Call for films: Ndiva Women's Film Festival 2017 (Ghana)

Ndiva Women's Film Festival 2017

(Ghana)

Call for films

Fiction - Documentary - Animation

Films by Women

Films for Women by Women

Films for Women by Men

Deadline: 25 August 2017

Ndiva Women’s Film Festival: http://ndivawff.org/home.php

Contact: info.ndivawff@gmail.com

NWFF01 - 31 October to 02 November 2017 Submissions to the 1st annual festival are open as of 12 July 2017. Entries will be viewed by a programming committee and entrants will be notified of the decision regarding their film/video in September 2017. 

(Source: Ndiva Women’s Film Festival Website)

The NDIVA WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL (NWFF) is a film festival created to bring African women filmmakers and women filmmakers of African descent in the Diaspora (Directors, Producers, Editors, Animators, Actresses, Cinematographers, Production Designers and all women in the film production chain) together in a space where they can network, collaborate, exhibit their work and celebrate each other. The festival aims to create artistic platforms for the presentation of work by, for and about African women, women of the African Diaspora or of African Heritage. The NDIVA WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL encourages and supports African women filmmakers, and women filmmakers of African descent from all backgrounds to embrace leading roles in front and behind the camera.

Gender Advocacy

The NDIVA WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL (NWFF) is aware of the gender parity issues in the film industry especially in Africa and her diaspora. African women filmmakers and women filmmakers of African descent are still highly unrepresented in the film industry and have challenges in accessing funds and other job opportunities in the film business. Because there are not many women writing and directing there are still issues with stereotypical representations of women in film narratives. The festival will have gender advocacy as part of its core business and will create the platforms to address the gender gap in the film industry for these women filmmakers who are already in the minority.

Festival Staff and Board:

Festival Director: Aseye Tamakloe

Festival Producer: Anita Afonu (See interview, African Women in Cinema Blog)

Office Manager: Gloria Eva Adotevi

Anita Afonu: Preserving Ghana's Cinematic Treasures

Anita Afonu at the 2nd African Women's Film Forum

Ghanaian filmmaker Anita Afonu is passionate about the preservation of Ghana's cinematic history. With enthusiasm and hope, she talks about her film Perished Diamonds which relates the history of Ghanaian cinema, and the initiative to restore its hidden and lost legacy. 

Anita, you are a graduate of the Ghanaian film school NAFTI. Talk about how you came to cinema and a bit about the film school and its mission.

I attended the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) from 2006 to 2010 where I pursued a programme in Film Directing with an option in documentary filmmaking. I had always wanted to be a filmmaker because to me, having the ability to tell a story and have an audience watch your film meant that you wield a lot of power and therefore can change the perceptions and idiosyncrasies of people through film.

The National Film and Television Institute was established in 1978 to train people to produce films and other audiovisual material for the government of Ghana. The school offers a four-year bachelor degree programme in all aspects of filmmaking.

I was a privileged spectator at the screening of your film Perished Diamonds, a documentary about the history of Ghanaian cinema. I was touched by your in depth research and your tremendous will to get it made. What motivated you to make the film?

I was sorting out films at the Information Services Department for my friend Jennifer Blaylock, a cinema archivist who had come to do some research on Ghanaian cinema. While working with the films, I saw how dilapidated the Information Services Department was and how the film reels had been left to go bad. I also realized that I had not seen most of these films. I thought, "Here I am, a film school graduate calling myself a filmmaker". I thought that is was rather ironic, asking myself what had happened. Why had the film reels been left to go bad? And it broke my heart to personally discard some of the films because they had gone mouldy, in an almost soup-like state. I felt that if I could trace the origin of the problem and find a way to repair the damage, things could improve. I knew that if I made a film about these conditions people would wake up. And that’s what motivated me to make this film. Jennifer was very supportive and we put together a proposal to the Goethe Institute which funded the film.

You have also researched the history of Ghanaian cinema and cinema in Ghana that is related in the film. Give some background on Ghanaian cinema history and your process in learning about it.

Generally, cinema was used by the colonizers to instil in Africans, and Ghanaians in this case, an attitude of subservience. The films were mainly instructional materials about keeping homes clean, accepting Jesus Christ and embracing Christianity, and others along this line. The West African Film School was set up in 1948 to train people in film to essentially work as assistants to British filmmakers who were commissioned to come to Ghana to make propaganda films. When Dr. Nkrumah became president, he took a personal interest in film because he believed that the medium of film was very powerful; that it had the ability to change the mind-set of Ghanaians to accept and hold their own, and thus remove the colonial mentality that Ghanaians had held that white people were better than black people. After learning about this I spoke to veteran filmmakers and people who had worked closely with President Nkrumah, including his personal cameraman. I read a number of articles about Ghanaian cinema and watched some films that were made during that time period. However, most of the research was drawn from interviews, which are shown in the film.

