The African Women in Cinema Blog commemorates International Day for People of African Descent featuring "The Africas/Diasporas of Women in the Evolution of a TransAfrican Film Practice and Critical Inquiry"

United Nations

International Day for People of African Descent

in celebration of the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world

 

In honor of the United Nations commemoration of people of African descent, the African Women in Cinema Blog features the Closeup in Black Camera: An International Film Journal 15. 2 (Spring 2024): The Africas/Diasporas of Women in the Evolution of a TransAfrican Film Practice and Critical Inquiry curated by Beti Ellerson

 

Excerpted from introduction:  

 

The objectives of the Close-Up, The Africas/ Diasporas of Women in the Evolution of a TransAfrican Film Practice and Critical Inquiry: to recover, to chronicle, to affirm, to reimagine even, African/Diasporan women’s cinematic world-making, indeed self-making—envisioning the manners in which they devise, create, make, a space, a universe, a domain, a world; within which they may tell/relate their stories—storytelling as a project of world-making through cinema.

The Close-Up asks questions regarding the tenets of an African/Diasporan cinematic practice/tradition shaped by women: its beginnings, the forces that compelled, facilitated and informed it, the requisite approaches needed to formulate it, and the propositions on which to explore its cultural, political, and social manifestations.

The title “The Africas/Diasporas of Women in the Evolution of a TransAfrican Film Practice and Critical Inquiry” calls attention to the multiplicity of locations, providing a place for the explication of African/diasporic histories (historical and new Diasporas), as well as an elaboration of the peregrinations as well as the negotiation of hybrid, indeed symbiotic, identities of so many of these women.

The Close-Up comes together under myriad themes, in order to draw from the intersectional, multifarious aspects of women’s transAfrican film practice, histories and critical inquiry.

The Close-Up is in the memory of Sarah Maldoror and Safi Faye.

 

Read the introduction in its entirety: https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2024/06/closeup-africas-diasporas-of-women-black-camera.html

The African Women in Cinema Blog commemorates International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances : Annette Kouamba Matondo - Le devoir de mémoire et l’affaire des disparus du Beach

On International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances the African Women in Cinema Blog features Annette Kouamba Matondo : The Duty of Memory and the Case of the Beach Disappearances

 

Following are excerpts from the 20 June 2012 interview with Annette Kouamba Matondo by Beti Ellerson.

In your film, One does not forget one forgives, you begin by reading out loud to Sylvie Diclo Pomos, and of course, to the viewers, your intentions for making the film: to recall the Case of the Beach Disappearances in order to remember, because too often there is a tendency to forget. Sylvie Diclo Pomo’s play “Janus’s Madness” is the point of departure of the story and it is through her work and experiences that the film unfolds. At the end, the film plays a cathartic role for you. Why did you choose to focus on the Case of the Beach Disappearances and to tell the story in this way?

Initially it was to be a portrait of Sylvie the artist, and then the film changed dramatically. It was not intentional. At a point during the shooting I began to ask myself questions and I found the answer at the end of the film. I had not mourned my sister’s death. The Case of the Beach Disappearances is a tragedy that touched a lot of Congolese. Many have not yet mourned and even continue to hope for the return of their family members, others are completely devastated. But the most depressing of all is that there was a trial, and all of the accused were acquitted. Even now I cannot really say why I cried at that moment in the film. There were emotions that cannot be controlled. I thought I had forgotten, but no, there, all the past that I had buried away somewhere in my mind resurfaced. At first I did not want to put this part of my life in the documentary, it is a private part of life. But this moment expresses the real question of forgetting. Can one really forget or does one pretend to forget, thus the title, One does not forget one forgives. In this sense I fully agree with Sylvie, that it is necessary to talk, to question, in order not to make the same mistakes. One has the impression to have mourned but there are certain ghosts that are difficult to eliminate. The only therapy that remains is dialogue, sharing those fears, those problems. I think that it is a first step of a long therapy, and I am on the right path to healing. My narrative at the start of each sequence is for me, a travel diary, in order to seize those intense moments and share them with everyone.

What is the history of the Case of the Beach Disappearances and its impact on Congolese society?

In 1999, in an effort towards peace after the civil war, president Denis Sassou Nguesso announced a national reconciliation, signing accords with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the UNHCR [The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] for the return of refugees that had fled the civil war to take refuge in Kinshasa. Under the supervision of the UNHCR, the first return of families (adults, women and children) took place via the “Beach crossing” (the river ferry between Brazzaville and Kinshasa), which involved around 1,500 people. According to sources, the moment of their return to Brazzaville these people were arrested and dispatched by convoy to camps or to the presidential quarters. From that moment all traces of them have been lost. Some rumours tell of people being piled up alive in containers that were then sealed and dumped into the river. The number of those who disappeared has been estimated at more than 300 people. After the tragedy, there was a trial that did not establish any facts and to the disappointment of the families, the presumed guilty were acquitted, while other families received compensation. At the present the families are still unaware of what really happened during the crossing and continue to wait for justice: God’s. 

Read the entire interview: https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/06/annette-kouamba-matondo-le-devoir-de.html

Arene Decoloniali Femminismi Edizione II - 7 - 13 settembre 2026 - Roma

ARENE DECOLONIALI FEMMINISMI Edizione II

7 - 13 settembre 2026

Roma

https://unponteper.it/it/arene-decoloniali/

Scopri il programma completo su:

https://unponteper.it/it/arene-decoloniali-programma-2026/

Torna a Roma ARENE DECOLONIALI, il festival di Un Ponte Per dedicato quest'anno ai femminismi dei contesti coloniali e postcoloniali.

