015), pp. 251-261.

The African Women in Cinema Blog celebrates Disabilities Pride Month featuring Musola Cathrine Kaseketi

The African Women in Cinema Blog celebrates Disabilities Pride Month featuring Musola Cathrine Kaseketi

Musola Cathrine Kaseketi declares: “You can make a difference”, and she certainly has, by showing that women with disabilities are not different than anyone else; given the chance to learn, excel and succeed. Musola Cathrine Kaseketi founded Shungu Namutitima International Film Festival of Zambia (SHUNAFFoZ) with this objective in mind: to showcase through cinema, the capabilities of people and women in particular, with disabilities.

She had this to say in an interview on the African Women in Cinema Blog

I grew up as a healthy and happy child. I was left with a permanent disability at the age of five from an injection in the nerve of my left leg; nonetheless, my family treated me as a normal child.

I also lived with my stepmother who taught me to be independent and a fighter. Because of the caring way that people in my surroundings responded to me, I had no idea that there was discrimination towards persons with disabilities.

It was in high school that I started to realised that I was not always accepted in society and therefore, not able to do certain things. Often my feelings were hurt after the many instances when the school authorities isolated students with disabilities from the enabled so that they could not get to know each other. My disability became a motivation to work harder and use art as a tool to communicate. 

I met a man without hands who led a normal life and could even eat using a fork and knife. This encounter motivated me very much and inspired me to write a story about self-determination in 1989. It was very successful and was a catalyst for the change in attitudes towards disabilities in Zambia. 

I continued to use dramatic poetry, writing and stage acting as a tool to foster the spirit of self-confidence and self-help, and to impart self-acceptance, self-determination and independent living.

In 2018, Musola Cathrine Kaseketi received the Her Abilities Award, the first global award honoring the achievements of women with disabilities: “Look at your obstacles as your motivations to achieve your goals. Ignore all the negative intimidating voices. Embrace the positive, empowering words because you are just like any other woman.”

Photo: Musola Cathrine Kaseketi receiving an award.

Black Camera: Reading, Writing, Researching African Women in Cinema—Reflections on Sisters of the Screen-25 years and the African Women in Cinema Dossier 10 years onward by Beti Ellerson

Black Camera an International Film Journal

Volume 16, Number 2 Spring 2025

Reading, Writing, Researching African Women in Cinema

Reflections on Sisters of the Screen-25 years

and

the African Women in Cinema Dossier 10 years onward

by Beti Ellerson

https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/55047

pp. 181-222
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2979/blc.00066 

 

This project has as purpose to trace the journey of Sisters of the Screen twenty-five years onward and the trajectory of the African Women in Cinema Dossier from its inception ten years ago to the present. Sisters of the Screen, the title of the book, and the film—released two years later—was conceived as a critical inquiry into all manner of African women of the moving image. Shortly afterward, the Center for the Study and Research of African Women was established as a virtual environment in which to channel and disseminate the knowledge production of this ever-growing field. With the emergence of social media, the African Women in Cinema Blog has served as a public forum in which to disseminate these ideas. Similarly, the Dossier has been the conduit for the publication of research, as well as a space to develop and share theories and concepts.

 

African Women in Cinema Blog celebrates World Environment Day

 

African Women in Cinema: 

Caring for the Environment

Energy - Trees - Earth - Soil

My metaphor about Pumzi is life and sacrifice and that we ourselves have to mother mother nature--Wanuri Kahiu

Tout est lié - It’s all connected, is about raising awareness among young audiences of the complexity of our terrestrial ecosystem and to inspire action by encouraging inventiveness and collaboration—Nadine Otsobogo

Safi Faye’s Kaddu Beykat (1975) highlights the problems engendered by groundnut monoculture, neocolonial exploitation, the difficulties of making a living, the abuse by the State. She also underscores the significance of the raised consciousness of the farmers, who, aware of the deterioration of the soil, decided to no longer cultivate groundnuts, but rather to produce what they needed to live. The government, alarmed by their reaction, made concessions in an attempt to attenuate their anger. Her observation in the early 1980s, when discussing the censorship of Kaddu Beykat by the Senegalese government, confirms the above assertions: “I think the film will survive the time . . . It will be used to compare ‘what was’ and ‘what is.’”

Kaddu Beykat (1975) has been considered a harbinger among the films that brought into focus the socioeconomic consequences of soil degradation. As contemporary debates on the environment highlight the importance of healthy soil by proper use and management, comparisons of “then and now” bring the film back into the spotlight. Advocating for the sustainable management of soil resources, the UN General Assembly designated 5 December 2014 as the first official World Soil Day. Moreover, at the time of the COP 21 Paris Climate Conference in 2015, the film garnered a great deal of interest in Europe. Safi Faye had already raised these ecological concerns forty years before.

Selected African Women in Cinema posts related to the environment:

#technology
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2023/01/kantarama-gahigiri-terra-mater.html
#resistance
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2022/10/afridocsanytime-women-hold-up-sky-film.html
#Environmental #Awareness
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2022/02/yamina-benguigui-dernier-poumon-ffa.html
#climate #water
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2021/07/cannes-2021-aissa-maiga-marcher-sur.html
#pollution
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/04/julie-djikey-performance-ozonisation.html

African Women and Cinema--Stories of Mothers, Practices of Motherwork

African Women and Cinema--Stories of Mothers, Practices of Motherwork

Reflections by Beti Ellerson

 

Image: Mossane and her mother

Mossane by Safi Faye

On the timeline of women's lives are the myriad stories of the hope of childbirth, the fear of it not happening, societal expectations of motherhood, the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, memories of mothers, stories of aging and caregiving. Of these experiences, African women in cinema weave stories of mothers--many of them, their own.  

