Table of Contents

Introduction - Critical paradigms - Cultural identity, representation & voice - Screen griots: orature & film - Memory, history: other stories - Filming the immigrant experience: francophone African cinema in Europe - African women & film: on screen & behind the camera - Conclusion - Interviews with directors: Adama Drabo; Anne Laure Folly; Dani Kouyate; Fanta Regina Nacro; Idrissa Ouedraogo; Abderrahmane Sissako; Cheick Oumar Sissoko; Jean-Marie Teno - Bibliography - Filmography - Index

About the Author

MELISSA THACKWAY is a lecturer, independent researcher and translator. She currently teaches African Cinema at Sciences-Po Paris and at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO). She has published widely on film and representationin Africa and the diaspora.

Reviews

Thackway's text is an excellent source in every regard - as an introduction to the subject, as a reference for serious scholars, and as an assigned text in an undergraduate or graduate course.
*AFRICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY*

...an incredibly well-researched and authoritatively validated text on some of the most memorable films that have come out of Africa... along with appropriate illustrations and very well researched material this book will take long to be eclipsed as it further proves that there are many cinemas to be found in the continent and the Francophone is only one.
*ARAS Australia*

...contains an extended discussion of the position of women in the films from Francophone Africa. A few women filmmakers have gained wide recognition. Most of their films are documentaries or semidocumentaries and it is striking how most male directors pursue a similar progressive agenda in their feature films. As Thackway concludes, these films by women or about women offer a radically new perspective on their lives and concerns. ...They will give fresh impetus to the study and teaching of African film and may well lead the way toward a wider appreciation of four decades of African filmmaking.
*AFRICAN STUDIES REVIEW*

The main strengths of this volume lie in the specific focus on francophone African films, and the author's account of newer films which updates the current published literature. As an addition to the growing body of literature on African film, its accessibility should make it useful to students and lecturers as part of a broader discussion forum.
*MODERN AFRICAN STUDIES*