who is Tunis 2050 ?

One recent find on the animation front, is this exciting animated series TUNIS 2050. Information on the website is limited and can be accessed here
TUNIS2050. Although the series can also be viewed in Facebook / search for TUNIS 2050.
Currently with 2050 Fans on Facebook, this online animated series seems to be rapidly gaining popularity... and one can see why!
BUT who are the people behind this North African Animated Series???

Kenyan Animation: A3 Genesis, the dawn of a new era?

The recent event at the British Council, organised by the Association of Animation Artistes Kenya (A3) was a resounding success with a full house attendance. The speakers including Dumi, from Anamazing Workshop, South Africa, Claudia Lloyd from Tiger Aspect Studios, UK/Kenya and the Know Zone Team, all provided a great flavour of current commercial and non-profit productions that are running in Kenya, and South Africa. The event was even attended by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication, Dr. Bitange Ndemo, a key player in mobilising and creating an environment conducive to helping the industry emerge.

The morning program of talks provided a space for Q&As with the attendees, which was at times "animated" - each speaker spoke of the commercial/ financial difficulties of launching animated series for an African audience, or as in the case of Tinga Tinga Tales, an international one. Amongst the topics of discussion were the role of a producer in securing funds. How funding/ investment is divided up amongst different contenders, distributors, merchandising, screening rights etc. The South African guest, spoke about the current incentives that exist in SA that provide a space to begin to look at an emergent industry. This proved to be an ideal spring board to look at the role of government bodies in facilitating and encouraging this sector to grow. Other speakers included the software company, ToonBoom representative, who presented in interesting overview of the possibilities of tapping into the global market. He also spoke of economic incentives in licensing of this software, to encourage use of legal copies, rather than pirated software - these included an encouraging 50 to 60% discount on the retail price, with room to negotiate.

The public were largely very receptive to all speakers. Some of the issues raised included: the importance of the dissemination of information from official bodies to the general public in a transparent and effective manner, the importance for educational institutions to recognise the merits of this field and to provide suitable in depth training, the artistic and technical skills that are required, what are the benefits of joining the association, the need for critical mass and collaboration.

The afternoon session included different workshops in Adobe After Effects, a master class by a Digital Matte Painter from Animal Logic/ Weta Digital, and a collection of screenings from local and other African animators, in the main foyer.

The event was bubbling with excitement and seemed largely positive, with current news of broadband reaching the general public, in the next couple of months, the possibilities seem endless... of course this enthusiasm could not help but be eclipsed but the fact that today, in Nairobi, like most days in the week, there is no power.
The power rationing is naturally having a detrimental effect on peoples ability to work and is debilitating....

For more info: you can go to Kenyan Animation
or the Official webpage for the association at www.animationkenya.com- this link has since gone dead and will redirect to a page that is archived on the Webarchive Association of Animation Artistes

south africa tasters

"Masizakhe: Building Each Other" from Scott Macklin on Vimeo.

INKFLY animation reel '09 from inkfly on Vimeo.

Animation SA Showreel 2007 from Animation SA on Vimeo.

The XYZ Show hits the BBC

The Kenyan production "The XYZ Show", which includes both puppets and animation, has been airing their political satirical program on local television from early this year. The good news is the program has been looked at by the BBC, giving it exposure on an international scale. Well Done All!!
To read more about this click on
BBC

alternatively you can read all about it on the XYZ BLOG

ANIWA Ghana

ghana animation

An animation made with found objects from Ghana -
Information about the animators is limited, although it would seem that the animators were NOT ghanian. More information will follow once I verify.

Notwithstanding the found objects present interesting features such as the use of an image which is also to be found in Congolese in popular painting, as well as Northern Nigeria.

The image of the man climbing the tree with a snake, lion and crocodile surrounding him at the bottom. The very same painting that Congolese filmmaker JM Kibushi refers to in his animated film "Muana Mboka".



See video at 1:05 - 1:14 mins for the referred painting.

African Animation Festival - ANIMAFRIK

ANIMAFRIK is African Animation Festival that will be running in October in Ghana. There is a current call out for submissions to the festival, one can send
DVD submissions to:

Address: Courier: Animafrik Festival, No.5. Anowa Link, Tesano, Accra, Ghana

or mail P.O.Box KN 150, Kaneshie, Accra, Ghana

The festival will close submission on July 31 2009.