 

"[Women and motherwork are]…in the center of what are typically seen as disjunctures, the places between human and nature, between private and public, between oppression and liberation." Hence, Patricia Hill Collins's term "motherwork" blurs the dichotomies in theorizations of motherhood and mothering that make distinctions between "private and public, family and work, the individual and the collective, identity as individual autonomy and identity growing from the collective self-determination of one’s group…." Furthermore, she locates the practice of "mothering the mind" in the myriad relationships between community othermothers. (Patricia Hill Collins, Shifting the Center: Race Class and Feminist Theorizing about Motherhood)

Similarly, as a theoretical framework, Catherine Obianuju Acholonu's notion of motherism involves the "dynamics of ordering, reordering, creating structures, building and rebuilding in cooperation with mother nature at all levels of human endeavor." Closely related to the concept of motherism is Wanuri Kahiu's idea of mothering nature: “my metaphor about Pumzi (2009) is life and sacrifice and that we ourselves have to mother mother nature. That we have to make sacrifices in order to live in this world. And that we have to know that our own behaviour will affect generations to come.” (Wanuri Kahiu, TEDx Forum On Afrofuturism In Popular Culture)

See links to of stories of mothers and practices of motherwork:

 

African Women in Cinema: Stories of Mothers

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2021/12/stories-of-mothers.html

 

African women, screen culture and practices of Motherwork

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/05/african-women-screen-culture-and.html  

Matamba Kombila : Le premier épisode de son mini série Sens Dessus Dessous, Télésourd. Sortie sur Youtube le 07 mai 2025

Matamba Kombila

Le premier épisode de son mini série

Sens Dessus Dessous, Télésourd

Sortie sur Youtube le 07 mai 2025

Anoushka, Chris Levy, Livia et Pierre, frustrés par leur difficultés à communiquer avec leurs familles, inventent une machine révolutionnaire qui leur permet de briser les barrières du langage, leur offrant des possibles jusque là inimaginables.

 

Anoushka, Chris Levy, Livia and Pierre, frustrated by their difficulty communicating with their families, invent a revolutionary machine allowing them to break down language barriers and offering them unimaginable possibilities.

 

 

The African Women in Cinema Blog Celebrates International Workers' Day : Safi Faye's "Fad,Jal"

African Women in Cinema Blog Celebrates International Workers' Day : Safi Faye's Fad,Jal

Safi Faye: "Fad signifies “Arrive” and Jal means “Work”. “Work” because when you arrive at this farming village called Fadial, you must work. When you work, you’re happy, and if you don’t work, people will mock you".

Synopsis : Fad,jal (1979, 1h52, Sénégal, France)

Fad,Jal is a Serere Senegalese village. At school, children learn, in French, the grammar and history of France. Villagers practice their religion in a church, a vestige of colonialism.

At the foot of a tree, the ancestor and a griot recount to the children in Wolof, the history of the village—its customs, its tradition, its creation. An opportunity to discover the artisanal trades, agricultural techniques and the difficulty of exploiting the land because of the drought. Meanwhile, as a result of the recently-implemented government policy,  the Serere are confronted on a daily basis with the appropriation of their land, previously transmitted by oral agreement among the villagers.

Fad,Jal est un village sénégalais sérère. A l'école, les enfants apprennent, en français, la grammaire et l'histoire de France. Les villageois pratiquent leur religion dans une église, vestige du colonialisme.

Au pied d'un fromager, l'ancêtre et un griot racontent en wolof l'histoire du village aux enfants, sa création, ses coutumes, ses traditions. C'est l'occasion de découvrir les métiers artisanaux, les techniques agricoles et la difficulté d'exploiter les terres à cause de la sècheresse. En parallèle, le quotidien des sérères est confronté à la politique gouvernementale qui s'approprie désormais les terres, auparavant transmises oralement entre les villageois.

The African Women in Cinema Blog celebrates International Jazz Day with Betty Jazz by Armande Lo

The African Women in Cinema Blog celebrates

International Jazz Day

with Betty Jazz by Armande Lo

Synopsis

Mame Betty Diagne est passionnée de musique mais son extrême timidité l’empêche de vivre de sa passion. Sa vie va changer lorsqu’elle voit affiché à l’entrée d’un bar « urgent recherche chanteuse de jazz ».

Mame Betty Diagne is passionate about music but being extremely timid prevents her from living her passion. Her life will change when she sees an urgent search for a jazz singer posted at the entrance of a bar.

Biographie | Biography

Armande Lo, née à Dakar, a grandi à la sicap Baobab ; depuis sa naissance elle est passionnée de musique, d’art et de cinéma. Elle a eu l’opportunité de réaliser son rêve grâce à la formation cinématographique Kino Teranga. A l’issu de cette formation, 5 courts-métrages devaient être sélectionnés et tournés en 3 jours. Cette formation a ainsi donné naissance en mars 2018 à  Betty Jazz un court-métrage fiction de 9mn22s dont Armande LO est l’auteur et la réalisatrice.

Armande Lo was born in Dakar, grew up in the Baobab Sicap neighborhood and has always been passionate about music art and cinema. She had the opportunity to realize her dream by pursuing film training at Kino Teranga, after which she directed the short film Betty Jazz in 2018.

ARTE : "Le Cri défendu" avec Déborah Lukumuena qui raconte sa colère - with Deborah Lukumuena who talks about her anger

ARTE

Le Cri défendu avec Déborah Lukumuena qui raconte sa colère

Le Cri défendu with Déborah Lukumuena who talks about her anger

 
https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/090629-006-A/h24/

 

Le Cri défendu montre comment retourner la violence d'un mari violent contre lui, avec Déborah Lukumuena qui raconte sa colère

 

Sur le parking du fast-food où elle travaille, elle aperçoit un homme frapper violemment sa femme. Elle s’interpose et tient tête au mari. Avec jubilation. H24 – 24h dans la vie d'une femme : vingt-quatre courts métrages inspirés de faits réels et engagés contre les violences faites aux femmes.

 

Le Cri défendu with Déborah Lukumuena who talks about her anger, shows how to turn the violence of a violent husband against him. In the parking lot of the fast-food restaurant where she works, Déborah Lukumuena witnesses a man violently beating his wife. She intervenes, standing up to the husband. With delight. H24 - 24h in the life of a woman: twenty-four short films inspired by real events and committed against violence against women.

 

Emprise, revenge porn, féminicide, codes vestimentaires sexistes… : H24 éclaire les diverses formes d’abus dont peuvent souffrir les femmes à chaque heure du jour et de la nuit, à travers une collection de vingt-quatre courts métrages inspirés de faits réels. S'inscrivant dans une esthétique commune, chaque film entrelace brillamment littérature et cinéma. À la force des monologues en différentes langues européennes et proposées en versions sous-titrées s’ajoute l’interprétation subtile et poignante des comédiennes. Transcendant les individualités, les récits, écrits par une pléiade d’auteures talentueuses dessinent les contours d’un fléau systémique sans laisser place à la fatalité, racontant aussi l’insoumission et la riposte, narquoise ou cinglante. Poétique et tragique, un appel à la sororité et à la parole libérée.

