Dictionary of African Filmmakers

417 Pages·2008·9.004 MB·English

by  Roy Armes

Dictionary
Africa ARmes
Film & Media
Roy Armes is Professor Emeritus of “An invaluable project.”
D
Film at Middlesex University in the U.K. —Kevin Dwyer,
He has published many works on film i American University in Cairo
c
including (with Lizbeth Malkmus) Arab
and African Film Making; Dictionary of t “[A book] of tremendous importance
i
North African Film Makers; Postcolonial of African and utility to scholars, researchers, stu-
o
Images (Indiana University Press, 2005); A landmark dents, and the public at large.”
and African Filmmaking (Indiana n —Michael Martin,
University Press, 2006). Black Film Center/Archives,
a
reference tool
Indiana University
r
y
Compiled by eminent Africanist film
for African film
scholar Roy Armes, Dictionary of African
Filmmakers
o
Filmmakers is an inclusive, comprehen-
f sive treatment of films and filmmaking
on the African continent. The diction-
A
ary covers African feature film–making
from the first locally produced films to
f
today’s thriving film industry, listing
r
i over 5,400 films made by more than
c
1,250 filmmakers in 37 countries. Part 1
a includes information on filmmakers and
provides date and place of birth, training
n
or film experience, other creative activi-

ties, and a list of feature films produced.
F
Part 2 presents a national chronology,
i
filmography, and bibliography for each
l
m country producing feature films. Part 3
indexes film titles and provides transla-
m tions into English or French where ap-
propriate. This book is an essential refer-
a ence tool for anyone who wants to know
more about the vibrant and exciting
k
world of African film.
INDIANA
e
University Press r
s
Bloomington & Indianapolis
http://iupress.indiana.edu
1-800-842-6796
INDIANA Roy A R m e s Lithograph on Arches Vellum paper from
the Red Square Lithograph Collection, 1985.
© Nja Mahdaoui. All rights reserved.
Dictionary
of African
Filmmakers

Dictionary
of African
Filmmakers
R OY A R M E S
Indiana University Press • Bloomington and Indianapolis
Th is book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
Orders by e -m ail [email protected]
© 2008 by Roy Armes
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized
in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Th e Association of American University Presses’
Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only
exception to this prohibition.
Th e paper used in this publication meets the
minimum requirements of American National
Standard for Information S ciences—P ermanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z39.48-1984.
manufactured in the united states of america
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Armes, Roy.
Dictionary of African fi lmmakers / Roy Armes.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-35116-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Motion picture producers and directors—
Africa— Biography— Dictionaries. 2. Motion picture
producers and directors— Africa— Credits. I. Title.
PN1998.2.A758 2008
791.43023′309226—dc22
[B]
2007049772
1 2 3 4 5 13 12 11 10 09 08
For Martine Leroy
to whom all students of African
fi lm owe a huge debt

Th e ability to picture oneself is a vital
need. In fact, if a man were to live with-
out the capacity of forging a picture of
himself, he would have no aspirations,
no desires, no dreams of his own. Th e
same applies to a community, a society
and a people. A society daily subjected
to foreign images eventually loses its
identity and its capacity to forge its own
destiny. Th e development of Africa im-
plies among other things the production
of its own images.
Gaston Kaboré
“The Ability to
Picture Oneself”

CONTENTS
acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Mapping the F ield—
Feature Filmmaking in Africa
1
Part 1
African Feature Filmmakers
17
Part 2
Feature Film Chronologies
139
Part 3
Index of Film Titles
265
bibliography 393