For more information on the festival read the Africancolours post

or alternatively

AWN's article on the festival.

On Kuwaiti Comic Strip "THE 99"

An enlightening article by the BBC World News on the creation of Islamic Superheros in the Kuwaiti comic strip called "THE 99"

African Animation Scholarship Programme

News update from my contacts:

SAE presents the African Animation Scholarship Programme

Calling all aspiring African animators! From pixels to puppets, cutouts to claymation, the world of animation is becoming an increasingly popular area of study.
For those looking to join SAE to expand their animated horizons, SAE is proud to announce the availability of 15 coveted part-scholarships.

SAE Cape Town will be offering 10 scholarships for Sub-Saharan African students and 5 South African students, allowing prospective students the opportunity to pursue their dream career in animation.

To secure your head-start in this exciting field, simply log www.saescholarships.com

a great link on contemporary african culture : African Digital Art

The African Digital Art website is a real find for anyone interested in contemporary african digital art culture. I highly recommend this link for some great finds related to not only African animation but digital art at large.
see:
African Digital Art

some new animated finds....

here are some links/ videos that have been sent to me from various African animators... enjoy!
Kenneth Coker - Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, he studied at Memphis college of art and completed the film below as his graduate showreel.

Iwa from Kenneth Coker on Vimeo.

Oni Ise Owo from Kenneth Coker on Vimeo.

Micheal Rix - Based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The film was originally produced as a music video for South African rock band The Parlotones, but was rejected.

Strings from Reel 13 on Vimeo.

Binyavanga, "How to write about Africa"

Just by accident I stumbled across Binyavanga's article "How to write about Africa" published in the Africa in the Picture 2008 program (Amsterdam).It can also be found on-line on the GRANTA magazine. Binyavanga's sense of humour is acutely perceptive, for anyone in the field of African studies or writing about Africa... to give you a taster here is Binyavanga's opening paragraph...

Always use the word 'Africa' or 'Darkness' or 'Safari' in your title. Subtitles may include the words 'Zanzibar', 'Masai', 'Zulu', 'Zambezi', 'Congo', 'Nile', 'Big', 'Sky', 'Shadow', 'Drum', 'Sun' or 'Bygone'. Also useful are words such as 'Guerrillas', 'Timeless', 'Primordial' and 'Tribal'....

Highly recommended!

SCOLMA Annual Conference: Africa and the Moving Image: the Role of Libraries and Archives

The recent conference held at Newnham College, Cambridge, was a veritable attempt to begin to address the difficulties facing the future of African film, or rather specifically more so film made by African's for an African audience and its urgent need of suitable archives.

The lineup of guest speakers included:

Dr Guido Convents: Current Issues in African Moving Image and its Preservation

Mr Keith Shiri: African Film and Documentary: The Contemporary Scene

Prf. Vivian Bickford Smith : Film as Evidence, Film as istory and Film in History

Dr Emma Hunter: African History on Screen and in the Classroom: Moving Images in the teaching of African History

Dr Emma Sandon: Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire. A 3-year AHRC funded project

Susanne Hammacher: Looking back - Looking Forward: Tasks ad Challenges of an Archival Ethnographic Film Collection and the Digital Future.


------------------

The opening paper by Guido Convents presented an overview of some of the problems facing the archival of African film within the local context, with a focus on the DRC. This was supplemented by a screening of documentary made by a young Congolese filmmaker about the current state of an archival unit in Kinshasa.

The presentation and documentary highlighted Convents; key arguement, that whilst there are archives of colonial film (for a European audience and also propagandist or educational film for local African audiences), there is hardly any interest in archiving film that was produced after colonialism.

He develops this further by later proposing that the archive within an African context could also include key films that have influenced early African filmakers, such as European Neorealistic films screened in the 50's, the Western film, etc.

Convents asks whether these films should be considered when thinking of the purpose of the archive within a local context, alongside the local post-colonial productions? That is to say, an understanding of the images that early African filmakers were exposed to, in some way provides an understanding of their own approach to filmmaking, and in turn their cultural influences that pervade all aspects of life. When talking of the diverse cultural influences, Convents gives as an example Papa Wemba's musical influences from the rumba, and his early exposure to the music of Luis Mariano.



Convents provided an exhaustive list of key organisations that have been involved in the archival of African film, FIAF, FIAT, URTNA, UNESCO to mention a few. However the successes of these organisations in prioritising archiving, would seem is dependant on finance and access to technologies that allow for the digital storage of these films, as well as sourcing the films themselves.