Remembering Myriam Niang (1954-2025)

Remembering Myriam Niang (1954-2025)
Reflections by Beti Ellerson with English translation by Beti Ellerson of Laurance Gavron's Myriam Niang, actrice de cinéma : Sur les glaciers d’Alaska

May the earth rest lightly on you, dear Myriam

 

It is with great emotion that I recently learned that Myriam Niang has joined the ancestors on January 11.

Myriam Niang, who embodied the inimitable Anta in Djibril Diop Mambety’s iconic Touki Bouki, I had met in the early 1990s in Washington DC where she was enrolled in film classes at the same time assisting Ousmane Sembene on the film Guelwaar (1992) in Senegal. We had many talks together and I actually worked with her on the shooting of one of her class projects. I was especially keen to know her experiences in these classic African films of the 1970s, as she had also played the role of the rebel daughter and student Rama, in Ousmane Sembene’s film Xala (1974). However we eventually lost contact and when I began my project on African women in cinema a few years later I had often wondered what had become of her. It was not until I came across an online article (see below) written in 2005 by Laurence Gavron, the late Dakar-based filmmaker, about Myriam Niang, during her visit to Senegal. In the article, I discovered the true sense of her peripatetic path—with flashbacks of her on-screen character in Touki Bouki as she sets off for Paris on the Ancerville cruise ship (the same ship that brought Thérèse M’bissine Diop’s Diouana of La Noire de... by Ousmane Sembene, on that fateful journey to France). In her off-screen life she leaves for Paris in 1974 where she studies filmmaking, she ventures to the United States in the late 1980s, where she continues her focus in cinema—camera, scriptwriting, directing—in Washington DC and New York, and according to Laurence Gavron’s 2005 account, she moved to Alaska in the early 2000s. According to an obituary, Myriam died in New York and is buried in Senegal. (Notes from my article "On-screen Narratives, Off-screen Lives: African Women inscribing the self" in Black Camera)

 

Laurence Gavron : Reflections on Myriam Niang
 

En français ci-après

From cinema to oil. From the Sahel to the other side of the Atlantic. From the sun to the glaciers. These are not misshapen paths that Myriam Niang has followed but rather perpendicular ones: and when they meet, like two straight lines, a right angle forms.

During her long stay in the United States, this actor of cinema climbed through the snow, to the country’s last border, Alaska, which the Senegalese, in general, only know through the cathode box of the television or in geography books. The one who starred in several major Senegalese films, now works for the oil company British Petroleum. Currently on stopover in Dakar, she is preparing her return to the country. In cinema. Under another light. A new face. In new clothing.

 The slender, almost androgynous silhouette from Touki Bouki is transformed into a shorter version than on screen, muscular, shapely—a real woman, beautiful, fifty something, energetic, with a long red ponytail, lipstick and long pink pearly nails, biceps and backside alerts, the immaculate smile, the hoarse voice, always—these are the voices that change the least, despite the years—and the American accent. After years of living in English-speaking USA and Alaska, Myriam Niang punctuates all her sentences with “so…” and her French as well as her Wolof are also tinged with a slight US accent!

Perched on her high heels or shock sneakers, in sexy miniskirt or red jogging attire and low-cut tank top, energetic and smiling, Myriam Niang, the warrior, the shy young girl of Baks by Momar Thiam (1974), Xala (1975) and Guelwaar (2002) both by Ousmane Sembène, and especially the unforgettable young woman, determined to cross the Atlantic (Dakar-Paris) on Touki Bouki’s (1972) Ancerville, makes a short stopover with us, in her country of origin, Senegal.

Like Linguère Ramatou in Hyenas by Djibril Diop Mambety, she traveled; she went everywhere. She returns, her arms loaded, not with gold but with oil and projects.

And she returns, though no longer from Washington, DC where she lived for all these years, but from Anchorage, ah yes, from Alaska, as in a dream, from a city that one wonders if it actually exists—so far away, inaccessible, different, and above all... ice-cold! What did a Senegalese actress go to do in Alaska? In this city of Anchorage where, if there are African-Americans, there are only two Senegalese who live there...

Well, Myriam Niang works, she works hard. Two weeks a month. She is responsible for the management and human resources of the British Petroleum oil company. All the employees of the company live on a camping ground of sorts, not far from the oil platform, there isn’t a store, restaurant, or anything else! Though they only work two weeks a month, they only do that. Anyway, there is nothing else to do. The people who work there come from other states around the country, as well as from practically every country in the world. Myriam supervises 85 employees, manages the “house”, the hiring, etc., working from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The other two weeks of the month, Myriam Niang lives and works in Anchorage, the capital of Alaska at Wells Fargo Bank where the temperature is -60 in winter, -40 in summer! And that’s not all: on weekends, she is the manager of the lingerie section of Nordstrom the largest department store in Anchorage! There she orders the merchandise and receives a percentage of the profits.

YOU SAID WARRIOR!

Why do you want to earn so much money? On the one hand, life in Anchorage is very expensive. Even if she lives relatively well, there are other incentives. As many other actors and actresses, it was beyond having a good rapport with the filmmakers. She wanted to take control of her destiny: to choose her films, her roles, her directors. And in order to do so, all doors are open!

And even though she has returned to Senegal for the moment, “It’s not for holidays,” Myriam insists. Level-headed, determined, though stubborn, she wants to take advantage of this return (provisional for the moment) to the land of her ancestors to build a bridge between her native Djolof and Alaska, where, in her opinion, the possibilities are enormous. All this, to come back, once the dough has been collected, to cinema ,of course. Because the 7th art has always been her dream, even if she has left the scene for several years. This time, perhaps as actress, but especially as producer.

As for the projects between Senegal and Alaska, for the moment no comment! Until the ideas are concretized, she prefers not to disclose them.

Myriam Niang left Dakar in 1974, initially for France. She studied at the French Film Conservatory in Paris as well as enrolled in film classes at the Sorbonne with Jean Rouch. She also worked as editor. In 1989, she continued her adventure in the United States, in the country of Uncle Sam. In Washington DC, Myriam continued her film studies at Georgetown University. In New York, she worked as camera person, as well as directing and scriptwriting. And, from job to job, she landed on the glaciers of Alaska.