Attraverso film, documentari e incontri pubblici, il festival propone uno spazio di confronto sui legami tra genere, colonialismo, razzismo, memoria e resistenza, dando voce a prospettive spesso escluse dal dibattito dominante.

Storie, esperienze e pratiche di autodeterminazione provenienti da Africa, Asia Sud-Occidentale, America Latina e diaspore saranno al centro di una settimana di cinema, cultura e dialogo.

ARENE DECOLONIALI è realizzato con il patrocinio del Municipio VIII del Comune di Roma e AAMOD, con la Media Partnership di Africa Rivista, Arte Settima e Sentieri Selvaggi, gemellato quest'anno anche con il Decolonial Film Festival

Il festival, promosso da Roma Capitale - Assessorato alla Cultura è vincitore dell'Avviso Pubblico Roma Creativa 365. Cultura tutto l'anno in collaborazione con Zètema Progetto Cultura

Netflix: The Polygamist created by Sue Nyathi

 

Netflix:

The Polygamist created by Sue Nyathi

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-polygamist-release-date-news

Description

Jonasi Gomora (Sdumo Mtshali) is dead. On the outside, the South African business tycoon’s funeral seems like a full house of devoted mourners, including his wife of more than 20 years, social media influencer Joyce (Gugu Gumede), and their adult children Mpume (Noluthando Shabalala) and Menzi (Wonder Ndlovu). But what the bereaved audience doesn’t know is that, despite Joyce’s picture-perfect presentation as a grieving widow, she hates her dead husband with a fervor. It’s easy to see why, since Joyce isn’t the only woman who has lost Jonasi — there are also three notable ladies in attendance wearing their mourning blacks. Based on a Zimbabwean novel of the same name by Sue Nyathi, showrunner Akin Omotoso (The Brave Ones) adapted the story of how one man’s greed and lust led to his downfall — all thanks to a cunning wife who will stop at nothing to save her family’s reputation. 

Source, Text and Image: Netflix

La fondatrice, de Warkhatv, Fatou Warkha Sambe : « Ré-imaginer les savoirs et pratiques féministes à partir du Sénégal »

ANNONCE 

(texte du Warkhatv Facebook)

Du 17 au 21 août 2026, Warkhatv sera présente à l’Université Laval, à Québec, à l’occasion du 9ᵉ Congrès international des recherches féministes dans la francophonie (CIRFF), qui célèbre cette année ses 30 ans autour du thème « (Ré)imaginer les féminismes : francophonie, luttes et savoirs féministes ».

 La fondatrice, de Warkhatv, Fatou Warkha Sambe, prendra part à la table ronde « Ré-imaginer les savoirs et pratiques féministes à partir du Sénégal », aux côtés d’autres actrices de la pensée, de la création et de l’action féministes sénégalaises.

La table ronde part d’une conviction que nous portons également à WarkhaTV : les savoirs féministes ne se produisent pas uniquement dans les universités. Ils se construisent aussi dans nos mouvements, nos médias, nos espaces militants et communautaires, nos créations, nos récits, nos langues et nos expériences.

La présence de WarkhaTV dans cette réflexion, comme plateforme audiovisuelle féministe de création et de diffusion des connaissances à partir du Sénégal, est donc particulièrement importante pour nous.

Pendant le CIRFF, WarkhaTV sera aussi au cœur du Congrès pour aller à la rencontre de féministes venues de différents territoires, écouter leurs réflexions et partager avec vous des rencontres, interviews, débats, savoirs, luttes et solidarités.

TV5 Monde Info : "Cotton Queen" de Suzannah Mirghani

TV5 Monde Info : "Cotton Queen" de Suzannah Mirghani

06 août 2026 "Cotton Queen" est le premier long métrage de la réalisatrice russo-soudanaise Suzannah Mirghani. À travers le destin d’une adolescente cueilleuse de coton, le film raconte le passage à l’âge adulte, mais aussi l'héritage familial et le désir de liberté. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1cZoaw1K9o

Recent Films. The Executed by Vigil Chimé

The Executed by Vigil Chimé
Short Film from Vigil Chime Films

A non-verbal, special-needs boy struggles to communicate to his beloved family the danger to all their lives when the chair was brought into the house.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVmkNUqm6gc

Ẅ XOOL Festival 2026: Ciné-Festival Afro-féministe

Ẅ XOOL Festival 2026: Ciné-Festival Afro-féministe

Ẅ XOOL c'est d'abord un festival de films, l'unique en Europe qui programme exclusivement des réalisatrices femmes Noires (trans et cis-genres) et réalisateurices non- binaires Noires de toute la diaspora et du Continent. Il a lieu tous les deux ans depuis 2020, organisé de manière bénévole par des femmes et personnes non- binaires Noires. Le festival propose des places toujours en dessous de 10 euros la journée, 5 euros les demi- journées (loin des tarifs habituels de festivals) avec des places solidaires à prix libre. Il a aussi toujours lieu en banlieue parisienne, là où vit l'une des populations les plus paupérisées, ainsi que la majorité des personnes afro-descendantes en France hexagonale.

(Source - texte et image : Ẅ XOOL Facebook Page)