I was delighted to learn that President Kwame Nkrumah was behind the creation of the Ghana Film Industry Corporation. What is the history behind this initiative?

Former President Nkrumah believed that the medium of film was a very important tool to change the mentality of the Ghanaian if he was going to make any changes as president. He believed that by showing films made by Ghanaians and shown to Ghanaians, that it would boost their self-esteem and encourage them to work for the better Ghana that he had set out. As president Dr. Nkrumah laid the groundwork for Ghanaian cinema; he brought new film equipment and an editing suite; he sent Ghanaians to London to train in filmmaking; and he established the Ghana Film Industry Corporation incorporating the Lebanese-built cinema into it. Another creation was the biggest sound stage in Africa at the time, which continues to hold this record today. Films were churned out often, increasing Ghanaians' appetite for film. President Nkrumah had a personal studio at Flagstaff House, his office, where he made recordings that were transmitted to the Ghanaian audience. He read every script that was written, and personally made corrections to them before they were shot; he even viewed the first cut of the films before they went into final cut. In fact, he took a personal interest in film. Every activity he undertook as president was filmed and screened for the public at cinema houses; a way to show the transparency of his government. The Ghana Film Industry Corporation became the hub of filmmaking in West Africa. Even people from Nigeria came to Ghana to train as filmmakers. Nkrumah looked at the development of the Ghanaian and the African in a holistic way. He believed that filmmaking formed a big part of a country’s culture and he was determined to move Ghana and Africa to the next level of development.

The story behind the destruction of the Ghanaian film industry was very unsettling to watch and hear about, your meticulous research provided a treasure of information as some of the witnesses to the demise gave first hand accounts. How did this destruction come about?

The destruction of Ghana films occurred when the Ghana Film Industry Corporation was divested for fifteen years to the Malaysian company, GAMA Media System for the sum of 1.23 million USD. GAMA Media System, obviously interested in television and not cinema, turned the location into a TV station, which provided content from both Malaysia and Ghana. Since they needed space for their TV equipment and other items, they got rid of the film equipment, including all of Ghana’s archives. Evidently not concerned about Ghanaian heritage, these treasures were dumped outside, left to the mercy of the weather.

What was your reaction when you first learned about the damage?

To say that I was shocked to see and hear about this is an understatement. I couldn’t eat properly for days. I was emotionally troubled about this. And I think that was what kept me going to make the film. There were certain times during the film production when I was burning out, but whenever the thought of those films came to my mind, it gave me more strength to keep pushing forward to complete the project.

Of course to imagine that Ghana’s cultural heritage was sold to another country, Malaysia, and partially destroyed is shocking. Your passion to restore these films and to document the story is truly heartfelt. Talk about the story behind this arrangement with Britain and what attempts are being made to have these “perished diamonds” returned.

Luckily for me, or better still for Ghanaian filmmakers and Ghana, a number of the films are being stored in laboratories in England. This occurred because at the time when these films were made, Ghana did not have a colour-editing machine so they had to be sent to England to be edited. The negatives were stored there and have remained there since. All of the black and white films have been destroyed. The government of Ghana pays a yearly rent to the labs to check and keep the films in pristine conditions. During the making of the film, I found it difficult to get archival material that I felt should be available to me to use as a filmmaker and researcher. I figured that if these films could be digitized and the digital copies brought here to Ghana, it would make it easy for people like me to be able to have access. I also felt that being a Ghanaian filmmaker that I had every right to access those films without any difficulties. However, because they are being stored in England, accessing them is almost impossible.  Since Ghana did not have the facilities to store the celluloid films, I thought it would be better if digital copies of these films were brought to Ghana so that researchers and fellow filmmakers could access them. Hence, I started an initiative to digitize these films. 

Yes, during the Action Plan Breakout Group Sessions at the 2nd African Women's Film Forum held in Accra in September 2013, you proposed an initiative to preserve and digitize the films produced during the Kwame Nkrumah era. What are your plans and the campaign in search of funding?