 

Laurence Gavron. Myriam Niang, actrice de cinéma : Sur les glaciers d’Alaska (3/25/05) https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/elmouritania/siQstp41ejU
 

Du cinéma au pétrole. Du Sahel à l’outre-Atlantique. Du soleil aux glaciers. Les chemins de Myriam Niang ne sont pas tordus, mais perpendiculaires : lorsqu’ils se rencontrent, c’est pour, comme deux lignes droites, former un angle droit. De son long séjour aux Etats-Unis d’Amérique, l’actrice de cinéma est montée sur la neige, à la dernière frontière des Etats-Unis. Elle est aujourd’hui en Alaska que les Sénégalais, en général, ne connaissent qu’à travers la boîte cathodique ou dans les livres de géographie. Celle qui a joué dans plusieurs grands films sénégalais travaille dans la compagnie pétrolière British Petroleum. Actuellement en escale à Dakar, elle prépare son retour au pays. Au cinéma. Sous un autre jour. Un nouveau visage. Dans de nouveaux habits.

La silhouette longiligne, presque androgyne de Touki Bouki, s’est transformée en celle, plus courte qu’à l’écran, très musclée et pleine de formes, d’une vraie femme, belle, la cinquantaine, énergique, longue queue de cheval rousse, rouge à lèvres et ongles longs nacrés rose, biceps et backside alertes, le sourire immaculé, la voix rauque, toujours (ce sont les voix qui changent le moins, malgré les années), et l’accent américain. Après des années de vie en pays anglophones (Etats-Unis, Alaska), Myriam Niang ponctue toutes ses phrases de «so… » et son français autant que son wolof sont également teintés d’un léger accent US !

Perchée sur ses hauts talons ou ses baskets de choc, en mini jupe sexy ou jogging rouge et débardeur décolleté, vive et souriante, Myriam Niang, la guerrière, la petite jeune fille timide de Baks de Momar Thiam (1974), de Xala de Sembène (1975), de Guelwaar du même Sembène (1992), et surtout la jeune femme inoubliable, déterminée à faire la traversée de l’Atlantique (Dakar-Paris) sur l’Ancerville de Touki Bouki (1972), fait une courte escale parmi nous, dans son pays d’origine, le Sénégal.

Telle Linguère Ramatou dans Hyènes (Djibril Diop Mambety), elle a voyagé ; elle est allée partout. Elle revient, les bras chargés, non pas d’or mais de pétrole et de projets.

Et elle revient, non plus de Washington où elle a vécu pendant toutes ces années, mais d’Anchorage, eh oui, d’Alaska, comme dans un rêve, d’une ville dont on se demande si elle existe vraiment, tant elle semble lointaine, inaccessible, différente, et surtout… glacée ! Qu’est donc partie faire une actrice sénégalaise en Alaska ? Dans cette ville d’Anchorage où, s’il y a des Afro-Américains, seuls deux Sénégalais y vivent…

Eh bien, Myriam Niang travaille, bosse d’arrache-pied. Deux semaines par mois. Elle s’occupe de l’administration et des ressources humaines pour la compagnie pétrolière British Petroleum. Tous les employés de cette société logent dans une sorte de campement, non loin de la plate-forme pétrolière, sans magasin ni restaurant, ni rien ! Ils ne travaillent que deux semaines par mois mais ne font que ça. De toutes manières, il n’y a rien d’autre à faire. Les gens qui y travaillent viennent des autres Etats, et de pratiquement tous les pays du monde. Elle supervise donc 85 employés, fait fonctionner la maison, embauche… Elle travaille de 5 heures du matin à 5 heures du soir.

Les deux autres semaines du mois, Myriam Niang vit et travaille à Anchorage, la capitale de l’Alaska (- 60 en hiver, -40 en été !), à la Wells Fargo Bank. Et ce n’est pas tout : le week-end, elle s’occupe du rayon lingerie dans le plus grand magasin d’Anchorage, le Nordstrom ! Elle commande la marchandise et touche un pourcentage sur les bénéfices.

VOUS AVEZ DIT GUERRIERE !

Pourquoi vouloir gagner tant d’argent ? D’une part, la vie à Anchorage est très chère. Même si elle est bien logée et vit correctement, il y a autre chose. Comme beaucoup d’acteurs et d’actrices, être plus ou moins bien traitée des cinéastes ne lui suffisait plus. Elle a voulu prendre en main sa destinée : choisir ses films, ses rôles, ses metteurs en scène. Et pour ça, tous les moyens sont bons !

Et si elle est revenue actuellement au Sénégal, Myriam insiste : «Ce n’est pas pour des vacances.» La tête bien ancrée sur ses épaules, décidée, têtue, elle veut profiter de ce retour (provisoire pour l’instant) au pays de ses ancêtres pour jeter une passerelle entre son Djolof natal et l’Alaska où les possibilités sont énormes, d’après elle. Tout cela, pour revenir, une fois les pépètes récoltées, au cinéma bien sûr. Car le 7è art la fait toujours rêver, même si elle a déserté les plateaux depuis plusieurs années. Cette fois, actrice peut-être, mais avant tout productrice.
 
Quant aux projets entre le Sénégal et l’Alaska, pour le moment bouche cousue ! Tant que les idées ne sont pas concrétisées, elle préfère ne pas les divulguer.

Myriam Niang a quitté Dakar en 1974, pour la France d’abord. Elle y a entrepris des études au Conservatoire de film de France et pris des cours de cinéma à la Sorbonne avec Jean Rouch. Elle devient même monteuse. Avant de continuer son aventure, en 89, aux Etats-Unis d’Amérique. Au pays de l’Oncle Sam, Myriam poursuit ses études de cinéma à l’Université George Town de Washington. A New York, elle fait la caméra, la mise en scène et l’écriture de cinéma. Et, de boulot en boulot, elle atterrit sur les glaciers d’Alaska.
 

The African Women in Cinema Blog celebrates International Women's Day | Le Blog sur les femmes africaines dans le cinéma fête la journée internationale des femmes

The African Women in Cinema Blog celebrates International Women's Day

Le Blog sur les femmes africaines dans le cinéma fête la journée internationale des femmes

International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an opportunity to take stock of past struggles and achievements, and above all, to prepare for the future and the opportunities that await future generations of women.

La Journée internationale des femmes est célébrée dans de nombreux pays à travers le monde. C'est un jour où les femmes sont reconnues pour leurs réalisations, sans égard aux divisions, qu'elles soient nationales, ethniques, linguistiques, culturelles, économiques ou politiques. C'est une occasion de faire le point sur les luttes et les réalisations passées, et surtout, de préparer l'avenir et les opportunités qui attendent les futures générations de femmes.

