Portal:African cinema

Fatoumata Coulibaly is a Malian film actress, director, journalist, and women's rights activist, particularly against female genital mutilation (FGM). Her first film appearance was in Guimba the Tyrant a Malian comedy drama film by noted Malian director Cheick Oumar Sissoko and winner of the Grand prize at the 1995 Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO). She is most known for her lead role in Moolaadé (2004) by Senegalese writer and director Ousmane Sembène. Coulibaly plays the role of Collé, a Burkinabe woman who uses moolaadé ("magical protection") to protect girls from female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice of which Coulabily was herself a victim. She won the Best Actress award at the Cinemanila International Film Festival in 2005 and the film went on to play an important role in raising wider awareness of FGM.

The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) is an umbrella union that regulates and represents the affairs of film actors in Nigeria and abroad. The guild is headed by Emeka Rollas who has served as president since August 22, 2017. Its current leadership includes Nollywood heavyweights Joke Silva (Board of Trustees), Kate Henshaw (National Executive Council), and Rita Dominic and Nancy Isime (President’s Cabinet). According to a 2019 speech by Rollas, the AGN has over 2 million registered members across 36 states and is the largest actors association in Africa.

From 8-10 August, the guild will host the Actors Guild of Nigeria International Festival in Los Angeles, in partnership with Africa Travel Film Festival (AFTRAFF) and Dream Magic Studios, a subsidiary of Silverbird Group.

The Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) has extended to August 10th the deadline for film entries for its 20th edition. The AMAA awards are aimed at honoring and promoting excellence in the African movie industry as well as uniting the African continent through arts and culture.

Connie Chiume (b.5 June 1952), a South African filmmaker and actress, died on August 6th. She was known for her film roles in Black Panther, Black Is King, and Blessers and in South African television series that includedYizo Yizo 2, Zone 14, Rhythm City, and Gomora.

Idris Elba has been allocated land in Zanzibar to set up a film studio according to comments by Zanzibar's Minister for Investment at the Zanzibar International Film Festival. The government granted Elba 80 hectares (about 200 acres of land) in Fumba, on the island of Unguja.

Côte d’Ivoire celebrates its Independence Day on August 7th. Check out two films from Philippe Lacôte, one of the country's most celebrated directors. Run (2014) is a drama and fictionalized account of the 2011 post-election upheaval in the Ivory Coast that killed 3000 people. It was first ever-film from the country selected for Cannes. Night of the Kings is a 2020 fantasy drama taking place in the notorious Ivorian MACA Prison. It was selected as the Ivory Coast's entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, making the shortlist of fifteen films.

The Nigerian drama I Do Not Come To You By Chance (2023) by Ishaya Bako, had its US premiere at the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia, on August 3rd. An adaptation of Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani's award-winning novel of the same name, the film stars Paul Nnadiekwe and Blossom Chukwujekwu and is executive produced by Genevieve Nnaji and Chinny Carter.

The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF)has extended the submission deadline for its 45th edition to September 1. The 45th edition will be held in Cairo from the 13th to the 22nd of November 2024 at the Cairo Opera House. CIFF is the only international competitive feature film festival recognized by the FIAPF in the Arab world and Africa, as well as the oldest in this category.

The Athlete (Amharic: እትሌቱ, Atletu) is a 2009 Ethiopian drama film about Abebe Bikila (1932-1973) the Ethiopian marathon runner and first African to win a gold medal.  In 1960, he participated in the Rome Olympic Games as a complete unknown and won the gold medal running barefoot. He became an overnight global sensation and four years later, repeated his feat at the Tokyo Olympic Games, becoming the first man to win the Olympic marathon twice in a row. In 1969 he was in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. He died four years later.

Ethiopian-born Rasselas Lakew starred as Bikila in the film, winning the Best Actor award at the 2011 Brooklyn Film Festival. He also co-wrote, co-produced, and co-directed the film which blends biopic, drama, and archival footage. Its awards include The Lions Award for Best Film in The Bright Future section of the Rotterdam Film Festival and in 2010, The Athlete became the first-ever Ethiopian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.

The 2012 film Nairobi Half Life was the first-ever Kenyan entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.  Directed by David "Tosh" Gitonga, the drama follows an aspiring young actor who moves from his home village to Nairobi to try to make it big but gets drawn into a life of crime. Its awards include Best Picture at the 2012 Kalasha Awards, Best Actor at the Durban International Film Festival, Breakthrough Audience Award at the AFI Fest, and Best Cinematographer at the 2014 Africa Movie Academy Awards.

Djibouti-Canadian film director and screenwriter Lula Ali Ismaïl is the first woman from Djibouti to produce a film, earning her the nickname of "the first lady of the Djibouti cinema”.

