The purpose of the African Women in Cinema Blog is to provide a space to discuss diverse topics relating to African women in cinema--filmmakers, actors, producers, and all film professionals. The blog is a public forum of the Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema.
Le Blog sur les femmes africaines dans le cinéma est un espace pour l'échange d'informations concernant les réalisatrices, comédiennes, productrices, critiques et toutes professionnelles dans ce domaine. Ceci sert de forum public du Centre pour l'étude et la recherche des femmes africaines dans le cinémas.
Director/Directrice, Centre for the Study and Research of African Women in Cinema | Centre pour l'étude et la recherche des femmes africaines dans le cinéma
Domenica 24/09 Ore 11.00 – Sala Scalo Del Nuovo Cinema Nosadella – In Collaborazione Con Centro Di Documentazione Flavia Madaschi
Introduce Il Film Sara De Giovanni, Responsabile Del Cdoc Flavia Madaschi
Regia Di Cheryl Dunye – Usa, 2013 Lesbian Cult – Commedia, 90′
Lingua Inglese Con Sottotitoli In Italiano Traduzioni Di Chiara Masini
Il lungometraggio d’esordio di Cheryl Dunye vede la regista nel ruolo di se stessa, confermando lo stile confessionale che caratterizza la sua filmografia. Decisa a fare un film sulla bellissima attrice nera degli anni ‘30 nota come “The Watermelon Woman”, Cheryl si avventura alla scoperta del suo vero nome e della sua vita, che a sorpresa comprende una storia d’amore con Martha Page, una delle rare registe donne di Hollywood.
Nel film compaiono protagoniste della scena lesbica americana come Guinevere Turner, Sarah Schulman, Camille Paglia.
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This year we present the lesbian cult in collaboration with Centro Di Documentazione Flavia Madaschi, community archive and expression of research, conservation, protection and analysis of the cultural heritage of the Italian LGBTQIA+ movement. Here is Watermelon Woman, the first film from director Cheryl Dunye!
The feature film sees the director in the role of herself, confirming the professional style that characterizes her filmography. Set on making a movie about the beautiful 1930s black actress known as "The Watermelon Woman,"
Cheryl ventures to uncover her real name and her life, which surprisingly includes a love affair with Martha Page, one of the few female directors in Hollywood.
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Nous présentons cette année le culte lesbienne en collaboration avec Centro Di Documentazione Flavia Madaschi, archive communautaire et expression d'une recherche, conservation, protection et analyse du patrimoine culturel du mouvement italien LGBTQIA+.
Voici Watermelon Woman, le premier film de la réalisatrice Cheryl Dunye !
Le long-métrage voit la réalisatrice dans le rôle d'elle-même, confirmant le style professionnel qui caractérise sa filmographie.
Décidéé de faire un film sur la belle actrice noire des années 1930 connue sous le nom de « The Watermelon Woman», Cheryl s'aventure à la découverte de son vrai nom et de sa vie, qui inclut étonnamment une histoire d'amour avec Martha Page, l'une des rares réalisatrices à Hollywood.
Cheryl Dunye: Blurring Distinctions . 21 January 2018. Indiana University.
Kagendo Murungi
The passing of Kagendo Murungi, producer of documentary films, and collaborative creative community spaces for social justice and peace. Outright International.
Akosua Adoma Owusu
Mahogany Too by Akosua Adoma Owusu, Official Selection, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2018. The film interprets the 1975 cult classic, Mahogany, a fashion-infused romantic drama.Vimeo.
Ngozi Onwurah
Pioneer of black British cinema Ngozi Onwurah’s work features at 2018 London Short Film Festival. The British Black List.
African women, cinema and LGBT subectivities | Les femmes africaines, le cinéma et des subjectivités LGBT
A key goal of the African Women in Cinema Blog is to feature current research and critical discourse, through interviews, conference proceedings and analyses on relevant topics. Following is a selection of articles regarding LGBT African women or by African women filmmakers on the subject of LGBT subjectivities that have been published on the Blog.
L'un des principaux objectifs du blog des femmes africaines dans le cinéma (African Women in Cinema Blog) est de présenter les informations courantes à travers des interviews, des actes de conférences et des analyses sur des sujets pertinents. Vous trouverez ci-dessous une sélection d'articles sur les femmes africaines LGBT ou des oeuvres faites par des réalisatrices africaines sur le sujet des subjectivités LGBT qui ont été publiées sur le Blog.
Maryam Touzani: Le Bleu du Caftan | The Blue Caftan. https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2023/01/maryam-touzani-le-bleu-du-caftan-blue.htmlHalim and Mina, who have been married for a long time, run a traditional caftan shop in the medina of Salé, Morocco. The couple has always lived with Halim's secret, his homosexuality. However, Mina's illness and the arrival of a young apprentice will upset this balance. United in their love, each will help the other to face their fears.
Claudine Ndimbira had this to say about the film project: With this project “Living like a shadow” I want to give the voice to LGBTQ community members in Rwanda to tell their stories, what they have been through, what they wish their lives could be but also to the society so that they say what is the reason why they think being gay is a problem to them. Rafiki: to our forbidden love! | à nos amours interdites ! Cannes 2018 (analysis/analyse, Falila Gbadamassi - Africiné)
A film about love, between two high school girls, which caused its director [Wanuri Kahiu] to be threatened with imprisonment in Kenya. Rafiki, a remarkable drama, is one of three African films in competition at the Un Certain Regard.