***

Since its creation in 2009 the African Women in Cinema Blog has promoted the advancement of research and communication relating to African women in cinema and using social media to encourage dialogue and the exchange of information, ideas, experiences and resources.

Depuis sa création en 2009 le Blog sur les femmes africaines dans le domaine cinématographique et de la culture visuelle à tenter de faire progresser la recherche et la communication relatives aux femmes africaines dans le cinéma et d'utiliser les médias sociaux pour promouvoir le dialogue et l'échange d'informations, d'idées, d'expériences et de ressources.

Blog: africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com

Website: africanwomenincinema.org

African Women in Cinema Dossier

FESPACO 2025 : Palmarès | Awards - Les lauréates | Women winners

FESPACO 2025 : Palmarès | Awards

Les lauréates | Women winners

Fiction Long Metrage - Etalon de Bronze Yennenga
On Becoming A Guinea Fowl de Rungano Nyoni

Documentaire Long Metrage - Etalon d’or de Yennenga
'L'homme -Vertige de Malaury Eloi Paisley

Prix Wumba Film Postproduction pour To Daniel de Marwa El Sharkawy

Shorts Fiction - Mention Speciale - Langue Maternelle de  Mariame N'diaye

Shorts Documentaire - Poulain d’or du Film Documentaire
Khamsinette de Assia Khemici (Algérie)

Shorts Documentaire - Poulain d’Argent du Film Documentaire
The Medallion de Ruth Hunduma

Prix President Thomas Sankara Pour La Promotion des Valeurs du Panafricanisme - Premier Prix du President Thomas Sankara Pour La Promotion des Valeurs du Panafricanisme - Our Land, Our Freedom de Meena Nanji, Zippy Kimundu

Prix President Thomas Sankara Pour La Promotion des Valeurs du Panafricanisme - Premier Prix du President Thomas Sankara Pour La Promotion des Valeurs du Panafricanisme - Mother City de Miki Redelinghuys

Section Perspectives - Prix Oumarou Ganda de la Meilleure Premiere ou Deuxieme Œuvre de Film de Fiction Long Métrage - Who Do I Belong To de Meryam Joobeur

Section Perspectives - Mention Speciale - Timpi Tampa - Emprunte de Adama Bineta Sow

Augusta Palenfo a reçu le prix spécial des droits humains d'une valeur de 2 millions de FCFA pour son film Waongo

Prix Félix Houphouët Boigny du Conseil de l’Entente, 10 millions de francs CFA, décerné à « Une si longue nuit » de Delphine Yerbanga du Burkina

Fatoumata Bathily remporte le Prix du Jury Animation pour son film "Les aventures de Kady et Djudju"

Image : fespaco.bf - publications - palmarès

Commemorating Women's History Month 2025

In honor of Women’s History Month

celebrated during the month of March (in the US)

 

Some relevant links from the African Women in Cinema Blog for Women History Month

Sisters of the Screen, twenty years later--and beyond
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/12/sisters-of-screen-twenty-years-later.html

Researches in African Women in Cinema Studies: Beginnings - a dossier by Beti Ellerson
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2025/01/researches-in-african-women-in-cinema-studies-beginnings.html

Building a Historiography of African Women in Cinema
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/12/building-historiography-of-african.html

African Women in Cinema Dossier by Beti Ellerson: a regular feature of Black Camera, An International Film Journal
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/01/african-women-in-cinema-dossier-by-beti.html

African Women's filmmaking and film activism as Womanist Work
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2022/06/african-womens-filmmaking-womanist-work.html

FESPACO 2025 : Women at the 29th edition / Les femmes à la 29ème édition

 

FESPACO 2025 : Women at the 29th edition / Les femmes à la 29ème édition

 

Selection Officielle / Official Selection - Competition

Competition Fiction Long Metrage / Feature Length
Hanami - Denise Fernandes - Cap Vert - 96 Min
Les Invertueuses - Chloé Aïcha Boro - Burkina Faso - 96 min
On Becoming A Guinea Fowl - Rungano Nyoni - Zambia - 99 min
Sanko / Le Rêve De Dieu - Mariam Kamissok - Mali - 117 min
The Bride / La Mariée - Myriam Birara - Rwanda - 73 min

Competition Documentaire Long Metrage / Feature Documentary
Amakki - Celia Boussebaa - Algérie - 104 min
Mambar Pierette - Rosine Mbakam - Cameroun - 93 min
The Mother Of All Lies / La Mère De Tous Les Mensonges - Asmae El Moudir - Maroc - 96 min

Competition FESPACO Shorts
Beutset - Fiction - Alicia Mendy - Senegal - 30 min
Bord à Bord - Fiction - Sahar El Echi - Tunisie - 16 min
Deixa / Laisse-le - Fiction - Mariana Jaspe - Brésil - 15 min
Khamsinette - Documentaire - Assia Khemici - Algérie - 25 min
L'audition - Fiction - Kayaba Anaïs Irma Kere - Burkina Faso - 13 min
Langue Maternelle - Fiction - Mariame N'diaye - Sénégal - 24 min
Sita Bella, La Premiere - Documentaire - Eugenie Metala - Cameroun - 31 min
Sous le voile de nos silences - Fiction - Yasmine Ila Ido - Burkina Faso - 16 min
The Medallion - Documentaire - Ruth Hunduma - Ethiopie - 19 min
Under The Palm Tree / Sous le ronier - Fiction - Orokiatou Baro - Burkina Faso - 19 min
Zanatany - Fiction - Hachimiya Ahamada - Comores - 27 min

Competition Burkina Films (Shorts et Long Métrage Fictions et Documentaires)
L'inconditionnel - Documentaire - Isabelle Christiane Kouraogo - 15 Min
Verite Des Coeurs - Fiction - Delphine Yerbanga - 12 min
Ça Suffit ! - Fiction - Alimata Ouedraogo - 87 min
Waongo / Bienvenue - Fiction - Augusta Palenfo - 90 min

Competition Semaine de la Critique
Héritage : L'histoire décolonisée de l'Afrique du Sud - Documentaire - Tara Moore - South Africa - 109 Min
Mikoko - Fiction - Angela Aquereburu Rabatel - Togo - 114 Min
Quem É Essa Mulher? / Qui Est-Elle? - Documentaire - Mariana Jaspe - Brésil - 70 Min