Convents' examples from the DRC point at two key problems with the current state of play in archiving African film: firstly the need of local archives for the local, and secondly the lack of interest by Western archives in post-colonial film, both as historical evidence and as a cultural narrative.


------------------

Keith Shiri, director of London's African film festival, "Africa at the Pictures", proceeded Convents with a brief personal account of his experience of African film, and a sample screening of the variety of work emerging on the continent ranging from Nollywood to higher production value "Relentless" see below:

RELENTLESS from Fortproject on Vimeo.

You can read more about this film by Andy Amadi Okoroafor at this blog:
Dodge and Burn

or go directly to the films official website:
clamfilms


Keith Shiri's presented his current project; the setting up of a UK based distribution company for African film which will be officially launching towards the end of the year. He believes that this will act as a platform to ensure that African filmmakers interests are best served and to promote African film in the UK.

Although the title of the scheduled talk was "African Film and Documentary : The Contemporary Scene", Mr Shiri's talked veered away from the topic, and focused more on the workings of the distribution company. It did not deliver the expected overview or flavour of contemporary African film or documentary, and was dissapointing to a degree.

The setting up of an official distribution company was met with support as it is clear that African filmmakers face an increasingly difficult task in disseminating their films to larger audiences. However there was little further discussion on what the greater implications of distribution:
such as creating audiences,
where they intend to screen the films,
what selection criteria they use for programming,
what are the problems African filmmakers face,
what are the current emergent technologies and how they are impacting on distribution, such as DVD or DV?

Although Mr Shiri evidently carries a knowledge of the contemporary landscape of African film, he was not clear in identifying some of these key issues.

------------------

Prof. Vivien Birkette-Smith's paper on film as historical evidence, and film as history raised some interesting salient observations about the uses of the moving image by the historian. Here he identifies three key ways that historians engage with film; film as evidence, film in history, film as history.

The questions that were raised here presented the difficulties that historians face when turning to the moving image as history, such as the possibility of error, oversimplification, a lack of context. He also provides the counter position in defense of film stating that it can draw attention to 'uncomfortable truths' and reveal a sense of history.

Birkette-Smith provides ample sources of literature in this field, and developed his arguement thoroughly, presenting a strong case for the possibility of seeing the uses of different types of film as history in history.

animation theory... the limits of Cholodenko / or limiting the limitless

the observations below are still work in progress and do not reflect the extent of my arguement, nor that of Cholodenko's writings... it is if you like intial musings on this book - with probably more to follow....


The Illusion of Life II, Alan Cholodenko's second publication, is an attempt to address or re-address the perceived lack of critical theoretical literature in this field. The premise of Cholodenko's argument posits that it can only be through post-modernist discourses that any true attempt at theorising on animation can take place.

Although Cholodenko correctly identifies that problems associated with animations peripheral position in relation to "traditional" film theory, and other media - his focus on the pervasive-ness of animation in contemporary visual culture lends itself to becoming all encompassing of any media/ or art. He argues that as animated technology predated and informed film, theoretical positions should see all film (and other forms) as animations. Therefore rather than animation being subservient to film, and lesser than, in actual fact the reverse is true.

This position is not a new idea, and echoes the preoccupations of Cholodenko's contemporaries, whom he proceeds to critique for their limited view of the form. However although the premise is correct Cholodenko's limitless paradigm, applying the term animation to refer to any visual media, makes it impossible to begin to address the specific details of this medium.

He frames most of his argument by claiming that he draws from Derrida, Freud, Baudrillard, and other postmodernist thinking, but fails to specifically identify which aspects of these writings are used to inform how he theorises animation.

I suppose my personal biggest bone of contention with Cholodenko's 100 page introduction to his book, is his repeated claim

"The theorizing of the first (theorizing film as a form of animation) at once calls for the re-thinking of all aspects o film through animation and opens the door to thinking animation beyond film, including theorising all other art and media as forms of animation - drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, TV, video, computer, new media etc."

Herein lies the paradoxical position of Cholodenko, it is apparent that other art forms (as he lists) are NOT animation ALL of the time, and therefore it would be fair to say that animation draws from the artistic practices such as those listed above, and employs aspects of each medium, within the realm of the animated form.
The animation retains qualities to it that are particular and specific to the medium, of course it pervades into various forms and vice-versa, however I feel that Cholodenko's argument is too ambitious in its grand claims.