Rafiki by/de Wanuri Kahiu : Cannes 2018 - Un Certain Regardhttps://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2018/04/rafiki-byde-wanuri-kahiu-cannes-2018-un.html Rafiki is a love story about Kena and Ziki who live in a housing estate in Nairobi. The girls are unlikely friends and their fathers are rivaling politicians. When they fall in love and the community find out, the girls are forced to choose between love and safety.
The documentary explores lesbians who discriminate against other lesbians based on gender roles and heteronormative notions of femininity and masculinity.
In love with a man in a world where the norm is homosexuality, sixteen-year-old Charlotte will have to be exorcised for her "deviant" behavior. An exorcism authorised by her two mothers.
Amoureuse d’un homme dans un monde où la norme est l’homosexualité, Charlotte, 16 ans, va se faire exorciser pour son comportement "déviant". Un exorcisme approuvé par ses deux mères.
When Alice Diop takes us "towards masculine tenderness" | Quand Alice Diop nous entraîne "vers la tendresse" au masculin by/de Sylvie Braibant – tv5monde
Visual activist Zanele Muholi of South Africa, repositions the African subject that is often represented by others, reclaiming her own space and that of other black lesbians and black South Africans as a whole. Telling her own story and taking ownership of her subject-position, she returns the gaze, re-writes the script that has often left black lesbians and Africans in general without a voice.
Zanele Muholi: Some Prefer Cake - Bologna Lesbian Film Festival - Italy
Naomi has always felt that there is a distinct lack of film and television dramas highlighting first and second generation African female and, in particular, lesbian experience.
Wanuri Kahiu: "Homosexuality is not unafrican; what is unafrican is homophobia"
“The film is about Abdou, the oldest son of a well-respected businessman, who, after a long stay abroad returns home. He has lived other experiences that brought about a psychological and sexual transformation. It is about a transvestite who returns to his social and cultural milieu, a milieu that is horrified by this practice.
‘‘Même pas mal’’ de Nadia El Fani : Le retour d’une guerrière. Fawz Ben Ali. 13 Nov 2017. Kapitalis.
Cheryl Dunye
The Watermelon Woman (Feat. Cheryl Dunye of Queen Sugar). 10 October 2017. Theextraordinarynegros.
VIDEO – EXTRAITS – CLIPS
Angela Aquereburu
YoBo Studios on her dramedy Hospitalite about a doctor and a traditional healer. YouTube.
Claire Diao, Rahmatou Keïta, Aïcha Macky
La chronique cinéma avec Claire Diao d"Awotele : Le Niger à l'honneur avec les films " Zin'naariya !" de Rahmatou Keïta ou "L'arbre sans fruit" d'Aicha Macky à l'occasion du festival Afrikamera 2017. YouTube.
Watch Films by Womxn Directors, Girls in Film in Mauritius, RECIDAK 2018 - La remise de distinctions | Presentation of Awards, Visions de femmes, Queen of Zambian TV Becky Ngom, Joburg Film Festival Women’s Event
African Female Filmmakers, Rungano Nyoni, June Givanni, Le Grand Débat: Un autre visage du cinema français : Claire Diao, Aset Malanda, Nina Melo, Josza Anjembe, Jihan El-Tahri,
African Film and Media -Three Women Making Films in Zimbabwe -Nollywood and Women, Stephanie Dongmo, Rwandan Women in Film, A Conversation with Tala Hadid, Afrique Plurielle TV5Monde : Alimata Salambéré, Dada Stella Kitoga, Monique Mbeka Phoba, In My Father’s Village by Tapiwa Kapuya
Stéphanie Dongmo, Nadja Harek, Oshosheni Hiveluah, Fatou Kandé Senghor, Laureates: Mashariki Film Festival Awards 2017 (Rwanda), Laureates: Zambia Film and Television Awards (ZAFTAs) 2017
Véro Tshanda Beya, Félicité (Alain Gomis) analyse, Issa Rae, Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante, Khady Sylla in Memoriam, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Rumbi Katedza, The Republic – a pilot series by Nicole Amarteifio
Pioneer Director Cheryl Dunye Breaks Down Key Scenes of ‘Queen Sugar’. K. Nicole Mills. 07-07-2017. Hollywood’s Black Renaissance
Souad Houssein
"Femmes d'Afrique" sur l'évolution du cinéma francophone du Sud, en particulier le cinéma africain. Amina, magazine femmes d’Afrique
Yaa Asantewa-Undp Award
The Black Star International Film Festival introduces the Yaa Asantewa-Undp Award. 03-07-2017. Facebook FSIFF Page
Twiggy Matiwana
Acclaimed film to make G’town debut. By Barbara Hollands. 06-29-2017. Dispatch Live.
Jihan El Tahri, Judy Kibinge, Safi Faye, et al
Jihan El Tahri, Judy Kibinge, Jean-Marie Teno, John Akomfrah, Idrissa Ouédraogo, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, à l'Académie des Oscars. Par Thierno Ibrahima Dia. 06-29-2017. Africiné.
Cheryl Dunye's Kickstarter campaign to raise $15,000 was successful. She made her goal raising $15,253 in 30 days for the film project "Black is Blue" a new short film about a Black Transman security guard struggling with his identity after meeting an ex-lover from his past.
Cheryl Dunye discusses her intentions regarding the film project and the Kickstarter funding raising campaign on the Kickstarter page.
Cheryl Dunye and Kingston Farady discuss BLACK IS BLUE from Veronica Lopez on Vimeo.
Image Source: Screen grab of Cheryl Dunye from Kickstarter promotion video
