Cinema of Africa
Cinema of Africa covers both the history and present of the making or screening of films on the African continent, and also refers to the persons involved in this form of audiovisual culture. It dates back to the early 20th century, when film reels were the primary cinematic technology in use. During the colonial era, African life was shown only by the work of white, colonial, Western filmmakers, who depicted Africans in a negative fashion, as exotic "others".[1] As there are more than 50 countries with audiovisual traditions, there is no one single 'African cinema'. Both historically and culturally, there are major regional differences between North African and sub-Saharan cinemas, and between the cinemas of different countries.[1]
The Cinema of Egypt and the Cinema of Tunisia are among the oldest in the world. Cinema of Egypt in particular is the most established and flourishing industry in Africa.[2][3] Pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière screened their films in Alexandria, Cairo, Tunis, Susa, Libya and Hammam-Lif, Tunisia in 1896.[4][5] Albert Samama Chikly is often cited as the first producer of indigenous African cinema, screening his own short documentaries in the casino of Tunis as early as December 1905.[6] Alongside his daughter Haydée Tamzali, Chikly would go on to produce important early milestones such as 1924's The Girl from Carthage. In 1927, Egypt produced Laila the first feature-length film by Aziza Amir. In 1935, the Studio Misr in Cairo began producing mostly formulaic comedies and musicals, but also films like Kamal Selim's The Will (1939). Egyptian cinema flourished in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, considered its Golden Age.[7] Youssef Chahine's seminal Cairo Station (1958) laid the foundation for Arab film.[8]
The Nigerian film industry is the largest in Africa in terms of volume, number of annual films, revenue and popularity.[9][10][11] It is also the second largest film producer in the world.[12] In 2016, Nigeria's film industry contributed 2.3% to its gross domestic product (GDP).[12]
UNESCO report on the African film industry[edit]
In October 2021, UNESCO published a report of the film and audiovisual industry in 54 states of the African continent including quantitative and qualitative data and an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses at the continental and regional levels. The report proposes strategic recommendations for the development of the film and audiovisual sectors in Africa and invites policymakers, professional organizations, firms, filmmakers and artists to implement them in a concerted manner.[56]
Part 1 of the report is titled Pan-African Trends Shaping the Future of the Continent's Film and Audiovisual Sector, Part 2 is Strategic Development and Growth Models, Part 3 presents detailed national mappings of the countries, and an annex lists historical key dates in African cinema from 1896 to 2021. Apart from the historical developments of audiovisual productions, major filmmakers and their artistic merit and recent trends, such as online streaming, as well as the lack of training, funding, and appreciation of this industry, are discussed.[57]