Wednesday, April 12, 3:00 p.m., the Cook Center, Maxwell Hall
Free, no ticket required
“I dared to make a film”: A Tribute to the Life and Work of Safi Faye
Often called “the mother of African cinema,” Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye was the first African woman to direct a commercial feature film. Join visiting scholar Beti Ellerson for a conversation on Faye’s revolutionary work and career, and its lasting impact on African filmmaking.
Beti Ellerson is the founder and director of the Centre for the Study of Research of African Women in Cinema. She is the author of Sisters of the Screen: Women of African on Film, Video, and Television and director of a documentary based on her book.
Thursday, April 13, 7:00 p.m., IU Cinema
Free but ticketed
Rafiki & Pumzi screening
This screening will feature an introduction by Beti Ellerson (Centre for the Study of Research of African Women in Cinema) and a Q&A with Dr. Ellerson and Prof. Michael T. Martin (The Media School, Black Camera).
Thursday, April 20, 7:00 p.m., IU Cinema
Free but ticketed
Caterpillars/Makongo screening
Featuring an introduction by IU doctoral student Claire Fouchereaux and followed by a Q&A with Prof. Joshua Malitsky (The Media School, Center for Documentary Research and Practice), Joseph Gaï Ramaka, and Prof. Eileen Julien.
Joseph Gaï Ramaka is a Senegalese director, screenwriter, and producer who has been a key figure in African film industries for more than 30 years. His film And What If Latif Was Right won Best Documentary Film Award at the Vues d’Afrique Festival – Montreal (2006).
Eileen Julien is Professor Emerita in Comparative Literature and French and Italian at IU. Her work focuses on literature and culture in Africa and the Americas, their historical and cultural ties and divergences, and the factors of colonialism, decolonization, and contemporary political and economic processes.
Friday, April 21, 1:00-2:45 p.m., Virtual
Free, no ticket required.
The transcription of this event will appear in a future issue of Black Camera.
‘The Future of African Filmmaking” panel and discussion
A panel discussion on the future of African filmmaking. Topics include fiction filmmaking on the continent, documentary filmmaking in the diaspora and on the continent, women in African filmmaking, and connecting audiences to continental and diasporic filmmaking. Featuring:
Gaston J.M Kaboré is a pioneering and award-winning Burkinabé film director. For the last 18 years, he has run Imagine, an institute in Ouagadougou that trains professionals in the television and cinema industries.
Claire Diao is a French-Burkinabè film critic and distributor. She co-founded the Pan-African film critic magazine AWOTELE in 2015 and has been the CEO of the Pan-African film distribution company Sudu Connexion since 2016.
Jean-Marie Teno is a Cameroonian film director and filmmaker, primarily working in documentary film. He has been called “one of Africa’s most prolific filmmakers” and his films have won awards at festivals all over the world.
Mahen Bonetti, originally from Sierra Leone, Bonetti is the founder and executive director of African Film Festival, Inc. She has served on panels for FESPACO, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and Africa’s U.S. diplomatic offices, among others.
Moderated by Prof. Akinwumi (Akin) Adesokan, Associate Professor, Cinema and Media Studies, and Department of Comparative Literature, Indiana University.
Friday, April 21, 7:00 p.m., IU Cinema
Free, no ticket required
Desrances screening
Featuring an introduction by Claire Diao and a Q&A with Claire Diao and Prof. Michael T. Martin (The Media School, Black Camera).