(Photo: Angola’s iconic architecture — Cine Place Namibe)
Architecture creates the physical environments in which films are set, while cinema captures these spaces, adding unique narrative context.
– In African cinemas, the relationship can be seen in how filmmakers use architecture to convey cultural, historical, and socio-political realities and futures: colonial past, post-colonial evolution, the ongoing struggle for self-definition, and future landscapes (l’avenir; “to come”; Derrida).
– “Bringing the Biennale B(l)ack” is a July 27, 2023 lecture by Ghanaian-Scottish architect and academic, Prof Lesley Lokko, founder of the African Futures Institute, and curator of the 18th Int’l Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale.
– Titled “[Africa:] The Laboratory of the Future,” the exhibition aims to shift architectural focus to Africa and the African Diaspora, as well as “challenge dominant Western tradition.”
– Lokko’s lecture, which was held in Accra, Ghana, a few days ago, was also the first of a series of events on the African continent that will explore the work on display at the Biennale.
– Linking Lokko’s “Laboratory of the Future” concept, one could argue that African cinemas are part of this laboratory. It also aligns with Mambéty’s statement (shared recently here): “It is good for the future of cinema that Africa exists.”
– “Cairo Station” (1958, Chahine), “Yeelen” (1987, Cissé), “Hyenas (1992, Mambéty), “District 9” (2009, Blomkamp), “Timbuktu (2014, Sissako), “Atlantics” (2019, Diop), even “Black Panther” (2018, Coogler), and many others.
– As spaces, as symbols or metaphors, as aesthetics, links between African architecture and cinema can be explored from different perspectives.
The ideas here will all be expanded in a future Akoroko series (including film screenings).
Consider this an intro, courtesy of Prof Lokko’s brilliant 45-minute “Bringing the Biennale B(l)ack” lecture. It comes with plenty of its own film footage!
If you value the work that Akoroko does, consider pledging financial support. There’s ample work to be done. This is only the beginning. But resources are limited. Much appreciation to those who’ve made a contribution so far: https://www.gofundme.com/f/akoroko-african-cinema