Compétition Fespaco Series
Ankara, l'Héritage des Nanas Benz - Sitou Ayite - Togo - 26 min X 3
Bienvenue à Kikidéni - Aminata Glez Diallo - Burkina Faso - 26 min X 3
Le Cavaleur et Les Siffleurs - Nadine Otsobogo - Gabon - 26 min X 3
Manmzel New York - Mariette Monpierre - Guadeloupe - 26 min X 3
Or Blanc - Johanna Boyer-Dilolo - Côte d’Ivoire - 52 min X 2

Competition Animations
Ban'a Mayi - Maud-Salomé Ekila Bofunda - Rd Congo - 8 Min
Hadu - Damilola Solesi - Nigéria - 7 Min
Kondekiè - Kadidiatou Konaké - Mali - 7 Min
Les Aventures de Kady et Djudju (L'empire du Ghana) - Fatoumata Bathily - Sénégal - 12 Min

Compétition Films des Ecoles de Cinéma
Ton Mari C’est Ton Dieu N’kony Sylla Sabou Ciné Talents / Guinée 18 min
19 Victime Silencieuse Kate Djiwan Isma / Benin 13 min

Competition Perspectives
1964: Simityè Kamoken / 1964: Le Cimetière des Kamoken- Rachèle Magloire - Haiti - Documentaire - 97 min
Les Miennes - Samira El Mouzghibat - Morocco - Fiction - 96 min
Pirinha - Natasha Craveiro - Cap-Vert - Documentary - 60 min
Timpi Tampa / Empreinte - Adama Bineta Sow - Senegal - Fiction
Une si long lettre - Angele Diabang - Senegal - Fiction - 105 min
Une si long nuit - Delphine Yerbanga - Burkina Faso - Fiction - 85 min
Who Do I Belong To? -  Meryam Joobeur - Tunisia - Fiction - 120 min

Cinéastes non alignées : Parlez-vous cinéma ? Avec Pascale Obolo & Rahma Benhamou El Madani

Le collective Cinéastes non alignées
Parlez-vous Cinema ?

avec Pascale Obolo & Rahma Benhamou El Madani

Pascale Obolo & Rahma Benhamou El Madani évoquent le collectif des cinéastes non-alignées lors du 44ème FIFAM Festival International du Film d'Amiens

The collective is an association whose mission is to support diversity, parity and better representation and a greater percentage of women's involvement in the international film industry.

 

Remembering Safi Faye (1943-2023) - Safi Faye’s cinematic practice as womanist work

Remembering Safi Faye (1943-2023)
Safi Faye’s cinematic practice as womanist work*

The womanist work in Safi Faye’s cinematic practice empowers, supports and promotes women in tandem with upholding the fight for racial, ethnic, social, political, and economic justice in one’s society and throughout the world.

Je ne suis pas du tout féministe. Je suis féminisante. Je defends le cas des femmes… I am not at all feminist. I am womanistic, I defend the condition of women…

Fad signifies ‘arrive’ and Jal means ‘work,’ ‘work’ because when you arrive at this farming village called Fad’jal, you must work. When you work, you’re happy, and if you don’t work, people will mock you.

I interpret Safi Faye’s “feminisant”—from the French word “femme”, feminist, female”—as doing womanist work. Womanist, itself an expression coined by afro-descendant women in order to reconceptualize western feminism as defined by white women, which often does not reflect the realities of women of color.

Safi Faye’s words invoke the often vexed relationship that Afro-descendant women and women of the
South have with Western feminism, fraught with a contentious past, spurned by those who reject its historical practices of exclusion, ethnocentrism and elitism by white women.

Hence by rejecting the feminist label but affirming “womanistic” as the practice of defending the cause of women, Safi Faye is exercising her agency by naming her own experience rather than accepting one based on another reality.

As a further matter, describing the actions of doing “womanist work” renegotiates the terms of this feminism—outlining the tenets of a conceptual framework toward an intersectional, interdisciplinary, and transnational methodology. In so doing, I use the second citation by Safi Faye to place emphasis on the praxis-based approach to her cinematic practice, as she states:

I investigate, inquire, and then I write, and I try to remain faithful to the rural world that I come from, as well as to Africa and the villagers. I admire people who live off the land. In Serer country, the coastal people to which I belong . . . are renowned for the energy they put into their work. The people live within a matriarchal society in which women have more importance than men. Men and women are free thanks to the fruits of their labor. The rural world, the theme that I chose and which corresponds to my cinematic vision, is timeless. It concerns all rural farmers, whether they are Japanese, Senegalese or Singaporean, since we’ve all been rural farmers at one time; the entire world comes from the countryside. I glorify the hard work rural farmers do to achieve food self-sufficiency.

Therefore, Safi Faye’s womanistic act of defending the cause of women is concomitant with her desire to contribute to the knowledge production of Africa and the safeguarding of its culture: "I do what I can for my Africa, to tell how beautiful Africa is."

*Drawn from : "Exploring African Women’s Cinematic Practice as Womanist Work"

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2023/03/exploring-african-womens-cinematic-practice-womanist-work.html 

 

Also see: 

Safi Faye : La Grande Référence - 1943-2023 - A Tribute, "I dared to make a film!"

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2023/02/safi-faye-1943-2023-tribute.html

FESPACO 2025 : Cinémas d'Afrique et Identités Culturelles - African Cinema and Cultural Identities

FESPACO - Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou
22 Fev - 01 Mar 2025
Cinémas d'Afrique et Identités Culturelles
African Cinema and Cultural Identities

 

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Researches in African Women in Cinema Studies: Discussion of the Literature - a dossier by Beti Ellerson

Researches in African Women in Cinema Studies - Discussion of the Literature - a dossier by Beti Ellerson

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Researches in African Women in Cinema Studies: Beginnings - a dossier by Beti Ellerson

 

In the spirit of the Black Women’s Studies Movement and the objectives of the Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD/AFARD) this discussion privileges African and Afrodescendant voices and research sources, hence the purpose is to draw especially from the rich knowledge of the continent and the African diaspora.