The risk Cholodenko's discourse faces, is the inability to realise and identify the aesthetic formal qualities that do make the experience of watching an animation still to date, different to watching a film, or looking at a painting, etc. His examples of cases whereby animation appears (or as he argues IS) evident in contemporary visual media whether in Kill Bill, The Matrix, Computer Gaming, etc is true, but inorder to identify this as such one needs to be able to define what it is we are looking at. Consequentially if we know WHAT animation is, then we can begin to see HOW it appears in our visual culture. The reverse arguement, that Cholodenko puts forward, that all visual media are animation, does not move as any closer to identifying what we are looking at, and how it bears similarities and differences to other forms.

When Cholodenko refutes Richard Leskosky's heralding of animation studies as a new discipline, he defines the notion of the discipline as something that requires coherence, stability, a state of oneness. Here Cholodenko is self-contradictory: positioning the notion of discipline as if it were a singular undifferentiated body of knowledge. Considering Cholodenko's advocation of the postmodern, this definition hardly resembles a postmodernist stance; that acknowledging the possibility of a variety of discourses, positionings, forces and tensions, within one discipline.

How and why is this relevant to the study of African animation?
If contemporary writing on animation theory has been limited or limiting (as Cholodenko states), then writings on African animation within theoretical paradigms of the moving image and visual culture are practically non-existant.
My own approach to discussing African animation within a theoretical framing, has had to be one that draws from analogous modes of opperandum when discussing the image, moving or otherwise, and visual cultures.

In short, although I agree with Cholodenko in his identifying the limitations of animation theory and in his mission to promote animation as a the medium that superceeds and consequentially informs all others (here I would put a clause and state MOVING image) - I cannot negate that the versatility of its aesthetic form draws from other practices that inturn inform HOW we understand and read the image. Its context of production and distribution, the implications of the technology, and the speciic cultural underpinnings that make African animation what it is today, are all relevant to my understanding of it.

In a sense, I too draw from postmodernist thinking, drawing webs of links, forces and tensions, that make the artefact reside in this visual culture space. My method has been one that looks at anthropological literature, post-colonial theory, media theory (to an extent), film theory, genre, the relationship between form, practice and aesthetic, art theory, iconography or otherwise, etc - all this in an attempt to understand what makes animation unique, and what makes African animation (used loosely here, but meaning different examples of animation from various African countries) unique and unlike its Western counterpart....

The task at hand... a hard one that makes deciphering the subtleties all the more difficult, more so if I was to approach the task utilising Cholodenko's position.

For more information on Cholodenko's position you can read his article on the Animation Studies On-line Journal

track... Yancouba Dieme

Track is a 3 week project produced all over France by 4 visiting student directors in 2007.The directors are Tanvi Bhatia (India), Anatoily Lavrenishin ( Ukraine), Yancouba Dieme ( Senegal) and Paola Guigou ( France)

dak'art

animation in Senegal...

Little is known about the emergence of animation in Dakar, Senegal. Most hits for a search on animation in Senegal will point you to the company Pictoon that ran the animated series Kabongo Le Griot, but that has now folded. The local artists that were trained in-house by the company acquired the skills of traditional animators, and some of them have gone on to direct their own work. Recently on the radar is the young, Yancouba Dieme - who also has a blog and it would seem is currently undertaking his studies at Supinfocom. His appearance on the festival circuit is evidenced at FCAT African Film Festival, Tarifa , with his stop-motion film Champion 2005.
An other contemporary,Piniang - as he is known (Ibrahima Niang)- shares a similar work background at Pictoon, with evidence of commissioned animated work, as well as collaboration and participation on UNESCO's Africa Animated Project. His work includes referencing his own paintings and the use of found objects. He also featured in the 8th Biennale of Contemporary African Art at IFA (Berlin)
For more information on Piniang's work see the article on Africultures

One early Pictoon Animation

on politics and animation in Kenya

Kenyan animation has recently been on the increase with evidence of animated shorts popping on the web through distribution mechanisms like youtube. Of interest is perhaps the emergence of political satire as a format, perhaps with links to political cartooning as the in the case of cartoonist GADO's recent puppet and 2D animation - The XYZ Show. Other examples can be seen on the Kenyanimation blog with Ihira's 2D animation "The Stated Opinionn Show" that follows a similar format and also uses political satire as its content. However trailing through U-tube one also comes across various other little animated skits that are akin to political cartooning using the same visual devices here are a couple of examples from Politoons






These animations may be inspired by the news/political spoofs on local stations like KTN's News Shot and CTV's News Aside, that are satirising local politics.





and finally Kenyan's interest in politics takes on any form as this article by the BBC on a inventive young political cartoonist shows...
Kenya's Busstop Cartoonist

nigerian artist and animator...

