FEMALE PIONEERS OF AFRICAN CINEMA.
African Cinema has always been presented under the lenses of male filmmakers. Meanwhile, African women also participated in bringing different perspectives and ways of telling African people's stories—especially African women's stories, with honesty and truth. Unfortunately, these women remain in the shadow. Even though Many of these women filmmakers have helped pave the way for many African women in films, they continue to be forgotten and their work erased. In contrast to their male counterparts whose projects and works are constantly flooded with acclaim, restoration, and praise. In addition, the difficulty in accessing these women's work is a problem that keeps handicapping the solidification of the legacy of these African women's filmmakers.
In this piece, we are shedding light on a few of these women filmmakers, because we truly believe that they deserve more praise and exposure for daring to break the ceiling glass and enter such a male-dominated field with optimism and passion.
1. SAFI FAYE (Senegal)
Born in Dakar in 1943, Safi Faye was a teacher who entered the world of film after her encounter with the French anthropologist Jean Rouch. He convinced her to play in one of his "Cinéma-Vérité" in Paris called "Petit à Petit" in 1970. Even though she wasn't a fan of Jean Rouch's work, she admitted to learning about filmmaking through him. After such experience, she developed a fondness for the metier of filmmaking and quickly decided to pursue such direction. She went on to study ethnology and joined the Lumière Film School. She produced her first short film "La passante" in (1972), in which she also acted. She then had her first feature film called "Kaddu Beykat​" (1975), a film that won a few prizes at several festivals and grant her international recognition. This feature would make her the first Sub-Saharan African woman to direct a commercially distributed feature film. Unfortunately, It was initially banned in Senegal for criticizing national agricultural policies that were remnants of the colonial era.
Safi Faye would go on to direct other documentaries and movies in her career such as "Selbé: One Among Many" (1983) and the movie "Mossane" (1990). She remains an important figure in African Cinema.
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2. THERESE SITA- BELLA (Cameroon)
Born in 1933 in southern Cameroon, "She is among the earliest recorded women filmmakers in Africa. Her most popular work was a 30-minute short documentary titled "Tam-tam à Paris" (1963), capturing the National Dance Company of Cameroon during its Paris tour. The film was featured at the first Week of African Cinema in 1969, a festival that would later become known as the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), alongside many well-known male contemporaries such as Ousman Sembene, Paulin Soumanou Vieyra, and Mustapha Alassane. Sita-Bella became active in radio and print journalism on the eve of Cameroon’s independence. She was also a writer, guitarist, model, and Cameroon’s first female pilot. In the 1960s, Sita-Bella co-founded and worked for the French newspaper La Vie Africaine. She also worked with UNESCO, participated in the creation of BBC Africa radio service, and was a correspondent for Voice of America. After returning to Cameroon in 1967, she joined the Ministry of Information and became deputy chief of information. Sita-Bella was a trailblazer in an industry dominated by men. She died in almost total anonymity at the age of seventy-three, with most Cameroonians never hearing of her until after her death. Reflecting on the film industry, Sita-Bella is quoted stating: “​Camera-women in the 1970s? At that time we were very few. ​There were a few West Indians, a woman from Senegal called Safi Faye, and I. But you know, cinema is not a woman’s business." (Ethel-Ruth Tawe for c&.)
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"Tam Tam à Paris" footage is not available to be seen
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3. ANNE-LAURE FOLLY (Togo)
Born in 1954 in Lomé, Togo. Anne-Laure Folly is a documentary filmmaker. She started her filmmaking career in the early 90s. Being inspired by women directors such as Safi Faye and Sarah Maldoror. She directed a total of 11 films during her career. She didn't study cinema like the woman she was inspired by. She studied law in Paris. Nevertheless, her ability to showcase women's humanity, struggle, and beauty through her work has made her one of the most important filmmakers of her generation. Her most notable work is her documentary "Women With Eyes Open" (1994). For this documentary, Anne-Laure Folly won the Silver Medal at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. This film records women from Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal discussing their lives. Anne's work is highly directed toward women, feminist expression, and women's condition in African society. In 1998, she directed a documentary on one of her inspiring filmmakers, Sarah Maldoror titled "Sarah Maldoror, la Nostalgie de l'Utopie".
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4. SARAH MALDOROR (Guadeloupe/France/Angola)
Sarah Maldoror was born in 1929, She attended a drama school in Paris. She received a scholarship and studied film with Mark Donskoi in Moscow in 1961–62 where she met Ousmane Sembène. She worked on a few movies after her studies, until directing her very first debut, a short film called "Monangambee" (1968), which was set in Angola and based on a story by Angolan writer José Luandino Vieira. The title of this 17-minute film, Monangambée, refers to the call used by Angolan anti-colonial activists to signal a village meeting. The film was shot with amateur actors in Algeria. It tells the story of a poor woman who visits her husband, who is imprisoned in the city of Luanda. The film was selected for the Director's Fortnight at Cannes in 1971, representing Angola.
She then went on to direct her first feature film called, "Sambizanga" (1972), is set in 1961 at the onset of the Angolan War of Independence. Based on a novel by José Luandino Vieira, Sambizanga is a landmark testimony to the determination and importance of the colonial resistance in Africa. Guardian film writer Mark Cousins included
Sambizanga in a 2012 list of the ten best African films.
Maldoror is among the first women to direct a feature film in Africa; therefore, her work is often included in studies of the role of African women in African cinema.
Learn more about Sarah Maldoror here
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NOTABLE MENTIONS:
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- Fanta Regina Nacro (Burkina Faso)
The first woman from Burkina Faso to direct a feature film, and is a founding member of the African Guild of Directors and Producers. ​
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- Isabelle Boni-Claverie (Côte d'Ivoire/France)
Isabelle Boni-Claverie is an author, screenwriter, and film director born in Côte d'Ivoire.
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- Monique Mbeka Phoba (Congo/Belgium)
A filmmaker, she has worked on film production, distribution, and promotion of African cinema.
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