On July 20, 2024, a group of African filmmakers and industry professionals known as the East African Screen Collective (EASC) released a statement addressing longstanding concerns about the relationship between African and non-African entities in the screen context.
This statement comes as discussions about representation, cultural authenticity, and control over storytelling are becoming increasingly prominent in global media, but with the added context of Africa’s colonial history, and its efforts to assert its cultural and economic independence.
This statement targets the ways non-African entities often manage and influence cultural funding, training, and film production on the continent—practices that have often sidelined African professionals and perspectives.
It’s important to understand that much of the funding and decision-making power in African cinema has historically been held by organizations based outside the continent, primarily in Europe. This external control can lead to a disconnect between the content produced and the true cultural narratives and needs of African communities.
The EASC’s release includes a series of recommendations on how to correct these imbalances. Their call to action is not just about shifting control, but about fundamentally reshaping industry to support a more equitable, representative, and self-sustaining African screen sector.
The full statement from the EASC follows followed by an invitation for wider support by adding your name to the statement.
Best Practices for Non-African Entities Working in the African Screen Sector
July 20, 2024
To All Stakeholders in the Global Screen Industry,
We, the East African Screen Collective (EASC) – a coalition of companies and organizations advocating for narrative sovereignty in the screen-based sectors in Eastern Africa—write to address the essential practices and guidelines for non-African entities operating cultural funding, training, and research programs on the African continent. The extractive practices enabling non-African entities to sidestep involving African sectoral leaders in meaningful ways should and must stop.
Supporting African leadership, ownership, and control of the African screen sector is vital to dismantling colonial influences and fostering genuine narrative sovereignty, stability, and growth. Historically and currently, many of the funds and programs for the African screen industry are managed primarily from Europe, with limited engagement with/of African professionals.
Prioritizing genuine African governance and engagement from inception to evaluation ensures programs are responsive to the needs on the ground, culturally resonant, relevant, and designed to deliver meaningful long-term results. Empowering African and African diaspora professionals in critical roles shifts power and access back to African communities. This approach promotes the stabilization and growth of the African screen sector, paving the way for equitable and sustainable contributions to the global screen sector landscape.
As such, EASC presents twelve recommendations to institutions who manage or fund training initiatives, market/export programs, and funding schemes in Africa to support an inclusive shift to recenter the growth of the sector into African hands on the continent:
– African Ownership of Content: Ensure that African-owned and controlled companies retain majority or delegate ownership of content supported through labs, markets, and funding initiatives. This will support the retention of IP in African entities and promote their growth.
– African Jurors: Selective funds and programs should establish selection committees of African jurors/selectors. This practice ensures a jury of our peers’ approach to adjudication and connects projects to the wealth of African decision-makers and industry leaders.
– African-Led Research With Fair Compensation: Research initiatives conducted on the continent should be led by African researchers with lived experience. This practice ensures that researchers are well-versed in local cultural contexts and norms, ensuring methodologies are adapted appropriately and respectfully. Additionally, African interviewees and research participants must be fairly compensated for their contributions, preventing the exploitation of free labour and recognizing the value of their expertise and time.
– Cultural Sensitivity in Research Methodology: Research in Africa should be culturally sensitive, inclusive of local norms, and conducted using methodologies tailored to respect local customs and traditions. Researchers must engage with local communities to understand and incorporate their perspectives.
– African Leadership in Training Programs: Labs, workshops, and other training programs must be designed and led by African sectoral leaders and experts as heads of studies, administrators, or curators with first-hand lived experience working in the local contexts. This leadership guarantees that the training content is relevant, culturally appropriate, and beneficial to the local industry.
– Curriculum Focused on African IP Retention and Narrative Sovereignty: Training curriculums must prioritize African intellectual property (IP) retention, narrative story sovereignty, fostering regional collaboration, and inclusive co-production models. These curriculums should not reinforce long-held colonial approaches to filmmaking and co-production, instead fostering practices that respect and elevate African perspectives and control.
– Inclusive Markets and Export Missions: Inbound and outbound markets and export missions must include African buyers and decision-makers to ensure African content has adequate representation and opportunities for international distribution. This inclusion supports the 360 growth of the continent’s screen industries.
– Genuine Partnerships and Joint Collaborations: Non-African entities should engage in reciprocal partnerships that allow African institutions to lead or jointly design/operate programs. Collaborative efforts must be structured to ensure shared decision-making and joint ownership of programs, including shared budget decision-making.
– Prioritizing African Mentors, Script Editors, and Trainers: Labs and workshops targeting African screen sector members must prioritize hiring African mentors, script editors, trainers, and other vital roles. This ensures that guidance and training are grounded in local contexts and that African professionals have prominent roles in shaping the industry.
– Donor Funding for African Organizations: Donor funding on the continent should be allocated exclusively to African-owned and controlled organizations. This ensures that financial resources are managed by entities that understand the local landscape and supports the sustainable development of the African screen sector.
– African Leadership: Organizations based in Europe, Asia, or North America that operate training, funding or market programs for Africans must prioritize hiring African and African diaspora leadership to design and deliver these programs within their institutions. Non-African program leaders should work to sunset their roles and undertake succession planning for transition to African staff. Additionally, there should be a deliberate effort to prioritize the hiring of African and Black staff in the programs.
– Anti-Racism and Inclusion Training: To foster an inclusive and anti-racist work environment, it is essential for non-African staff to undergo deep and meaningful ongoing training on anti-racism, inclusion, and intersectionality as an integral part of their work. This training should be comprehensive and regularly updated to ensure continuous learning and awareness of diverse perspectives and experiences.
We believe these recommendations are crucial guidelines for creating a fair, equitable, and thriving screen industry in Africa. We invite all stakeholders to join us in implementing these guidelines and supporting the growth of Africa’s equitable and culturally rich screen sector.
Signed by the East African Screen Collective (EASC)
Co-signed in solidarity by:
Tamara Dawit, General Manager, Gobez Media
Amil Shivji, Director, Kijiweni Productions
Peter Mudamba Mudamba, General Manager, Docubox – EADFF
Mehret Mandefro, Executive Producer, A51 Films
Fibby Kioria, CEO & Founder, Mucii Pictures
Mohamed Saïd Ouma, Executive Director, Documentary Africa
Emily Wanja – Ground Volume International
Samuel Tebandeke, Managing Director, Kiasi Productions Limited
Yirgashewa Teshome, Managing Director, Ethiopian International Film Festival
Ng’endo Mukii, independent Writer and Director, Ng’endo Studios.
Mandisa Zitha, Director, Encounters South African International Documentary Festival
Samuel Tebandeke, Project Lead, Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab
Fibby Kioria, Co Founder & Director, Manyatta Screenings