Kenneth Shofela Coker's work is inspiring, retaining a strong sense of an illustrative aesthetic that is derivative of African landscapes and imagery... check out his blog! Really exciting stuff.

african animation online articles...

With the recent attention that African animation is receiving globally, more and more online journals and animation websites are directly there attention towards the continent. With this in mind one can read up on the recent news from the continent at the following links...

Animation World Network
AnimationSA

Africa in Motion
AnimationSA2

also worth noting is the presence of animation in recent African film Festivals...

Africa in Motion / Cambridge African Film Festival / Africa at the Pictures, London

animation in Nigeria

although there has been little evidence of the developments of animation in Nigeria, I have been kindly contacted by Lanre Oluwafemi, a 29 year old 2D Animator who currently has a registered company called Lafem Animation. His work can be viewed on you tube, here is a sample...



Another animation in development that is using 3D Computer generated technology, Nigerian Legend - by prominentcease.com




Pick Ya Phone



on Nigerian politics...



check out musician/ animator who makes his own music videos Mak-Jay



The animation reel of The Frame Factory, an animation company based in Lagos Nigeria...

world animation blog...

One of the animations featured on the animationblog, from South Africa
"Sea Orchestra" by Shy the Sun



Sea Orchestra from Shy the Sun on Vimeo.

more from Shy the Sun

Bakers: The Making of from Shy the Sun on Vimeo.

Africa in Motion Film Festival

This year the Africa in Motion Festival, Edinburgh, will be screening a collection of animated shorts from the Continent. These include amongst others, some shorts from the Africa Animated UNESCO project, JM Kibushi's films, and J. Trowell's Beyond Freedom. The lineup was intended to provide a diverse overview of techniques, aesthetics and narrative content, that stems from different African countries. With this in mind, one can see anything from 3D Computer Generated animations, to hand-drawn or stop-motion animations. A more detailed article about the work can be found on the site: http://www.africa-in-motion.org.uk/

Project Ngando documenting JM Kibushi

For three weeks between 11th and 31st of May, Jean Michel Kibushi and a team of four professionals in scriptwriting, videography, sculpture, and 3D Computer Animation from Belgium and Bournemouth University travelled to the Academie des Beaux Artes in Kinshasa to work on the preproduction development of PROJECT NGANDO, directed by Jean Michel Kibushi. Project Ngando is the first feature length stop-motion film to be made in the DRC, based on an adaptation of the book Ngando by Lomami Tshibamba, the first Congolese writer. His book Ngando is set in colonial Congo written in the 1950s, but Jean Michel's adaptation will be a modernised take on the book, with resonances to current day scenarios in the DRC. The project consisted of a series of workshops delivered to writers, actors, dancers, sculptors, and painters, including students from the Academie itself.




The purpose of the time spent there was to inform and equip local artists with the professional skills required to undertake similar projects of their own. Through working on the preproduction development of the script (for animation), design and maquette building of primary characters within the narrative and studies of movement through acting workshops geared towards movement for animation, the artists were able to address aspects of their art in relation to the requirements of animation.




Each workshop ran for approximately 3 weeks, with different specialised groups of participants that were shortlisted. The process was at times frustrating due to physical restrictions, such as frequent power failure in the area, shortages of water and unreliable transport services that caused delays in the process. However not withstanding the participants were all able to actively contribute to this production and finish with tangible results that would later be implemented in the animation.

This whole process reflects Jean Michel Kibushi's ethos, one that returns to the DRC not only as a source of inspiration for his films, but to continue to expose local narratives to a local audience. This production, like his previous work, resides alongside other projects, such as the SANKURU Mobile Cinema Project, which takes a cinema, that projects African films, into rural communities in the Sankuru, Kasai Oriental Region. His work is always a considered reflection on local narratives that ring true both aesthetically and narratively to an audience from the DRC. This film will be Jean Michel's first film that is attempting to enter not only the European circuit but the global one. For this reason the development of this film has had to consider both a sense of local authenticity whilst at the same time ensuring that is does not become too specific that it does not read across audiences. One of the considerations for example is the intention to reduce the conversational elements to a bare minimum and to rely on movement to narrate the story.

