African Cinema and Festivals: FESPACO

Abstract

African Cinema and Festivals:FESPACO Manthia Diawara (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Figure D. Ouagadougou fountain. Courtesy of FESPACO. [End Page 106] When it first took place in 1969, only five African and two European countries participated in the Festival Panafricain du Cinéma de Ouagadougou (FESPACO). By 1985 it had become the biggest cultural event in Africa, with thirty-three countries competing for the now prestigious Étalon de Yennenga award and several other prizes such as the ones conferred by the Organization of African Unity, UNESCO, the Institut Culturel Africain (ICA), the Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique (ACCT), the Organisation Catholique Internationale du Cinéma et de l'Audio-visuel (OCI), and the European Economic Community. The ninth FESPACO (February 23–March 2, 1985) brought to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, more than five hundred guests: filmmakers, journalists, and critics from Africa, Europe, and America. An unprecedented half-million people participated in the events. While such newspapers and specialized magazines as El-Joudjahid (Algeria), Le Monde (France), and Cahiers du Cinéma have regularly covered the festival since 1969, FESPACO 1985, which was attended for the first time by newcomers such as the Los Angeles Times and the independent British TV network, Channel 4, marked a clear improvement over the preceding ones. It was also at FESPACO 1985 that the Organization of African Unity (OAU) award was inaugurated. The purpose of this chapter is to explain the success of the FESPACO in becoming the most important and culturally unifying event in Africa, despite the ideological contradictions and linguistic differences between some African countries. FESPACO had to overcome several obstacles and undergo several transformations before becoming the international event that it now is. Begun in 1969 as La Semaine du Cinéma Africain, it was only at its third meeting in 1972 that the Ouagadougou film events took the name FESPACO and introduced competition between films for awards. The 1969 Semaine du Cinéma Africain was organized by Burkina Faso (then Upper Volta) and the French Ministry of Coopération, which was the biggest producer of African films. Five African countries (Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Niger) [End Page 107] and two European countries (France and Netherlands) were represented by filmmakers and their films. On the African side, Borom Sarret (1964) and La noire de … (1966) by Ousmane Sembène, Et la neige n'etait plus (1964), Le retour de l'aventurier (1964), and Aoure (1966) by Moustapha Alassane, and Cabascado (1964) by Oumarou Ganda were shown. On the European side, Jean Rouch showed Jaguar (1966), Moro Naba (1957), and Bataille sur le grand fleuve (1950), and Joris Ivens showed Demain à nanguila (1963). In total, twenty-five films were exhibited on a noncompetitive basis. This first Semaine du Cinéma Africain (February 1–15, 1969) had many structural elements and rules that are still maintained by the FESPACO. It had a local committee of Voltaics in charge of the organization. The committee was assisted by subcommittees for the reception, housing, information, programming, and entertainment. The French cultural attaché in Ouagadougou participated in the organization and the Ministry of Coopération in Paris supplied most of the films and contributed funds for the festival. The Semaine du Cinéma Africain had as its objective "to make people discover and to promote African film which for the most part was ignored. The purpose of this encounter was therefore to show that there exists an African cinema, which was made in Africa, by Africans, on African subjects."1 Some ten thousand people saw the films, and this encouraged the organizers to have a Semaine du Cinéma every year. The second Semaine du Cinéma (February 1–15, 1970) was more successful on all levels. Nine African countries (Algeria, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso) and the French government participated in the events. Thirty-seven films were exhibited, including Mandabi (The Money Order, 1968) and La noire de … (Black Girl) by Ousmane Sembene, Dianka-bi (1969) by Mahama Johnson Traoré, La femme au couteau (1968) by Timité Bassori, L'aube des damnes (1965) by Ahmed Rachedi, and La voix (1968) by Slim Riad. The number...