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Cinema of Africa
Cinema of Africa refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Africa. It covers both the history and present of the making or screening of films on the African continent, and also refers to the persons involved in this form of audiovisual culture. It dates back to the late 19th century, when film reels were the primary cinematic technology in use. Cairo has been the capital of film industry in Africa since the early 20th century to the present day.
As there are more than 50 countries with audiovisual traditions, there is no one single 'African cinema'. Both historically and culturally, there are major regional differences between North African and sub-Saharan cinemas, and between the cinemas of different countries. The Egyptian film industry and the Tunisian are also among the oldest in the world. Cinema of Egypt in particular is the most established and flourishing industry in Africa. Pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière screened their films in Alexandria, Cairo, Tunis, Susa, Libya and Hammam-Lif, Tunisia in 1896. Albert Samama Chikly is often cited as the first producer of indigenous African cinema, screening his own short documentaries in the casino of Tunis as early as December 1905.
The first film to be produced was 1923's Barsoum Looking for a Job in Egypt. Alongside his daughter Haydée Tamzali, Chikly would go on to produce important early milestones such as 1924's The Girl from Carthage. In 1927, Egypt produced Laila, the first feature-length film produced by Aziza Amir and directed by Stephan Rosti and Wedad Orfi. In 1935, the Studio Misr in Cairo began producing mostly formulaic comedies and musicals, but also films like Kamal Selim's The Will (1939). Egyptian cinema flourished in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, considered its Golden Age. Youssef Chahine's seminal Cairo Station (1958) laid the foundation for Arab film. The 1963 epic Saladin the Victorious is considered the highest-budget landmark in the history of the African cinema. Portraying the 12th-century Saladin's liberation of Jerusalem, featured massive production, thousands of extras, and was scripted by prominent author Naguib Mahfouz.
The Egyptian film industry is the largest in Africa in terms of revenue and popularity, while the Nigerian film industry is the largest in terms of volume and number of annual films, it is also the second largest film producer in the world. In 2016, Nigeria's film industry contributed 2.3% to its gross domestic product (GDP).
During the colonial era, Africa was represented largely by Western filmmakers. In the first decades of the twentieth century, Western filmmakers made films that depicted black Africans as "exoticized", "submissive workers" or as "savage or cannibalistic". For example, see Kings of the Cannibal Islands in 1909, Voodoo Vengeance (1913) and Congorilla (1932). The first film to be produced was the Egyptian film Barsoum Looking for a Job (1923).
Colonial era films portrayed Africa as exotic, without history or culture. Examples abound and include jungle epics based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burrou, and the adventure film The African Queen (1951), and various adaptations of H. Rider Haggard's novel King Solomon's Mines (1885).
One of the first films to be entirely produced in Africa was the South African dramatic film The Great Kimberley Diamond Robbery (1911). It was followed by De Voortrekkers (1916), South Africa's (and possibly Africa's) first epic film and oldest surviving film, about the Great Trek and targeted at an Afrikaner audience. A notable theme in early South African cinema was the ethnic confrontation between Afrikaner (specifically Boer) and British South Africans.
Much early ethnographic cinema "focused on highlighting the differences between indigenous people and the white civilised man, thus reinforcing colonial propaganda". Marc Allégret's first film,Voyage au Congo (1927) respectfully portrayed the Masa people, in particular a young African entertaining his little brothers with a baby crocodile on a string. Yet Africans were portrayed merely as human, but not equals; a dialogue card, for example, referred to the movements of a traditional dance as naive. His lover, writer André Gide, accompanied Allégret and wrote a book, also titled Voyage au Congo. Allégret later made Zouzou, starring Josephine Baker, the first major film starring a black woman. Baker had caused a sensation in the Paris arts scene by dancing in the Revue Nègre clad only in a string of bananas.
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Cinema of Africa
Cinema of Africa refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Africa. It covers both the history and present of the making or screening of films on the African continent, and also refers to the persons involved in this form of audiovisual culture. It dates back to the late 19th century, when film reels were the primary cinematic technology in use. Cairo has been the capital of film industry in Africa since the early 20th century to the present day.
As there are more than 50 countries with audiovisual traditions, there is no one single 'African cinema'. Both historically and culturally, there are major regional differences between North African and sub-Saharan cinemas, and between the cinemas of different countries. The Egyptian film industry and the Tunisian are also among the oldest in the world. Cinema of Egypt in particular is the most established and flourishing industry in Africa. Pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière screened their films in Alexandria, Cairo, Tunis, Susa, Libya and Hammam-Lif, Tunisia in 1896. Albert Samama Chikly is often cited as the first producer of indigenous African cinema, screening his own short documentaries in the casino of Tunis as early as December 1905.
The first film to be produced was 1923's Barsoum Looking for a Job in Egypt. Alongside his daughter Haydée Tamzali, Chikly would go on to produce important early milestones such as 1924's The Girl from Carthage. In 1927, Egypt produced Laila, the first feature-length film produced by Aziza Amir and directed by Stephan Rosti and Wedad Orfi. In 1935, the Studio Misr in Cairo began producing mostly formulaic comedies and musicals, but also films like Kamal Selim's The Will (1939). Egyptian cinema flourished in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, considered its Golden Age. Youssef Chahine's seminal Cairo Station (1958) laid the foundation for Arab film. The 1963 epic Saladin the Victorious is considered the highest-budget landmark in the history of the African cinema. Portraying the 12th-century Saladin's liberation of Jerusalem, featured massive production, thousands of extras, and was scripted by prominent author Naguib Mahfouz.
The Egyptian film industry is the largest in Africa in terms of revenue and popularity, while the Nigerian film industry is the largest in terms of volume and number of annual films, it is also the second largest film producer in the world. In 2016, Nigeria's film industry contributed 2.3% to its gross domestic product (GDP).
During the colonial era, Africa was represented largely by Western filmmakers. In the first decades of the twentieth century, Western filmmakers made films that depicted black Africans as "exoticized", "submissive workers" or as "savage or cannibalistic". For example, see Kings of the Cannibal Islands in 1909, Voodoo Vengeance (1913) and Congorilla (1932). The first film to be produced was the Egyptian film Barsoum Looking for a Job (1923).
Colonial era films portrayed Africa as exotic, without history or culture. Examples abound and include jungle epics based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burrou, and the adventure film The African Queen (1951), and various adaptations of H. Rider Haggard's novel King Solomon's Mines (1885).
One of the first films to be entirely produced in Africa was the South African dramatic film The Great Kimberley Diamond Robbery (1911). It was followed by De Voortrekkers (1916), South Africa's (and possibly Africa's) first epic film and oldest surviving film, about the Great Trek and targeted at an Afrikaner audience. A notable theme in early South African cinema was the ethnic confrontation between Afrikaner (specifically Boer) and British South Africans.
Much early ethnographic cinema "focused on highlighting the differences between indigenous people and the white civilised man, thus reinforcing colonial propaganda". Marc Allégret's first film,Voyage au Congo (1927) respectfully portrayed the Masa people, in particular a young African entertaining his little brothers with a baby crocodile on a string. Yet Africans were portrayed merely as human, but not equals; a dialogue card, for example, referred to the movements of a traditional dance as naive. His lover, writer André Gide, accompanied Allégret and wrote a book, also titled Voyage au Congo. Allégret later made Zouzou, starring Josephine Baker, the first major film starring a black woman. Baker had caused a sensation in the Paris arts scene by dancing in the Revue Nègre clad only in a string of bananas.