Kenyan animation blog

a great blog documenting new up and coming independant animations, some very exciting and novel work! Hope to see more postings...

marionette, puppets DRC

H Paluku

animations by Paluku... there seems to be a Congolese link, still need to establish what and how. But some really exciting work...

wedding and funeral DRC

more music and the drc

groovy music from the DRC

the kasai allstars

Meknes Animation Film Festival

Kibushi at Meknes in 2006 exhibiting his props and characters for his film Prince Loseno


For the first time the Meknes Animation Film Festival has included specifically an African Animation Competition. Although it is unclear how much support and entries this will attract from Sub-saharan Africa - it offers more opportunities for people on the continent to screen their work and can only be a good thing!
An article of previous years festivals can be found on the AWN website - or click here....MEKNES

perspectives on the DRC for an article on JM Kibushi's animations....

BBC Timeline of DRC

For more information on Kibushi and other African Films with articles on FESPACO click here:
clapnoir

Urban Congo - with a short article on Kibushi's work Prince Loseno...URBAN CONGO

A collection of examples of Congolese films/ documentaries and animations can be found on a DVD set (2) YAMBI - I am still looking into whether this DVD can be ordered from the site cinergie.be : you can read about the DVD collection on the link provided:
CINERGIE.BE

also related site to this collection of films see the event YAMBI Congo

kagablog : portal to art/ film/ photography and more

For an insiders look at the south african film industry and related themes see:

state of industry

also see observations and remarks on south african media vs West importation by Sabelo

kagablog_rest vs west

more from kagablog on Africa in Motion click below...

AMotion

Jean Rouch, the ethnographic filmmaker with his penetrative and performative camera

Les Maitres Fous (1954)

A timeless controversial film, Les Maitre Fous depicts the Hauka (West African) religious ceremony, predominantly found at the time to be practised amongst the Songhay and Djerma of the Niger river Basin. Described as ritual exorcising of colonialism.

from the Documentary Educational Resources;
The imagery in Les Maitres Fous is powerful and often disturbing: possessed men with rolling eyes and foaming at the mouth, eating a sacrificed dog (in violation of taboo), burning their bodies with naming torches. Beyond the imagery, the themes are also powerful, and have had an impact in our own culture:Jean Genet's The Blacks was modeled upon the Hauka inversion in which blacks assume the role of masters, and Peter Brook's Marat/Sade was influenced by the theatricality and invented language of Hauka possession. Yet, as Rouch reminds us in an interview in Cineaste, possession for the Hauka cultists was not theater but reality. The significance of this reality is left ambiguous in the film, although Rouch's commentary suggests that the ritual provides a psychological release which enables the Hauka to be good workers and to endure a degrading situation with dignity. The unexplored relation of the Hauka movement to their colonial experience 1-S perhaps the most intriguing issue raised by this ceremony in which the oppressed become, for a day, the possessed and the powerful.

In order to truely be able to contextualise this film and read it within a specific cultural context, Paul Stoller's article "Horrific Comedy; Cultural Resistance and the Hauka Movement in Niger (Ethos, Vol 12 No. 2, 1984) is recommended. Stoller states,

In this paper I consider the Hauka movement of Songhay possession
dance as a dramatic form in which the deities practice horrific
comedy. This comedy, I suggest, provides a symbolic means by
which the Songhay anchor themselves culturally in a world which
the way of the European is rapidly changing. By aping the European
they have resisted culturally the way of the European and have expressed
metaphorically their preference for the traditions of their
ancestors. In so doing the Songhay have used symbolism to protect
their cultural identity from the ever expanding encroachments of
European civilization.

"If a cultural institution is laughed at, its meaning cannot be taken at face value. Laughter must be regarded as a denial of cultural automation and the affirmation of a complex human freedom to follow, change or create culture"(Codere 1956:349-350). The comedy of paradox is therefore a major tool which can be used by people to resist culturally the influence of powerful foreigners.

interview with rouch...


les tambours d'avant Tourou et Bitti - Rouch

hollywood, bollywood, nollywood and now riverwood???