While the emergence of African Women in Cinema Studies dates to 2000, literature on or by African women and the moving image may be traced to at least the 1960s. The Italian-language book Cinema e Africa nera, one of the first studies about African cinema by an African, published in Italy in 1968, was based on the academic research of Nigerian Joy Nwosu, who studied at Pro Deo University in Rome. It is worth noting her words of wisdom when undertaking research: “That is important, if you are doing research on [the topic of African cinema], you must look at my work, and if you have not then that means that you have not done your research properly…Not because of the joy of reading it, but to know what has been there, that it has been done and how it all started…that is why it is very relevant for today.”

The Senegal-based French-language women’s magazine Awa, la revue de la femme noire (1964–1973) featured photographs and short profiles on African actresses of the fledgling African cinemas. The emergence of Awa, initially launched by veteran journalist, feminist, cultural activist Annette Mbaye d’Erneville in 1957 under the name Femmes de Soleil is an example of the early engagement of African women at the intersection of gender and culture.  Moreover, Annette Mbaye d’Erneville was the director of RECIDAK, Rencontres cinématographiques de Dakar for many years. An annual film festival that she initiated in 1990 and with which she continues to have close ties. The 1996 edition of RECIDAK, Femmes et Cinéma (Women and Cinema) paid homage to African women. She was also a founding member of the Association Sénégalaise des Critiques de Cinéma (ASSECCI) created by filmmaker and critic Paulin Soumanou Vieyra and journalist Djib Diedhiou. Also one of the founders of the women’s movement in Senegal, Annette Mbaye d’Erneville’s pioneering feminist voice reverberates within diverse cultural milieux, notable cinema, where she has been a seminal figure in the development of the Senegalese public as cultural readers.

Amina Magazine created in 1972 continued this tradition of profiles and interviews of women stakeholders in the cinema industry; journalist Assiatou Bah Diallo, who was the longtime editor-in-chief, made an important contribution, ensuring the visibility of African women of the moving image in its pages. While presented in a journalistic format, these remain important sources regarding contemporaneous experiences, relevant events, and information and newly-released films.

Ousmane Sembene was one of the first African filmmakers to put women at the forefront of his films, depicting them as the complex, multi-layered women they are in reality. Both his  literary and cinematic oeuvres have from the beginning held an important place in discourse on representations of African women in cinema and literature. The 1969 article “Les femmes dans l’oeuvre littéraire d’Ousmane Sembene” by Jarmila Ortova is one of the first works analyzing the representation of women in his literary works. Similarly, Carrie D. Moore’s 1972 article “The Role of Women in the Works of Sembene Ousmane” was one of the first English-language works.

The 1974 issue of Women and Film, which dedicated an extensive series to Sarah Maldoror, was one of the first comprehensive English-language analyses of the early works of Maldoror, with her reflections and an interview. The second comprehensive English-language study of her work from 1970 to 1986 by Françoise Pfaff is included in her book Twenty-Five Black African Filmmakers, published in 1988. A similar comprehensive study of Safi Faye and her work from 1972–1984 is also included in Françoise Pfaff’s book. In addition, I have expanded the Safi Faye literature to include “Through an African Woman’s Eyes: Safi Faye’s Cinema”, a critical analysis, published in 2004, and after her passing a tribute entitled “I dared to make a film, a tribute to the life and work of Safi Faye,” published in 2023.

Now that Sarah Maldoror (1929-2020) and Safi Faye (1943-2023) have joined the ancestors, there is a growing interest in their legacy, with written and transmedial tributes. The African Women in Cinema Blog has attempted to collect the multiple references for both Sarah Maldoror and Safi Faye.

The arrival of the pioneering African woman filmmaker with a corpus of work to study, marked the advent of African women in cinema literature, mostly in French and English. As the interest in African women in cinema studies expands internationally, literature in German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish are finding a compelling readership. One of the first analyses of women in African cinema, in front of and behind the camera under the title “La femme dans le cinéma africain” was authored in 1977 by African cinema historian and filmmaker Paulin Soumanou Vieyra. Most of the other works during this period add to the previous corpus of work on Safi Faye and the representation of women in the films of Sembene.

The journal Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media, which analyses visual media at the intersection of race, gender, and class, featured several articles on women and African cinema beginning in the 1980s. In the February 1984 issue, Claudia Springer’s article “Black Women Filmmakers” highlighted three African women, Nigerians Ruby Bell-Gam and Ijeoma Iloputaife as well as Anne Ngu from Cameroon. It is one of the first analyses of African women film practitioners studying and working in the United States.

The 1980s also witnessed the emergence of graduate studies on African women in cinema, generally focusing on representations in film. One may note the presence of African women undertaking academic studies on African women in cinema; for example, Rosette Léonie Yangba-Zowe’s 1987 research, “Divers aspects d  marriage and the role des femmes dans l’oeuvre cinématographique d’Oumarou Ganda,” on the diverse aspects of marriage and the role of women in the films of Oumarou Ganda, a pioneering filmmaker of Niger. The trend continues with Chido Matewa’s master’s dissertation, “The Role of the Media in the Subordination of Women in Africa,” and the section “Case Study of Africa Women Filmmakers Trust,” in her doctoral dissertation, “Media and the Empowerment of Communities for Social Change”; Wanjiku Beatrice Mukora’s master’s dissertation, “Disrupting Binary Divisions: Representation of Identity in Saikati and Battle of the Sacred Tree”; Dominica Dipio’s doctoral dissertation published as the book Gender Terrains in African Cinema; Joyce Osei Owusu’s master’s and doctoral dissertations, “Women and the Screen: A Study of Shirley Frimpong-Manso’s Life and Living It and Scorned” and “Ghanaian Women and Film: An Examination of Female Representation and Audience Reception,” and Carolyn Khamete Mango’s dissertation thesis, “The presence of women in the Kenyan film industry: applying postcolonial African feminist theory.”

From 1990 to 1998, Ecrans d’Afrique/African Screens, the pan-African review published by the pan-African Federation of African Cineastes, provided a wealth of cinema-related information such as profiles, interviews, newly released films, films in production, in-focus presentations, analyses, and relevant announcements, with women prominently featured in the pages and on the covers. Though it is no longer active, it is an important archive for research and study. Françoise Pfaff’s 1991 article “Eroticism and Sub-Saharan African Films,” one of the first studies on sexuality and the body in African films, is a forerunner to the abundance of works on the theme appearing in the 1990s and 2000s, for instance, Gender and Sexuality in African Literature and Film edited by Ada Uzoamaka Azodo and Maureen Ngozi Eke in 2007; the doctoral dissertation of Ousmane Ouedraogo, “Gender and Sexuality in West African Francophone Cinema” in 2008; and the doctoral dissertation of Naminata Diabate, “Genital Power: Female Sexuality in West African Literature and Film,” in 2011.

