In my comprehensive approach to covering African cinema – past, present, and future – I have yet to dive into African film movements and manifestos, theoretical and institutional.
It’s a necessary exploration that connects past to present, showing that an actual continuity exists where there doesn’t appear to be one, based on present-day coverage alone.
African film movements and manifestos remain largely understudied in contemporary discourse despite foundations that are as vivid and complex as any, extending beyond the geographical borders of Africa itself.
This has left a major gap in our collective understanding of the entire continent’s cinematic development and contributions to global film culture, particularly in the postcolonial context.
It’s important to note that movements and manifestos don’t need to have identified themselves as such. From a critical and journalistic standpoint, we have a part to play in spotting and analyzing trends, patterns, eras, themes, movements, and manifestos even where they were not explicitly formalized and announced.
[No, the FEPACI may not be considered an explicit “movement” or “manifesto,” but… it was/should be, particularly when the principles upon which it was founded are reflected on]
Akoroko Premium subscribers received an intro to a series on Monday titled “Mapping African Cinema’s Movements and Manifestos, Organizational and Theoretical (An Overview).”
Going forward, I will focus individually on those that have some documentation, and also consider others that, from my perspective, may not been formally recognized.