Pascal Abikanlou is considered the father of Beninese Cinema. His Sous le Signe du Vaudou (1974) is Benin's first fiction feature film and was restored in 2020 by the Cinémathèque française. The film can be watched for free on HENRI, Cinémathèque's free VOD platform.

The Egyptian thriller Flight 404 starring Mona Zaki broke Egyptian box office records for a female-led film when it was released earlier this year. Ghada (Zaki) is about to board a flight for Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca to atone for past sins, when a sudden emergency requires a large sum of money, which she can only obtain by reconnecting with people from her dark past.

The South African neo-western thriller Five Fingers for Marseilles (2017) was enlisted as one of the eight "reimagined versions" of Western films American singer Beyonce drew inspiration from for her 2024 country music studio album, Cowboy Carter.

Kulanen Ikyo (b. August 5)  is a Nigerian composer and sound editor. He is known for his work on some of Nollywood's most notable films of the past few years including October 1 (2014), The CEO (2016), Lionheart (2018), Oloture (2019), and The Black Book (2023). All these films are available to stream on Netflix. He is one of four Nigerian film composers featured in a short documentary series, Sounds of Nollywood, that can be viewed on YouTube.

Abdellah Taïa (b. August 8, 1973) is a Moroccan writer and filmmaker who writes in the French language. Based in Paris since 1999 he has published nine novels, many of them heavily autobiographical. Taïa became the first openly gay Arab writer in 2006. His first movie, Salvation Army (2013), is widely considered to have given Arab cinema its first gay protagonist. The film won multiple awards, including Best First Feature Film at the Durban International Film Festival.

Funke Akindele (b. August 24, 1977) is a Nigerian actress, director and producer who holds the distinction of helming the top three highest-grossing Nigerian films: Omo Ghetto:The Saga (2020), Battle on Buka Street (2022) and A Tribe Called Judah (2023), the only Nigerian film to have crossed the billion naira mark.  

John Kani (b. 30 August, 1942) is a South African actor, author, director and playwright. He first gained renown for his theater roles in Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island co-written with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona. In 1975 he and Ntshona jointly won a Tony award for Best Actor for Sizwe Banzi is Dead.  In recent years he has appeared in Hollywood blockbusters such as Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Black Panther (2018), and voicing Rafiki in The Lion King (2019).  In July 2024, he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to drama and the arts.

"Lack of investment in studios, cinemas and talent means that, despite recent successes, the majority of Africans struggle to find stories that resonate or represent us, and this is a loss to the global community. Africa has a wealth of beautiful stories that deserve to find a wider audience, but this can only happen if film-makers get funding to make good quality films, supported with adequate marketing, and access to distribution and outlets." Juliet Asante, actress, producer, director, and CEO of the National Film Authority of Ghana

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'Gangs of Lagos' (2023) directed by Jáde Osiberu is a Nigerian action thriller and Prime Video’s first African original movie. The film features an original soundtrack by prolific Nollywood composer Tolu Obanro (King of Boys, Brotherhood, Battle on Buka Street, Jagun Jagun) According to Obanro:

“The choice of music was really Nigerian. It was made from the local. I had to look for suspense from the local that would also be accepted internationally.” "I had very specific theme sounds for people..for example, every time you see the bad guy, you’ll hear the clash of machetes in the theme sound.”

The film also showcases a selection of Nigerian contemporary and classic songs. They include “On Fire" (Pana Time) written and sung by Afrobeat musician Chike who plays the character Ify; Ladipoe’s “Man Already”; King Sunny Ade’s 1982 classic “Ma Jaiye Oni”; Naira Marley’s “Koleyewon”, and “Funky Fuji,” the 2005 hit by K1 De Ultimate.

Le silence de la forêt (lit. 'The Silence of the Forest/The Forest') is a 2003 Central African Republican film directed by Bassek Ba Kobhio and Didier Ouenangare. It was the first-ever feature film of the Central African Republic and co-produced with Cameroon and Gabon, the two countries where filming took place. The film is adapted from the novel by Étienne Goyémidé of the same title and largely takes place among the ethnic minority group of the Biaka people, a nomadic pygmy group. It is considered the first film to address the racism of modern-day Africans towards this group.

The story follows Gonaba (Eriq Ebouaney) a disillusioned civil servant in Bangui who, seeking meaning in his life, leaves everything behind to live among the Biaka. His misguided attempt to apply his Western-formed idealism is met with resistance from deeply entrenched traditions. The film also stars Nadège Beausson Diagne with a film score by the famed Congolese musician Manu Dibango.

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