Chinyere Stella Okunna’s 1996 study “Portrayal of Women in Nigerian Home Video Films: Empowerment or Subjugation?” is a precursor to the plethora of subsequent research on representations of women that proliferated in the 2000s, especially on what would be known as “Nollywood.” Agatha Ukata’s 2010 doctoral dissertation “The Image(s) of Women in Nigerian (Nollywood) Videos” is an example of the heightened attention paid to this phenomenon and the representations of women in the images. And to further emphasize, they are both African women researching about African women.

As more films by and about women became accessible in the 1990s, there was a growing interest in studying, teaching, and discussing women-directed films and films in general with realistic and empowering women characters—in the classroom as well as in cultural venues and film festivals. The emergence of an “African women in cinema movement” gave impetus to a body of work in the form of manifestos, declarations, proceedings, and repertories. Najwa Tlili’s Femmes d’Images de l’Afrique Francophone, published in 1994, was a direct result of one of the objectives of the colloquium “Images de femmes,” the African women’s meeting held at the Vues d’Afrique festival in Montreal in 1989, to create an index bringing together the biography and filmography of francophone African women. The directory also includes short dialogues of varying lengths, of forty women in response to the question “why do you make films?” as well as an interview with artist/filmmaker/activist Werewere Liking. The historic meeting at FESPACO (Pan-African Festival of Film and Television of Ouagadougou) in 1991, which in many ways became the genesis of a continent-wide “women of the image” movement, set out its objectives through a pointed declaration, outlining the exasperations, hopes, frustrations, and interest of the participants, and by inference, African women professionals of the image in general. Similar manifestos were presented at the meeting of the African Women Filmmakers Conference in 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa and in 2013 at the African Women Film Forum in Accra, Ghana. Hence, these statements serve as a record of the intentions, ideas, and experiences of the period and also as a means to assess the decision-making process at a certain time and the manner in which issues were later resolved.

My 1996–1997 postdoctoral work on African women in the visual media culminated in seminal works on African women in cinema studies, including the book Sisters of the Screen: Women of Africa on Film, Video and Television, released in 2000; and the companion film, Sisters of the Screen: African Women in the Cinema, in 2002. The book introduces the concept of “African women cinema studies,” (which has been renamed as ‘African Women in Cinema Studies’) presenting a methodology, historiography, theoretical framework, filmography, and bibliography. And also of importance, there is a collection of interviews of pioneering women and those who had recently entered the profession. This is significant in that those voices informed the methodology and provide the framework for future research as primary sources: as women’s stories, expressing their needs, interests, and problems. The film, based on excerpts of the filmed interviews transcribed for the book, has been a valuable source in women’s studies, African studies, and international studies. The Internet-based Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema and the African Women in Cinema Blog are extensions of this project, with the continuation of interviews, analyses of films, and the dissemination of related content. The plethora of scholarly works—including articles, books, conferences, forums, and colloquia that have bourgeoned in the new millennium—ensure the development of the sub-field of African women in cinema studies and its continued growth.

With the emergence of the Internet, digital journalism and transmedial environments have provided an important space for the visibility of African women journalists and content creators. Throughout the continent this cohort of women are actively engaged in film journalism and storytelling in association with digital portals such as Africine.org, the African press in general, in affiliation with Western news outlets or as creators of their own media production enterprise. Angela Aquereburu, with her partner, founded Yobo Studios, whose objective is to provide original and exportable programs and bring a different perspective regarding Africa. Hortense Assaga created the magazine Cité Black Paris, hosts several cultural programs and regularly reports on cultural events for Africa 24 and Canal+ Afrique. Togolese film critic Sitou Ayité wears multiple hats as producer, scriptwriter and director. Amina Barakat from Morocco, navigates the local film culture scene as well as throughout the continent. Franco-Burkinabé Claire Diao traverses an array of transmedia networks: podcasts, audio-visual programming, itinerant film curation, and diverse print media. Cameroonian journalist Stéphanie Dongmo, blogger, president of the Cameroon chapter of CNA, Cinema Numerique Ambulant, the extensive network of mobile cinema in Africa and Europe, is also a novelist. Falila Gbadamassi, journalist, film critic and social media editor, informs and wants to be informed about Africa in particular. From Nollywood to Bollywood via Hollywood, she is both a film enthusiast and critic. She writes for Africiné Magazine (Dakar), among other media. France-based independent journalist Amanda Kabuiku collaborates with several publications. Belgo-Congolese Djia Mambu keeps a visible presence at the important network of African film festivals, Cannes and beyond. Similarly, Belgium-based filmmaker and journalist Wendy Bashi is a host of the programme Reflets Sud on TV5 Monde. Cameroonian journalist and film critic Pélagie Ng'onana is an editor at the Dakar-based Africiné Magazine and collaborates with the Yaoundé-based cultural revue Mosaïques. Originally working as journalist, Nadège Batou wanted to expand her audience beyond the community-based media, hence, acquiring the necessary training as director and producer. She is founder and director of the Festival des 7 Quartiers in Brazzaville. Similarly journalist-filmmaker Annette Kouamba Matondo of Congo-Brazzaville, is also an avid blogger, using social media to showcase local social activities and women’s initiatives. Domoina Ratsara from Madagascar is president of the Association des Critiques Cinématographiques de Madagascar (ACCM) which she co-founded in December 2018. Mame Woury Thioubou, journalist and filmmaker, is just as much at ease with the pen as with a camera. Tools that allow her to observe and describe her world, to share feelings. An exercise that has earned her honors worldwide. Senegalese Fatou Kiné Sene is general secretary of the Senegalese Film Critics Association. The goal of Senegalese Fatou Warkha, creator of the online television channel Warkha TV is to change attitudes and laws, giving a face and voice to everyone who has been forgotten by the authorities.

The boundaries between research, filmmaking/storytelling, criticism, activism, networking are blurred, intermingled within transmedial environments where African women makers themselves control the production, dissemination and validation of knowledge.

Some parts of the text are drawn from my article, "African Women in Film, the Moving Image, and Screen Culture." Oxford Research Encyclopedias, African History, 2019, and the Blog article, "African Women Journalists: Critical Engagements in African Cinemas", 2021.