Journal of African Cinemas - Volume 1, Issue 2, 2009

In my essay, I argue against the schism between tradition and modernity in African film criticism that has produced a discourse of the indigenization of the medium based on the economy of African oral traditions and performances. In turn, this discourse of orality has preserved dichotomies that need to be contested in order to address current expressions in African film. My attempt is to shift the theoretical paradigm towards a deconstructive postcolonial project to assess, rework and negotiate the oppositional positions and confrontational practices that have highlighted most critical approaches. My analysis also draws attention to Third Cinema and cinematic semiotics, for the questions of spatiality and temporality are pivotal in the multidimensional and dynamic relationship between the film-maker and the viewer.

Beneath the seemingly simple story of Yaaba (1989) by Idrissa Oudraogo (Burkina Faso), Marie-Magdeleine Chirol uncovers various layers of meaning and dwells on the metaphorical and symbolical nuances of the film. Her analysis first emphasizes the echoing structural pattern present in the film narrative. Next, it focuses on the cycles of appearances and disappearances that eventually lead to a dialectics of ruin and renewal. In her conclusion, Chirol expands on the motif of ruins as part of a larger perspective on the pervading theme of childhood in films by other directors from Burkina Faso, such as Gaston Kabor, Pierre Yamogo and Dani Kouyat. Indeed, the symbiosis between the young and the elderly, as well as the search for identity, fits within the scope of renewal.

This paper discusses Atef Hetata's The Closed Doors and Phil Mullaly's The Martyrs of Uganda and the ways in which they problematize a fundamentalist vision. Through close reading and analysis of the language, cinematographic and mise en scne elements in these films, the paper examines the cineastes' portrayal of the dilemmas and dangers posed when extremist religious dogma conflicts with the socio-economic and political realities and contradictions in society. The paper raises questions about the course of action human beings choose in pursuit of extremist agendas today in a world where tolerance for diversity and multiculturalism has become part and parcel of a new global culture.

This article looks at the cultural and historical sources of paternal wrath in five feature films made by Malian film-maker Souleymane Ciss between 1975 and 1995. These movies depict the conflict with patriarchal tyranny within the family or in the public sphere. In all five films, young victims attempt to escape their tyrant by returning home to confront him on his own territory. The article first deals with shooting locations and the mental appropriation of space. Second, historical precedents of the paternal urge to kill an offspring are traced back to African epics, for example the story of Karamoko's execution by his father, Emperor Samori. Finally, the Mande oppositional concepts of fadenya (male rivalry) and badenya (female cooperation) serve as landmarks in Ciss's quest for improved governance and socialization. As Ciss tempers his indictment of African violence with elliptical and metaphorical cinematography, the author opted for a cultural approach to elucidate the social and political meaning of aesthetic emotion.

Diop's article focuses on music in Ousmane Sembne's films as an integral part of film narrative. The author first describes the traditional instruments of Senegal and their usage, and proceeds to analysing the mood they create in Sembne's first three socio-realist films (Borom sarret, La noire de/Black Girl, Mandabi). As a narrative counterpoint to traditional instruments, piano dance music mostly indicts the colonial ideology and its aftermath after independence. This study also illustrates Sembne's well-known concern for egalitarianism among the various ethnic groups of Senegal. Diop extends his study to Sembne's changing and experimental concept of sound as a narrative device. He analyses the meaning of vocals (with their translation), the sounds of the environment as well as silence in Emita; and in Sembne's more recent films, he interprets the use of popular stars heard over the radio as a sign of the democratization of the enjoyment of music.

The 2009 Bafundi Film Festival held in Johannesburg provided a platform where various issues with regards to film were aired and contested. Students were given a taste of the filmmaking world in South Africa and an opportunity to engage with the film and television industry. This review outlines the major issues that emerged in the discussion and screening sessions. The main theme which ran throughout the festival emerged through the engagement of students who were oriented towards either a theoretical or practical background. The review argues that a singular approach to filmmaking education is not sufficient for equipping students for the real world. Rather, an inclusive approach is preferred. Examples from the festival are discussed and reveal the tensions that exist between practical and theoretical film education. Participatory filmmaking is provided as an example of one approach to filmmaking which can overcome various theoretical and technical issues that one may encounter in filmmaking, particularly ethnographic filmmaking. The tensions that exist between aesthetics and ethics are also highlighted and discussed through the use of various case studies in the review. The main argument of this review is that students need to understand more than just how to press camera buttons; a heuristic engagement with the world of filmmaking will reveal that making a film does not start and end with recording and screening. Rather, filmmaking as a concept needs to explored by students in order to make films of significance and quality.

Pierre Barrot (ed.), 2008, Nollywood: The Video Phenomenon in Nigeria Oxford, Ibadan, Bloomington & Indianapolis, James Currey, Heinemann Educational Books Nigeria and Indiana University Press, pp. 176, ISBN: 9781847015044, Paperback, 14.99