My intention is to have the colour materials sent to London to be digitized, and have those digital copies that are stored in London brought here to Ghana so that filmmakers and people doing research may access it. In addition, it is a revenue-making venture for the government since fees will be charged for those who want to use it. Moreover, I have been in talks with Rev. Dr. Hesse, the personal cameraman of Dr. Nkrumah, who went to London to identify over 200 films that were recently discovered in the Ghana High Commission vault. He shot the majority of the films and is familiar with all of them. For now, my goal is to be able to start with about fifty of the most important films that the Reverend can identify. Those films will be cleaned, catalogued and stored. With regards to funding, I will be meeting Prof. Ampofo, the director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana who will advise on funding.

And your future plans, films, scripts?

I am currently working on a short piece. At the moment I am still writing, I want to do a film on African teenage girls. I want to be an inspiration for other young girls who are coming up. I realize that a lot of girls or young women are confused about what they want out of life. The media is heavily influencing their choices. There is plenty of talk about women being empowered but I personally do not see it. All I see is a bunch of elite women who are angry and complain bitterly about the glass ceiling. A lot of young girls are not being encouraged and that is what I want to do. I run a small production house called Roaming Akuba Films. We make commissioned films, consult for foreign film crews and provide other general services with regards to filmmaking.

Unfortunately, my website was hacked some weeks ago and I am unable to retrieve all that I lost. Hence, I am currently working on creating a new website. 

Conversation with Anita Afonu and Beti Ellerson, November 2013

Sommaire en Français

PD TRAILER - Broadband from Anita Afonu on Vimeo.

Anita Afonu : Pour la défense des trésors cinématographiques du Ghana

Anita Afonu au 2ème African Women's Film Forum 2013

La cinéaste Anita Afonu du Ghana est passionnée par l’histoire cinématographique de son pays. Avec enthousiasme et espoir, elle nous parle de son film Perished Diamonds (Les trésors péris) qui raconte l’évolution du cinéma ghanéen et ses pionniers, ainsi que sa brutale déchéance. Récemment, pour aider les futures générations de chercheurs et de cinéastes à mieux connaître le cinéma du Ghana, elle a initié un projet pour restaurer ses héritages cachés voire oubliées. 

C’était quand elle s’est rendue à l’Information Services Department pour travailler sur un projet avec une collègue qu’elle a pu y voir l’état de délabrement des bobines entreposées. À partir de ce moment elle a décidé qu’il fallait faire un film pour informer les gens de cette histoire choquante.

Elle a découvert pendant sa recherche qu’à son indépendance en 1957, le Ghana était au centre de la réalisation cinématographique en Afrique de l’Ouest.

Kwame Nkrumah, le premier président du Ghana avait la conviction que pour faire les changements qu’il voulait en tant que président, le cinéma était un outil très important pour transformer les mentalités des Ghanéens qui gardaient une attitude d’infériorité instaurée pendant l’époque coloniale.

L'ancien président a jeté les fondements du cinéma ghanéen : nouveaux équipements de tournage et de montage ; formations cinématographiques des Ghanéens en Angleterre ; création du Ghana Film Industry Corporation [la compagnie ghanéenne de l'industrie du film] et une salle d’enregistrement parmi d’autres initiatives.

Convaincu que le cinéma participe en grande partie à la culture d’un pays, Kwame Nkrumah était déterminé à faire avancer le Ghana, et l’Afrique à l’étape suivante de leur évolution. 

D’une interview en anglais avec Anita Afonu de Beti Ellerson, novembre 2013.

African Women in Cinema Take the Torch

The first generation of African cinema has passed the torch to a second and third generation of filmmakers. A cinema born in the 1950s and 60s, known for its postcolonial themes, directly confronted the oppressive nature and contradictions of colonialism. 

Among this second and third generation are women who have drawn important lessons from their elders.

Some of these women take the torch from their mothers, fathers and uncles, others have relit or are keeping the torch burning to shine light on the accomplishments of those who have come before them.

