Cultural Politics of Production and Francophone West African Cinema: FESPACO 1999

Abstract

Cultural Politics of Production and Francophone West African Cinema:FESPACO 1999 Teresa Hoefert de Turégano (bio) The world's leading festival of African cinema, the Pan-African Festival of Cinema and Television in Ouagadougou (FESPACO), celebrated its thirtieth anniversary last year. Held every two years in the capital of Burkina Faso, the festival is a venue where all the latest films by African directors are screened, and anyone involved in African cinema is certain to be there. But many people who watch this cinema are not aware of the complex foundations of francophone West African (FWA)1 cinema. Beyond the immediate pleasure of watching the films, the way that FWA cinema is produced can tell us a lot about the continuing struggle by African directors to appropriate their own cinematographic image. In a broader sense, this cinema reveals much about FWA's ability to engage in a dialogue with France, Europe, and beyond. Many people only see Burkina Faso as an impoverished country because it is in sub-Saharan Africa and the World Bank classifies it as one of the world's least developed countries (LDC). As a result, there is a tendency to give FESPACO special treatment, which means that people don't like to criticize it under the assumption that it is so fragile that criticism would cause its collapse. In this logic, the mere fact that the festival exists is already a major accomplishment, more than can be reasonably expected. However, no one gains from this attitude. FESPACO has already proven its legitimacy, but as with all festivals some years are better than others. So what can we expect from FESPACO, and what do we really get? Why is there so much talk about change in FWA cinema and so little action? FESPACO 1999 was not as successful as other editions for reasons linked to the same complications that have shadowed francophone West African film since its beginnings. Those familiar with FWA cinema already know about the difficulties of production, so tied to Europe; they are aware of the consistently unresolved problems of distribution, and the battle to have African governments coherently legislate and act on the behalf of cinema, [End Page 184] nationally and regionally. In 1999, the consequences of those problems were magnified. Not until the filmmakers themselves begin to look honestly and critically at their own position within the world of FWA cinema and of cinema on an international scale, will their cinema move forward. In the first part of the article, I look at some of the weaknesses of FESPACO 1999, and in the second part, I show their links to the major problems that continue to impede the development of FWA cinema. FESPACO 1999 What makes a successful film festival? Let's say it is a combination of the quality of films programmed, the deals made, the people encountered, and the discovery of new films and talent, all of which come together to create the excitement of a good festival. The first problem with FESPACO 1999 was in the overall lack of African, and in particular francophone West African, feature film production. Many FWA films are made with public funding from European countries, from within a sector that has suffered considerable cuts. The European Union (EU), the largest financial supporter of FWA film since the early 1990s (a role that had always been held by France), had a roughly two-year freeze on its funding for African cinema, until recently, when the Eighth European Development Fund was finally approved. Some filmmakers who had applied for financing and even received approval from the EU were not given funds. Production of FWA cinema has been down, largely because of the EU standstill. This situation exemplifies the close affiliation between Europe and FWA in matters of production. Many established filmmakers did not have films to enter the competition, again attesting to a malaise of FWA production. In addition, the official competition of feature length films seemed uneven in quality. Few new films premiered at the festival, one exception being opening night's La Genèse / Genesis (1999, Mali)2 by Cheikh Oumar Sissoko, a beautifully filmed adaptation of the Biblical book of Genesis. Although...