| Cinema of Burkina Faso | |
|---|---|
| No. of screens | 10 (2009) [1] |
| • Per capita | 0.1 per 100,000 (2009) [1] |
| Produced feature films (2009) [2] | |
| Fictional | 4 |
| Animated | - |
| Documentary | - |
| Cinema of Burkina Faso |
|---|
 |
| List of Burkinabé films |
| Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou |
The cinema of Burkina Faso is one of the more significant in Africa, [3] with a history that spans several decades and includes the production of many award-winning films.
The cinema of Burkina Faso is an important part of the history of the post-colonial West African and African film industry. [4] Burkina's contribution to African cinema started with the establishment of the film festival FESPACO (Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou), which was launched as a film week in 1969 and gained government support and permanent structures in 1972. It is the largest film exhibition venue in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than half a million attendees, and takes place in odd numbered years in March. Burkina is also one of the countries producing the most feature films in Africa. Many of the nation's filmmakers are known internationally and have won international prizes. For many years the headquarters of the Federation of Panafrican Filmmakers (FEPACI) was in Ouagadougou, rescued in 1983 from a period of moribund inactivity by the enthusiastic support and funding of President Thomas Sankara. In 2006 the Secretariat of FEPACI moved to South Africa but the headquarters of the organization is still in Ouagaoudougou. Between 1977 and 1987 Burkina Faso housed a regional film school, Institut d'Education Cinématographique de Ouagadougou (INAFEC), which was instigated by FEPACI and funded in part by UNESCO. But eighty percent of its funding came from the government of Burkina Faso; no other African country participated in its funding and few sent students.
In the late 1990s, local private production companies began to proliferate and digital production became increasingly prevalent. By 2002 over twenty-five small production companies existed in the country, many pooling their resources and expertise in order to produce. The best known directors from Burkina Faso are: Mamadou Djim Kola, Gaston Kaboré, Kollo Daniel Sanou, Paul Zoumbara, Emmanuel Kalifa Sanon, Pierre S. Yameogo, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Drissa Touré, Dani Kouyaté, and Fanta Régina Nacro. [5] Burkina also produces popular television series such as Bobodjiouf. The internationally known filmmakers such as Ouedraogo, Kabore, Yameogo, and Kouyate make also popular television series.
Many films shot in Burkina Faso by local directors have found distribution in Francophone Europe and several have received assistance from the French Ministry of Co-operation. However, while these films have won awards in Europe and are regularly featured in African Studies courses, in Africa itself they are little known outside of academic circles.
Burkina Faso hosts the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) every two years in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital.
In 2005, director Gaston Kaboré, who won the top prize at FESPACO in 1997 for his film Buud Yam , opened a training school for new filmmakers in Ouagadougou. The school, named Imagine, was built with millions of CFA of Kaboré's own money and opened its doors for the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou 2005.
The Mossi are a Gur ethnic group native to modern Burkina Faso, primarily the Volta River basin. The Mossi are the largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso, constituting 52% of the population, or about 11.1 million people. The other 48% of Burkina Faso's population is composed of more than 60 ethnic groups, mainly the Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo and Fulani. The Mossi speak the Mòoré language.
Idrissa Ouédraogo was a Burkinabé filmmaker. His work often explored the conflict between rural and city life and tradition and modernity in his native Burkina Faso and elsewhere in Africa. He is best known for his feature film Tilaï, which won the Grand Prix at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival and Samba Traoré (1993), which was nominated for the Silver Bear award at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.
The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It accepts for competition only films by African filmmakers and chiefly produced in Africa. FESPACO is scheduled in March every second year, two weeks after the last Saturday of February. Its opening night is held in the Stade du 4-Août, the national stadium.
Gaston Kaboré is a Burkinabé film director and an important figure in Burkina Faso's film industry. He has won awards for his films Wend Kuuni and Buud Yam.
Cinema of Africa is 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". 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.
Fanta Regina Nacro is well known for being the first woman from Burkina Faso to direct a feature film and is a founding member of the Guilde Africaine des Realisateurs et Producteurs. She is an artist who explores the themes of African cinema while tackling issues surrounding illness such as AIDS and education for the Girl child. She represents the "New African Wave". Nacro's films tend to question the traditions of Burkina Faso, while looking at the relationship between tradition and modernity in today's world.
Articles related to Burkina Faso include:
Buud Yam is a 1997 Burkinabé historical drama film written and directed by Gaston Kaboré. It is the sequel to the film Wend Kuuni. As of 2001, it was the most popular African film ever in Burkina Faso.
Ecrans d'Afrique: Revue Internationale de Cinema Television et Video, founded by African filmmakers in Burkina Faso in 1992 during a period of intense worldwide interest and commentary on African T.V. and film, explored all aspects of African film production. It, along with its many contemporaries, sought to ameliorate an intellectual climate which suffered from a dearth of commentary on African film. A corollary of the journal's efforts was to improve worldwide exposure and access to African films - it was linked to the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), the continent's leading film festival, from its inception. Ecrans d'Afrique has also been lauded for its wide gaze covering the whole of the African diaspora and for its excellent coverage of Caribbean film developments.
Dani Kouyaté is a film director and griot from Burkina Faso, which the BBC describes as "Africa's most important film-making country".
Ouaga-Saga is a 2004 comedy film by Burkina Faso-based filmmaker Dani Kouyaté. This film was one of the two to three a year that the Burkina Faso government produces. Its plot revolves around ten children striving to reach their goal in life.
Issa le Tisserand is a 1985 Burkinabé film directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo. The film was awarded as the best documentary at the ninth Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO).
The Pan African Federation of Filmmakers, formed in 1969 and inaugurated in 1970, is "the continental voice of filmmakers from various regions of Africa and the Diaspora", focusing attention on the promotion of African film industries in terms of production, distribution and exhibition.
Events in the year 2018 in Burkina Faso.
Aminata Ouédraogo is a Burkinabé filmmaker and administrator. She is general coordinator of the Pan-African Union of Women in the Image Industry (UPAFI).
Aminata Diallo Glez is a Burkinabé filmmaker, actor, and producer also known as Kadi Jolie.
Moussa Kemoko Diakité is a Guinean cinematographer and film director.
Étalon de Yennenga is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Burkinabe's silver screen, awarded by the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), in recognition of the grand prize for the Best Film. First commenced in 1972, it is considered as the most prestigious award in Africa cinema.