Anne-Laure Folly Reimann of Togo pays homage to the life and works of the matriarch of African cinema, Sarah Maldoror (1929-2020). French-Guadeloupian of African descent, she has had a long presence in filmmaking in Africa. Having studied cinema in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, after a short stay in Morocco in 1963, she went to Algeria to work as Gillo Pontecorvo’s assistant for the production of the classic film, The Battle of Algiers. Her debut film Monangambee, was selected at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival under the Quinzaine des réalisateurs/Directors' Fortnight representing Angola. In 1972 she made Sambizanga, considered her masterpiece; a film about a woman's experience during the Angolan liberation struggle. In her documentary, Sarah Maldoror ou la nostalgie de l'utopie, Folly Reimann pays tribute to Maldoror, having followed the path that she forged. Some twenty-five years after the release of the film Sambizanga, she too highlights women's experiences of war in Angola, in the film Les Oubliées (1996). Daughters Annouchka de Andrade and Henda Ducados have opened Sarah's archives for research and study with the aim of making their mother’s work visible to an international public. Annouchka, herself a film activist and organizer, keeps Sarah’s legacy alive through interviews, speeches and conferences dedicated to her mother. Also see the African Women in Cinema Blog post that features their reflections on their mother during a tribute to her.

Gyasiwa Ansah of Ghana follows in the footsteps of her father, veteran filmmaker Kwaw Ansah. She grew up in cinema often present on her father's film shoots. As she grew older she began to take on duties on the set and finally decided to go to film school. She continues to work with her father at his television production company, TV Africa.

French-Congolese Claude Haffner, takes the torch from her late father, Pierre Haffner, an important French voice in African cinema criticism. Her 2001 DEA (Master's) thesis, Le documentaire africain, un remède éventuel aux maux dont souffre le cinéma africain? loosely translates as "The African Documentary as Possible Remedy to the Ills of African Cinema." In addition, she has taken on the role of filmmaker. Her documentary, D'une fleur double et de quatre mille d'autres (2005), a tribute to her father, is situated at the intersection of her double passion--criticism and filmmaking--focusing on many of the issues that he confronted in his work on African cinema. Her autobiographical documentary, Footprints of my Other 2012), is about her place “in between”, Africa and Europe, as she searches for her Congolese roots.

Rahmatou Keïta of Niger rekindles the flame of a once fledgling film industry. The vibrant works of the prolific filmmakers of Niger beginning in the mid-1960s are a mere footnote in African cinema history. Weaving the story of pioneer actress Zalika Souley, Keïta relates a parallel story, the history of the early cinema of Niger. Her purpose for making the film Al’leessi...An African Actress (2004), was to celebrate the elders of Niger cinema and elevate them to their rightful place as cinematic pioneers.

Mati Diop, born within an artistic milieu--her mother is a photographer, her father is musician Wasis Diop, and her late uncle, Djibril Diop Mambety (1945-1998), a giant of African Cinema--works quite naturally within the domain of sound and image. Her evolution into cinema was a result of her interest in the image rather than a direct influence of her uncle, Djibril; though she gradually understood that his legacy is an important force in her work. Her film 1000 Soleils/1000 Suns (one may recall La petite vendeuse de Soleil/The Little Girl who Sold the Sun, Mambety's last film released posthumously in 1999), is dedicated to him--tracing the incredible journey of the cult film, Touki Bouki, his masterpiece. The film made in 1973, nine years before Mati's birth, is a means to better understand her uncle. In her view, the film is fundamentally about him, in a very profound way. When making her first film Last Night, she was not yet aware of the cinematic inheritance of Djibril. She has recently embraced this bond which has increasingly imposed itself as she has become more confident in her work. But for Mati this inheritance only becomes important when she has her own work to show for it.

Ghanaian filmmaker Anita Afonu, passionate about the preservation of Ghana's cinematic history, meticulously researched the evolution of Ghanaian cinema, documenting it in the film Perished Diamonds.

Sara Gubara journeyed into cinema through her father’s footsteps and as a team they directed more than 40 films. The pioneer of Sudanese cinema, Gadalla Gubara created his own company, Gad Studios, after managing the mobile cinema of the Sudanese Ministry of Information. Through his indefatigable efforts, single handedly he forged a Sudanese cinema infrastructure, producing some 300 documentaries. However, in 1998, Gadalla’s sudden blindness thrust Sara into the forefront. At her father’s side, she became his eyes: “On the film, I work as his eyes. Sometimes we argue about some things but still, we cooperate well together.”

Malika Franklin co-directed and co-edited Woman to Woman (2013) with her mother, Véronique N. Doumbé.

Alice Diop received the 70th Jean Vigo Award, for Saint Omer. A French film prize presented since 1951. In 1966, the award was presented to her illustrious Senegalese ancestor, Ousmane Sembene, for the pioneering film, La Noire de..., also relating an unsettling story of an African woman living in France, as the main protagonist. She takes the torch moving forward.

Thus, accepting the torch passed on from the generation before, means that one must assume the task of continuing the work forged by the elders.

Updated 25 October 2022: