Description
A lecture on FESPACO as part of our ongoing expanded research project into the modernisms of Africa and the attendant role of congresses and festivals as catalysts of an anti-colonial, anti-imperial, pan-African modernity.Abstract:
Cognisant of the reciprocal relations between cinema and cultural production, and the various socio-political currents – national, transnational, global; FEPACO, the premiere film festival on the African continent, offers itself as a unique event for an understanding of African modernity. This discussion will frame a number of issues that have shaped the history of the festival. Contentions over the decades will be noted in terms of the ways in which ideals have been defined and negotiated, as indicative of an understanding of both the African experience of cinema and the interventions of an African cinema as a cultural and political economy. The overarching concern will be to provide a specific filmmaker’s perspective on questions that persist in relation to FESPACO, such as, ‘is there such a thing as an African cinema’, the ‘authenticity’ of African films, who are the celebrated films made for, and indeed, what purpose has or does the festival serve. The implicit intention is to situate FESPCO fifty years after its inception; in the context of current debates and processes around ‘decolonization’. Here the foundations of festival will be a critical reference point for considering developments in African cinema, and the modern predicament of ‘Pan-Africanism’ and its challenges.
| Period | 25 Feb 2022 |
|---|---|
| Degree of Recognition | International |