Author: Tambay A. Obenson

There’s an undeniable buzz around African creativity right now. This increased attention brings with it a surge of activity and a flood of announcements that promise to “reshape,” “revolutionize,” or “redefine” the landscape of African filmmaking. Each announcement claims to be more “groundbreaking” than the last; each promises to be the key that will unlock […]

This is part of an ongoing series of year-end analyses on Africa’s uneven film and television environments, exclusively available to Akoroko Premium subscribers. In this installment, I explore how traditional definitions of a “film industry” are being reshaped across the continent. From MultiChoice’s sobering financial report describing “the most challenging operating conditions in almost 40 […]

In the Academy’s shortlist announcements for the 97th Academy Awards today, two African narratives advanced in major categories. Mati Diop’s “Dahomey” is shortlisted in both Documentary Feature Film and International Feature Film (as Senegal’s entry), while Belgian filmmaker Johan Grimonprez’s “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” advances in Documentary Feature Film. This continues momentum from the […]

North Africa’s longest-running film festival, the Carthage Film Festival (Journées Cinématographiques de Carthage/JCC), is currently celebrating its 35th edition, which began on December 14 and runs through December 21, 2024, in Tunis, Tunisia. Founded in 1966 as a pioneering platform for African and Arab cinema, Carthage remains steadfast in its mission to champion regional storytelling, […]

As 2024 deepens into its final month, Nigerian media company Nile Media Entertainment Group, still less than a year old, is making its mark within (and even outside) the African cinema ecosystem with aspirations that span continents. Under the leadership of industry veteran Moses Babatope, Nile Entertainment has been aggressive with its initial initiatives, strategic […]

[Akoroko Premium subscribers get more comprehensive project and calendar tracking with ongoing insights] Sundance Film Festival Features: World Cinema Doc Competition – “How to Build a Library,” Maia Lekow, Christopher King (Kenya): Two Nairobi women work to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958. – “Khartoum,” Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy […]

Whenever I reference the “the damage is done” statement from the 1979 manifesto “What is Cinema For Us?” by Med Hondo, regarding Western cinema’s dominance and its impact on African visual culture, I’m often (though certainly not always) met with a mix of confusion, curiosity, and sometimes pushback. The statement typically surfaces in conversations about […]

The story of Nigerian cinema this century has largely been told through a handful of voices with international profiles – figures like Mo Abudu, Kunle Afolayan, and more recently, various individual deals with streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and other international studios. Their narratives, amplified by the mainstream media’s preference for simple success stories, […]

Upon further reflection on the uproar surrounding Nigerian filmmaker Kunle Afolayan’s recent Netflix “canceled projects” comments, a few even more fundamental questions arose about how we evaluate Netflix’s engagement with African markets. When examining Netflix’s eight-year presence in Africa, the data suggests a measured pattern of engagement. For example, from 2016-2022, Netflix’s own 2023 report […]

There is a second Frantz Fanon film coming, following Abdenour Zahzah’s “The True Chronicles of the Blida Joinville Psychiatric Hospital in the Last Century, when Dr. Frantz Fanon Was Head of the Fifth Ward between 1953 and 1956” (yes, that’s the official title), which made its world premiere at the 2024 Berlinale. The second film, […]