Interview with Jessica Beshir on Faya Dayi
Olivier Barlet : Faya Dayi is a very labyrinthical film, a kind of mosaic, a kaleidoscope. How did you construct such a film? Jessica Beshir : Everything was a process. It took about 10 years for me to finish this film, from the inception of it. I grew up in Harar but returning after a long time required me to learn about the place again. I interviewed so many people. I interviewed scholars from Haramaya University which is the...
Cabascabo, the film that lastingly established FESPACO
Interview with Alimata Salambéré , president of the first edition (1969), by Olivier Barlet Much is read about the birth of FESPACO. It was therefore necessary to return to its source, to its first president. It was an opportunity to discover the essential role played by the opening film. In 1969, Alimata Salambéré, head of programs at the national television, was 27 years old. Nevertheless, she was chosen to be the president of the...
The masterclass of Malek Bensmail in Apt
15 Nov. 2018 : Malek Bensmail was a guest at the festival des cinémas d’Afrique du pays d’Apt where he participated in a masterclass, moderated by Olivier Barlet, during which he discussed his work as a documentary maker.(texte en français ici) Why choose to make documentaries ? Actually, like every young algerian filmmaker, I wanted to do fiction. But after a short training in Paris, that was quite theoretical, I had the opportunity...
Music in film aesthetics : a round table in Lausanne
Invited by the 14th International Film Festival Cinémas d’Afrique in Lausanne (2019, Switzerland) to discuss the impact and importance of music in film aesthetics, singer-songwriter Wasis Diop, and directors Joël Karekezi (The Mercy of the Jungle) and Peter Sedufia (Keteke) explored this rarely discussed theme using excerpts from their films, accompanied by producer Pedro Pimenta and director Michel K. Zongo. The round table was...
The masterclass of Amine Bouhafa in Tunis
During the Carthage Film Days 2018, the famous Tunisian film music composer Amine Bouhafa answered questions from the festival’s Director of Communication, Hisham Ben Khamsa. A full transcript of the interview is available below. The film excerpts are to be found on the video of the meeting (timecodes indicated), which is a summary and therefore includes only certain passages of the exchanges and films: The film...
The Masterclass of Ladj Ly in Dakar
(translated by Madelyn Colvin from the article in french on Africultures) Ladj Ly et Djebril Zonga presented Les Misérables as a preview showing at the Dakar Court Film Festival on December 12th, 2019. The following day, Ladj Ly responded to questions in a fully-packed room at the French Institute of Dakar, notably those of young filmmakers taking part in the festival’s workshop “Talents 2019.” The session was preceded by the...
The Mastersclass of Euzhan Palcy in Dakar
(Test in french on the Africultures website) Euzhan Palcy presided over the jury at Dakar Court, which was held in Dakar from the 9th to 14th of December 2019. She accepted to come back to lead a masterclass and to respond to questions posed by the young cinephiles participating in the workshop “Talents 2019” who had been keenly following the events of the festival. Olivier Barlet: Thank you, Euzhan Palcy, for taking the time to do...
Meet the Directors : Roundtable at the Clermont Short Film Festival 2021
At the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival which took place online from 29 January to 6 February 2021 due to the covid-19 pandemic, Claire Diao animated as usual an hour of debate with the filmmakers of the African Promises programme, this time only three: Karabo Lediga (South Africa), Morad Mostafa (Egypt) and Anthony Nti (Ghana). Full transcript. Translation in french on Africultures. Tim Redford: Hello, everyone....
The masterclass of Souleymane Cissé in Dakar
During Dakar Court on December 11th, 2020, Souleymane Cissé sat down with Aboubacar Demba Cissokho and Augustin Diomaye Ngom to answer a few questions, as well as to engage with participants of the training workshop “Talents Dakar Court” 2020. Augustin Diomaye Ngom : After studying cinema in Moscow, how did you get into directing? I returned to Mali in November 1969, and in 1970 I worked for the news. After four years, I couldn’t take...
Fespaco 2019: The cinema lesson of Cheick Oumar Sissoko
(translation from the article published in french on Africultures) Ouagadougou February 28th, 2019: supported by Africalia, the cinema lesson takes place in front of an audience of ISIS students during Fespaco. This time with the Malian filmmaker Cheick Oumar Sissoko. The summary can be found here. Former Minister of Culture, elected Secretary General of the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI) in 2013, President of the...
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