Reframing: Lack of opportunity, not lack of audience 📢📢📢

Two hours, including back-to-back panels, to unpack the realities of African film financing with industry professionals (film commissioners, filmmakers, producers, financiers, distributors, etc.) from across the continent! Yours truly is host and moderator. Anxious but ready!

Who/What Inspired Ousmane Sembène? Djibril Diop Mambéty? Safi Faye? Ola Balogun? Youssef Chahine? Med Hondo? Tracing the Influences Behind African Cinema's Pioneers When discussing the history of film, conversations often revolve primarily around the influences and philosophies

"Ultimately, the goal here is to cement the fact that the pioneers of African cinema were not just filmmakers, but cultural innovators who played a key role in shaping post-colonial African identities and challenging the dynamics of global culture."

Growing up in 1980s Nigeria, our passports explicitly stated they were not valid for travel to South Africa due to Nigeria's strong opposition to apartheid. I've traveled the world since then, but today, I landed in South Africa for the first time ever! #CapeTown #FAMEWeek

Benin Dialogues: Short Docs Explore Art, Restitution, and Museum Culture The Museum Rietberg in Zürich, Switzerland, is hosting an exhibition titled "In Dialogue with Benin – Art, Colonialism and Restitution" from August 23, 2024, to February 16, 2025. The exhibition explores

I continue to hope that African filmmakers will find ways to creatively chronicle repatriation efforts. This could lead to some refreshing storytelling, narrative styles, and structures, particularly as the push for control and authenticity grows. Mati Diop's DAHOMEY counts!

Venice 2024: Increasing Spotlight on African Narratives Historically, I haven't looked to Venice as much of a host for African stories. However, recent years have seen a notable increase which aligns with worldwide festival trends. The 81st Venice International Film Festival,

More African titles at #Venice this year than usual. Sign of the times. This one from Ghana, titled "The Fisherman," directed by Zoey Martinson. Follows Atta Oko, a retired traditional Ghanaian fisherman forced into an unlikely partnership with a modern, talking fish.

This films looks funny. Well done Ghana. More of this pls 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

African Cinema. 👏🇬🇭

Lovely. I look forward to seeing it.

How Have Netflix's Top 2024 African and Diaspora Original Releases Performed? (Part 2) Yesterday at MIP Africa, Netflix's VP of Content for the Middle East and Africa, Ben Amadasun, was on hand for an hour-long conversation with a packed house of eager listeners. During the

African films and TV series performing more uniformly better in Caribbean countries than in Africa overall! The absence of European countries (except for France and Portugal at the tail-end) is notable. Although I'm not quite sure what that means without more info... 👇🏾

TIFF24 Trailer: "The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos" | Agbajowo Collective | Nigeria/Germany/South Africa/USA | World Premiere | This debut blends thriller elements with magical realism to critique unchecked urban development and forced evictions in Lagos, Africa's largest

Screened the film a couple of weeks ago and interviewed the filmmakers collectively. Will review after the TIFF embargo lifts—the interview to be published ahead of that.

Tracing the Eras of African Cinema (One Perspective) Painting with broad strokes to start, breaking down African cinema into distinct periods, we can begin to better understand its role in mirroring and shaping the continent's cultural landscape. It's more accurate to view