Nigerian Nollywood...

The invasion of the video-movie in Nigeria: With the advent of video related technologies in the 90's, filmmaking became largely accesble to a home market and offered an affordable alternative to both the producers of the film as well as the consumers, home-viewers. The article by Francis Harding in the Journal of African Cultural Studies (Vol 16, No. 1, June 2003, pp69-94), Africa and the moving image: television, film and video, provides a good overview of the benefits of the recent developments of this market in Nigeria (and Ghana), identifying key aspects that have encouraged this industry to emerge and become greatly popular not only amongst the local market but across the continent and within diasporic communuities world wide.

"The creation of a localised genre of African video-movies, whose themes are the violent chase, gangsters, romance, and religion and whose location and setting, dress and narratives are highly localised."

Kenyan emerging film industry...

some clips from african films....

african film la vie est belle in two parts...

From the CaliforniaNewsReel -

La Vie est Belle takes us inside the vibrant music scene of Kinshasa, the Congo's exhilarating and exasperating capital whose back alleys and clubs pulsate to the beat of some of the most influential music in the world. The film, starring Soukous music legend Papa Wemba, tells the "rags to riches" story of a poor country musician who seeks fame in the city's vibrant music industry. This lively farce illustrates the Congolese faith in Systeme-D or debrouillardise, fending for yourself to survive in the face of overwhelming obstacles. If there is a commercial cinema in Africa's future, then La Vie est Belle may be one of its precursors

Pfaff in the book, The Cinema of Ousmane Sembene writing on the use of sound and limited music in his films writes;

In some instances, sounds are used rhythmically and melodiously to create a musical effect without the help of a musical instrument. Concerning the greatest part of the musical score of Ceddo, Sembene specifies that "it is not exactly music. It is a repetition of sounds and rythmns. It is done with bottles. Why not harmonise sounds and rythmns, why should we always resort to traditional African music for our films?"

the great sembene, sengalese acclaimed writer and filmmaker....a short clip from his film La niore de..



more clips from borom sarret, moolade, yeleen

africa and filmmaking...bits and bobs and other related thoughts...

Tsotsi
South African film that has won a host of awards at various international film festivals including the Edinburgh Film Festival, Los Angeles AFI Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival.

The synopsis taken from the official website (see link above) states the following

Tsotsi n. thug, gangster, hoodlum

Set amidst the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto - where survival is the primary objective - TSOTSI traces six days in the life of a ruthless young gang leader who ends up caring for a baby accidentally kidnapped during a car-jacking.

TSOTSI is a gritty and moving portrait of an angry young man living in a state of extreme urban deprivation. His world pumps with the raw energy of "Kwaito music" - the modern beat of the ghetto that reflects his troubled state of mind.

The film is a psychological thriller in which the protagonist is compelled to confront his own brutal nature and face the consequences of his actions. It puts a human face on both the victims and the perpetrators of violent crime and is ultimately a story of hope and a triumph of love over rage.

"Tsotsi" literally means "thug" or "gangster" in the street language of South Africa's townships and ghettos. "Kwaito" is South Africa's answer to American Hip Hop.


For more video clips go to the official website - it gives both comprehensive documentation/ press releases/ reviews etc but also other video clips on the "making of" the film, and related areas such as Kwaito Music.







U-Carmen
This is what the Barbican had to say about ...

This impressive adaptation sets George Bizet's masterpiece in the underworld of a South African township, and won the Golden Bear at last year's Berlin Film Festival.

Theatre director Mark Dornford-May has effortlessly translated the famous love story of Don José and the sensuous cigarette seller Carmen from Spain to Cape Town, and the libretto from French into the local Xhosa.

Acclaimed, local-born opera singer Pauline Malefane is a revelation in the title role, supported by a magnificent cast from the acclaimed Dimpho Di Kopane theatre company.

South Africa 2005 Dir. Mark Dornford-May 127 min.


to listen to an interview with the south african star and co-writer Pauline Malefane... go to the BBC collective - click here
Also a good link to an interview with the Director on the film see the BBC film network - or click here









DV8 Project talking about the film industry in south africa...







