Africa in Motion: Edinburgh African Film Festival
AiM 2008: 23 October to 2 November
A celebration of the diversity of African Cinema: classics, Nollywood, animation, horror and more..
A celebration of the diversity of African Cinema: classics, Nollywood, animation, horror and more..
Xala, Ousmane Sembene, Senegal
(still courtesy BFI) |
AiM 2008 will be a celebration of Africa's diverse cinematic output, with a greater focus on under-represented regions and a more adventurous programme than ever before.
We are extremely excited to announce that two of the continent's most celebrated and distinguished directors will be joining us in person at the festival. Malian director Souleymane Cissé (whose extraordinary feature Yeelen opened AiM 2006 to a sold-out audience) will be attending to present a retrospective of his work. Burkinabe director Gaston Kaboré will present his feature film Buud Yam, which won the grand prize at the FESPACO film festival in 1997.
AiM 2008 will include a programme of animation short films from all over the continent, consisting of various types of animation such as 2D, 3D, cut-out, claymation, stop frame animation, and computer animation. Animation film screenings will be accompanied by African storytelling events and film animation workshops.
Nollywood, the prolific Nigerian video industry that has taken the world by storm over the last few years, will receive a special focus with screenings of Nollywood films and follow-up discussions with directors.
For the first time at AiM, there will also be a series of late-night screenings of African horrors, erotica and experimental work. This audacious programme will include the Namibian-set cult classic Dust Devil by South African director Richard Stanley, and SMS Sugar Man, the first feature-length film to be shot entirely on mobile phone cameras, by experimental South African director Aryan Kaganof.
Contemporary films also feature prominently; a festival highlight is Nigerian director Newton Audaka's Ezra, a hard-hitting film that deals with the pressing issue of African child soldiers and won the grand prize at the FESPACO film festival in 2007. Feature films from East Africa will also be screened - an area hugely under-represented in African cinema.
Documentaries screened at the festival will include a range of films exploring African identity through various themes such as sport, music and dance. Nigerian-born broadcaster and filmmaker Zina Saro-Wiwa’s documentary This is My Africa will have its festival premiere at AiM, accompanied by a discussion with Zina after the screening.
"This year we are hoping to challenge and delight our loyal audiences, and draw new audiences, with a programme more diverse and daring than ever before. AiM 2008 is a celebration and exploration of the multiplicity of forms, themes, styles and approaches we find in the African film industries today", says Lizelle Bisschoff, director and founder of Africa in Motion.
As part of AiM's commitment to supporting filmmaking activity on the continent, the festival will host a short film competition for young and emerging African directors. The shortlisted films will be screened during the festival, and the winner announced at a prize-giving ceremony; the winner is to be selected by a high-profile jury consisting of African filmmakers and Edinburgh-based film practitioners.
The full programme will be released mid-September. A UK-wide AiM touring programme will take place from November to December.
Endorsements
Midge Ure: "Live Aid was an entertainment format that was used to highlight the humanitarian issues in Africa through music. Now, through Africa in Motion some great African filmmakers are being given a long overdue opportunity to screen their work and tell their own thought-provoking and innovative stories about Africa".
Rt Hon Jack McConnell MSP, First Minister of Scotland (2001 - 2007): "The Africa in Motion film festival is a brilliant addition to Edinburgh's annual programme of festivals. Too often the common perception of Africa is a continent plagued by poverty and disease. It does face many, many, challenges, but it also has wonderfully rich and diverse cultures, and I'm particularly pleased that Scotland provides this great showcase for African filmmakers."