ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 323 - 01/05/1997

Burkina Faso

FESPACO '97

by Sarah Tanou, Burkina Faso, April 1997

THEME = CINEMA

INTRODUCTION

Ouagadougou's Panafrican Film and Television Festival (FESPACO) has definitely come of age, in spite of being a victim of Africa's on-going development problems

FESPACO is a definite "plus" in the world of the cinema, and as an international festival, cannot be ignored. It is Africa's biggest festival, and is now counted among the world's major cultural festivals.
For more than 27 years, FESPACO has made a positive contribution to cinema and television and can now said to be attaining its objectives, which are: "
1) To promote Africa's cinema, making films in accordance with the realities of the African market;
2) To encourage a sharing of ideas among film producers and directors;
3) To make a positive contribution to Africa's own cinema industry, so that local productions serve to educate and encourage freedom of expression in a local context." Other African countries and film producers have all helped to introduce new ideas into FESPACO's programmes, thus firmly situating the festival as a truly international event. Each year, FESPACO is a "winner" in spite of some setbacks. It generates a number of spin-offs, such as within the tourist industry, and thus helps the country's economy. Burkina Faso established FESPACO in 1969, and the festival is now a regular item on the world's cultural calendar. FESPACO's 15th festival was held from 22 February to 1 March this year and had as theme: "Cinema, Childhood, Youth". The festival's top award, the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, went to Gaston Kabore of Burkina Faso for his film "Buud Yam" (The Family's Wish).
This year, a major change was the setting up of the "FESPACO Foundation". The Foundation will guarantee the festival's survival and development, thanks to ever-increasing financial help from the private sector. The whole intention is that one day FESPACO must overcome being permanently strapped for cash, and be able to pay for itself, not always depending on outside help. About 45,000 spectators attended FESPACO 1997's opening ceremony. 700 organisations and countries took part in the festival. At least 5,000 visitors came to Ouagadougou from abroad. More than 400,000 went to see the films in the various cinemas and visited the accompanying exhibitions and conferences. 253 journalists, representing 105 international media networks were covering the event. Such statistics speak for themselves. You can't talk about film festivals and not include FESPACO!

Legal backing

These are impressive figures but don't let's try and hide the problems. The motion picture industry is going through a difficult time and the 15th FESPACO Festival took place at the very moment when the industry has reached a deadlock. It was just the occasion for African producers to come to the rescue of the African cinema!
Since the 1980 Niamey Symposium, African film producers have called upon the different Heads of States to grant legal backing for the African cinema. The 1996 Bamako meeting between specialists in the world of cinema, re-iterated this request.
India and the United States lead the world as regards the cinema industry. Why? Because they are well organised and are backed up by the public services. For example, since Nehru's time, India has always treated film-making as a concern of the body politic and today is producing about 800 films a year. Obviously lessons must be learnt from the Indian experience, especially as regards production costs and creating plots which are meaningful to local people. Just one other statistic - 90% of cinemas throughout the world have USA- connections! All this means that African countries must develop their own film policy - policies which must become Pan-African.

African cinema and its public

Another sad point is that African's don't know their own films. Indeed many are wondering what role the African cinema plays in the cinematographic industry! 90% of necessary financing comes from outside, so how can the industry be called truly African? Many Africans even ask if Africa really needs its own film industry? Africa has many talented film producers: people such as Souleymane Cissé, Cheick Oumar Cissoko, Jean-Pierre Beli Kollo, Léonce Ngabo, Roger Ngoan M'Bala, Idrissa Ouédraogo, Gaston Kaboré...
The cinema industry says the public are simply not interested in its work. The public, on the other hand, say the African cinema industry is doing nothing to get out of the doldrums in which it finds itself. "What's wrong?" you may ask. "Well", says the general public, "go to the cinema and what do you see? Always the same general theme, the same subjects taken from our daily lives. We see enough of that all the time! Can't we have something new to watch on the cinema screen? And while we're about it, why don't we ever get African films in the cinemas. Once FESPACO is over, it's "goodbye" as well to African films, until next year's FESPACO ! And that goes for both the cinema and TV". Film producers say the lack of necessary financial and technical means, forces them to sell their films outside their own countries. Sometimes they have to do this even before the film is finished, so that they can recuperate some of their production costs. African cinema has still a great deal of leeway to make up if it is going to make any impact on the world scene.
The achievements accomplished by Burkina Faso for African cinema over the past years have been more than remarkable. FESPACO has been able to bring to the forefront the African cinema's problems and preoccupations. Also, Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries of Africa, and certainly one of the world's poorest countries, has born an impressive part of the cost of developing the modern African cinema.
Now its up to the cinema people to create and develop in the continent itself, ways and means of making African cinema into a viable economic and commercial industry. At a time when the information superhighway has arrived at Africa's borders, indeed, has already penetrated the continent, further challenges face FESPACO.
And FESPACO must be part of this changing world.

END

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PeaceLink 1997 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement