Creating an African film experience

Chadian filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun is dedicated to his craft. Like many African born filmmakers he is intent of furthering the African experience through film. Using his country, Chad, as a backdrop he is currently at work on another film that puts a face on the people who experience the challenges of living on the continent. A recent Washington Post article talks about the lengths to which he and his crew are going to make his movie Dry Season authentic. To some extent his filmmaking style is more documentary than entertainment. His previous films Bye Bye Africa and Abouna similarly put a face on the 30-year Chadian civil war.

Mr. Haroun is one of many filmmakers who are creating great films without the support or existence of a native filmmaking industry. Besides the virtual nonexistence of a film community and ongoing political repression, many African filmmakers also face the challenge of seeking funding abroad with “many international donors viewing the arts as a luxury in times of food shortages, health crises and other emergencies”. Fueled by their travels and a new access to resources not available in their countries, more and more Africans are using their artistic vision to tell stories of Africa as they have experienced it. Last November in New York City, I got a chance to see one of the movies cited in the Post article, Hip Hop Colony, sweep the H20 (Hip-Hop Odyssey) International Film Festival Odyssey awards, winning the Best Feature Documentary award and the Heineken Emerging Filmmaker Award. Along with Bling: Consequences and Repercussions, Hip Hop Colony was a highlight at the festival, bringing Africa-themed films to the forefront. South African film Tsotsi’s win (Best Foreign Language Film of the Year) at February’s Academy Awards has given African film a new life and with more structure they will stand a better chance of getting funding and distribution to the world.

“Africa has such a terrible image,” said Issa Traoré de Brahima, a filmmaker from Burkina Faso who was working on the Chadian film. “And at the same time, we have so many talented people with artists’ souls. We just wish they didn’t have to leave the continent to earn a living. But in some places that is slowly changing.”