FESPACO

To find out more information about the FESPACO Film Festival, Journeyman Pictures have a short clip on the film festival to be found on Utube - which can also be ordered as a DVD format. Unfortunately the clip is not embeddable but you can watch it on youtube / click here






....in this clip on African Cinema and Revolution, Zola Maseko (Drum, 2004) discusses revolution in African cinema at the Here & Now African & African American Art & Film Conference. Seated (L to R) are Jacquie Jones, Moussa Sene Absa, Maseko, and NYU's Institute of African Studies Chair Manthia Diawara.


Manthia Diawara's book, African Cinema: Politics and Culture - is a recommended read for anyone who is interested in contemporary issues surrounding the African cinema.

on independant filmmaking in africa

Balufu Bakupa Kanyinda discusses independent filmmaking in Africa at the Here & Now Art & Film Conference. Seated, L to R, are John Akomfrah, CCH Pounder, and Kanyinda

Beyond Freedom : Animated Documentary

poetry as a political voice

Afrimation Event at SOAS, 20/10

On Saturday the 20th, we held a day of screenings of African Animations, with a retrospective of Jean Michel Kibushi's work, with a discussion later with the filmmaker himself - at SOAS, Russell Square, London.

Although like most events, we had some inconvenient mishaps, such as our guest speaker arriving later than expected - it all went off smoothly in the end. Attracting various people, whether academics, general public, and some festival organisers, and representatives from film bodies - this event also provided people with the opportunity to network and establish potential links for future projects. The intention behind this event, was greatly to dispell the myths that are created around animation: such as it being targeted largely at children, being closely related to Disney, and (in the case of African Animation) as it presenting orientalist imagery that would conform to stereotypical assumptions surrounding African imagery per se. The program of screenings made an attempt to present examples of animation, that challenge these assumptions.
They vary in form - from Stop-motion and traditional techniques, to high-end cutting edge 3D computer generated imagery, as in the case of the talented Peter Mute from Kenya - and in content presenting a myriad of issues, from current local social concerns and political critique to traditional legends.

The collections of shorts screened included a collection of some of the "Africa Animated" projects run by UNESCO, independant animators such as Tessa Comrie and Cartoonist Mike Scott from SA, some diasporic work by Victor Osula and Tessa Lewin.

The retrospective screened three of Kibushi's films: Le Crapuad Chez ses Beaux Parents; Muana Mboka, Prince Loseno. J.M. Kibushi gave a short account of his early developments in this form, the decisions he made earlier in his career to dedicate himself to his art, and retain the qualities of the auteur, in so doing rejecting any possibility of working within the commercial sector. His production company, StudioMalembeMaa, is based in two locations Brussels and Kinshasa, between which he travels regularly. His production process generally involves training artists in Kinshasa to be able to work on the productions. His film Prince Loseno, took five years to make, involving a production team of about 100 people from various specialisms, working on pre-visualisation, concept design, cinematography, to model making, animators, set designers etc. He is currently in the early development stages of his first feature length stopmotion film which will go into production next year in Kinshasa, DRC.

His loality to his craft and art has enabled him to develop his techniques and move from 2 D cut-out animation to the more complex techniques of stop-motion using 3D sets and silicon modelled characters. When asked what his main influences in his work are, of course he explained he looked at other European practioners like Harry Hausen and Tim Burton, but in terms of inspiration, he claims, that comes from his life experiences and memories of archetypal characters he encounters on an everyday basis in his home town, Kinshasa. In fact he goes on to say most of his characters in the film Prince Loseno, are modelled around people whom he personally grew up with or knew. The stories sometimes variations of myths and legends he grew up with, or based on a local saying... as in the case of Prince Loseno, and even Muana Mboka. Muana Mboka interjects aspects of contemporary Kinshasa, whilst interweaving with mythical imagery and beliefs such as the surreal sequences with the tortoise and grandfather.


He also views his work as having a documentary ability such as his work on the Atelier Graphuoi project, which resulted in the animation, Sebtembre Noir. This animation was produced with limited animation techniques, in this case chalk on black paper. The artist worked alongside street children, who drew their memories of the miliatry coup that occurred at the time. Here the animation became an account or document of the events that were ongoing in Kinshasa at the time. The children, Kibushi claimed, were able to present an honest account, lacking the political awareness of adults, they presented a document of a time. This animation, Kibushi says, was later used by European new agencies, to depict the attrocities that were occuring / and give an account of the events. The Western media at the time had no means of entering the country, under the Mubutu regime, the animation therefore provided access into what was truely happening at the time.