Author: Tambay A. Obenson

The Ongoing Search for *Authenticity* in African Cinematic Storytelling. A tribute to the Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, the literary and political force, who passed away yesterday, May 28, 2025, at the age of 87. A key voice in the dialogue around the use of African languages in literature, he steadfastly critiqued African literature’s domination by European […]

Prefer to listen? This newsletter is now available in an AI-generated audio format. (11 minutes) Akinola Davies Jnr’s “My Father’s Shadow” is less a narrative in the traditional sense and more an atmospheric record of a particular place, time, and mood: Lagos, June 1993, when Nigeria thought it would elect a new democratic president. The film is […]

Three official Cannes awards this year went to African / diaspora films and performances: – “La Petite Dernière”: Best Actress (Nadia Melliti, Algeria), Competition – “O Riso e a Faca”: Best Actress (Cleo Diára, Cape Verde), Un Certain Regard – “My Father’s Shadow”: Caméra d’Or Special Mention, Akinola Davies Jr., Nigeria It’s one of the […]

Prefer to listen? This newsletter is now available in AI-generated audio format (12 minutes) After dispatching the April 5 newsletter, African Feature Films at Cannes (1946–2024): A Data-Driven Chronicle, I thought it would be a good idea to step back and spend more time on one detail I only mentioned in passing: the near-absence of African films […]

Four new dispatches: 📌 ONE – My Father’s Shadow (Review): The first Nigerian film in Cannes’ Official Selection. A hybrid memory of fatherhood, Lagos in 1993, and the absence that shapes it all. 📌 TWO – Six Hours of Informal Conversations: Ground-level intel from African and diaspora film industry professionals at Cannes—burnout and gaps in […]

Prefer to listen? Audio versions available for each newsletter dispatch. Localized pricing now available in Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Jamaica. 7-day free trial included. Subscribe at the link: https://akoroko.com/localpricing/

Prefer to listen? This newsletter is now available in audio format—an AI-generated version of my voice. (10 minutes) In 2019, when Karine Barclais launched Pavillon Afriques at the Marché du Film—the official industry market of the Cannes Film Festival—she was not an insider in the film world, nor did she have a background in African cinema. What she […]

Cannes 2025 is now underway, with African and diaspora titles gaining visibility across Competition, Un Certain Regard, La Cinef, and the Shorts program. But beyond the red carpet: – Who’s funding these films, and who owns them after – What platforms like Pavillon Afriques, AfroCannes, and African House are building – Whether African delegations are […]

Prefer to listen? This newsletter is now available in AI-generated audio format (12 minutes) It’s been more than a decade since Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako last released a film. His 2014 feature “Timbuktu” was widely celebrated for its quiet power and political precision, earning an Oscar nomination and solidifying his place as one of Africa’s most respected […]

Scoop: In my interview this week with Abderrahmane Sissako, he revealed that his next film will be a black-and-white adaptation of David Diop’s celebrated 2018 novel “At Night All Blood Is Black.” OmarSy acquired the rights and asked him to direct. “Nobody expects that from me,” he said. “That’s why I have to do it.” […]