5 New Films to Watch Out For, N°29

Nègre Blanc (“White Negro”) is Cheikh N’diaye’s new film about albinism, in which he tackles rumors, stereotypes and misconceptions through the eyes of Cameroonian storyteller Léonard de Semnjock:

Sans Image (“Without Image”) is a French documentary film by Fanny Douarche and Franck Rosier about three sans-papiers from Mali (Matenin, Gaye and Abdoulaye) who work on a theatre piece that reflects their daily hustles as workers “without papers” in France:

Pokou, Princesse Ashanti is marketed as the first animated film coming out of Côte d’Ivoire — produced by Afrikatoon:

Christian Lajoumard’s documentary In the Courtyard of the Puppeteers of Burkina Faso is part of a mini-series about puppets from around the world. In Burkina Faso, a number of young puppeteers have revived this dying art, and today about twenty troops flourish in the country. These small enterprises with limited means usually set up shop in the courtyards of family homes:

La Rive Noire (“The Black River”) is a documentary by Blaise Ndjehoya (Cameroon) and Olivier Van’L — after historian Michel Fabre’s book by the same title — about the Transatlantic links (from Harlem to Paris) between African-American and African-French thinkers and artists at the beginning of the 20th century. Names and interviews include those of Aimé Césaire, Howard Dodson, Lilyan Kesteloot, Daniel Maximin, Gordon Parks, Herbert Gentry and Manuel Zapata Olivella:

Further Reading

Cinematic universality

Fatou Cissé’s directorial debut meditates on the uncertain fate and importance of Malian cinema amidst the growing dismissiveness towards the humanities across the world.

The meanings of Heath Streak

Zimbabwean cricketing legend Heath Streak’s career mirrors many of the unresolved tensions of race and class in Zimbabwe. Yet few white Zimbabwean sporting figures are able to stir interest and conversation across the nation’s many divides.

Victorious

After winning Italy’s Serie A with Napoli, Victor Osimhen has cemented his claim to being Africa’s biggest footballing icon. But is the trend of individual stardom good for sports and politics?

Breaking the chains of indifference

The significance of ending the ongoing war in Sudan cannot be overstated, and represents more than just an end to violence. It provides a critical moment for the international community to follow the lead of the Sudanese people.

The magic man

Chris Blackwell’s long-awaited autobiography shows him as a romantic rogue; a risk taker whose life compass has been an open mind and gift to hear and see slightly into the future.

How to think about colonialism

Contemporary approaches to the legacy of colonialism tend to narrowly emphasize political agency as the solution to Africa’s problems. But agency is configured through historically particular relations of which we are not sole authors.

More than just a flag

South Africa’s apartheid flag has been declared hate speech by a top court. But while courts are important and their judgments matter, racism is a long and internationally entrenched social phenomenon that cannot be undone via judicial processes.

Resistance is a continuous endeavor

For more than 75 years, Palestinians have organized for a liberated future. Today, as resistance against Israeli apartheid intensifies, unity and revolutionary optimism has become the main infrastructure of struggle.

Paradise forgotten

While there is much to mourn about the passing of legendary American singer and actor Harry Belafonte, we should hold a place for his bold statement-album against apartheid South Africa.

The two Africas

In the latest controversies about race and ancient Egypt, both the warring ‘North Africans as white’ and ‘black Africans as Afrocentrists’ camps find refuge in the empty-yet-powerful discourse of precolonial excellence.

A vote of no confidence

Although calling for the cancellation of Nigeria’s February elections is counterintuitive, the truth is that they were marred by fraud, voter suppression, technical glitches and vote-buying.