CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Sarah Tanou, Burkina Faso, March 1999
THEME = CULTURE
The Panafrican Festival Film and Television Festival of
Ouagadougou (FESPACO)
is presently at its peak of success, but now is in danger of rapid decline
unless there's a quick and thorough-going reorganisation
The Chinese lanterns, put up for the occasion, were extinguished on Saturday 6 March to end the 16th FESPACO festival. In a diplomatic way, the jury dished out awards to each cinematic region of the continent. Francophone Africa south of the Sahara won the most prestigious award, the: «Golden Stallion of Yenenga», plus a cash prize of some $15,000. This was for the film, «Pieces d'identités» (Identity Cards) directed by the Congolese (RDC) film director, Dieudonne Mweze Ngangura.
FESPACO '99 lasted from 27 February to 6 March 1999 and was a major discussion point throughout Burkina Faso. This year, the festival took as theme: «Cinema and Distribution Circuits in Africa» and aimed to «push» African films. In 1999, the festival celebrated its 30th anniversary, so has really come of age. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the average life expectancy rarely exceeds fifty, thirty years takes on added significance.
We shouldn't be surprised that in the final FESPACO of the XXth century, the festival organisers chose to concentrate on finding ways and means of ensuring a market for African films. Because of its importance in the African film industry, FESPACO, is staged as an annual event.
It's not easy to market African films, because there's any amount of political and economic interests involved. Screening any film (especially an African one) does not necessarily mean that it's going to draw in the crowds. Films from outside Africa (Westerns, Hindi films, «Who-dunnits», among others) have so captivated African audiences, that a film is only rated «good» if it's among these categories. Depending on your point of view, going to see nothing but non-African films means you're either trying to adapt to other cultures or you're doing your best to lose your own culture. And refusing to support the African film industry could be construed as a sign that you consider all African films to be «rubbish» - a sort of inferiority complex vis à vis African films.
Probably, we Africans all think along the same lines, so obviously some kind of positive action must be taken to ensure that prospective audiences want to see African films. The problem is, how to get the films into the cinemas? Thus, the importance of establishing an efficient marketing and communications' strategy to get cinema patrons into the cinemas. FESPACO has been on the «go» for thirty years and is beginning to show its age. The festival organisers seem to give the impression of having run out of ideas for giving FESPACO a new look.
Over the years, FESPACO has succeeded in imparting African culture throughout Africa, when politicians in other Panafrican organisations, seeking to unite Africans in a common stand to defend their interests, have failed. Ouagadougou's film festival is very much part of this «vision» and has succeeded to such an extent that it's effects are felt beyond the shores of Africa. Could those who pioneered FESPACO in 1969 have ever dreamed of such a success? What began simply as an occasion for cinema buffs to screen African Films, has now become a world festival.
In 1972, the government of Upper Volta (as Burkina Faso was then called) took an interest in the infant festival, to the extent of providing it with a legal basis as well as financial support. This enabled the festival to develop from being a restricted group of interested amateurs, into at first a national event and eventually a continental one. Without any hope of financial gain and without any particular Panafrican interest, Burkina supported FESPACO so that it became the authentic voice of African culture. But for FESPACO to expand, Burkina Faso had to make it a truly African event and eventually an inter-continental event. At the beginning of the 1980s, the idea of staging FESPACO in other countries on a rotating basis was suggested. But people were afraid this was an attempt by hostile politicians elsewhere to rob Burkina Faso of its festival. Fortunately, the authorities and leading figures in the world of culture at home, rejected this idea. They were afraid that people were out to steal Burkina Faso's «made at home» idea.
That Burkina Faso has played a major role in the world of cinema, and indeed, in promoting African culture in general, is impossible to deny. But times are changing. Now such issues as «globalisation» and «regionalism» are all part of the modern African scene and Burkina Faso would be well advised to turn FESPACO into an international institution with its headquarters in Ouagadougou. FESPACO's present legal framework can no longer cater for such a large event which is now part of Africa's cultural heritage. It has grown way beyond being the responsibility of a mere Minister of Culture from one country.
FESPACO must now be allowed to develop under its own steam away from one country's administrative restrictions, guidance, protection; call it what you want. Burkina Faso must truly launch FESPACO out into the deep. It's not a question of abandoning the festival because it's outgrown its original impetus. Rather, it must received continued support and this can only be done by a radical overhaul of its basic structures which have become too large for remaining the responsibility of just one country. FESPACO is now a world-wide affair, and can only continue to exist in this environment if its structures reflect this world-wide concept. It's rather a matter of giving a still greater aura to the Ouagadougou Festival. Remain inward looking, and the festival will die because it will no longer meet the present-day expectations of producers and their work. Make no mistake. In the 21st century, the preoccupations will not be the same as those which the festival had to deal with from 1969 to the present day. The writing is on the wall for «home-grown» and «home-based» festivals such as FESPACO which try to include other countries in the programme. There's a breakaway process in the offing, indeed, has already started with other Cinema and film festivals now in existence such as that of Dakar, Senegal; the festival of short films at Abidjan; Cameroon's TV festival. These are all signs of FESPACO's imminent break-up if nothing is done quickly.
While waiting for FESPACO's restructuring which looks like being a major «plus» for the African film industry as we approach the third millennium, the 16th FESPACO organisers were determined to make some improvements. Several innovations were introduced with an exhibition of costumes, accessories, photos and portraits of African comedians. Facilities where made available where professionals in the industry could meet one another. A prize of $15,000 was awarded to the winner of the «Golden Stallion of Yenenga». There will be a promotion tour to publicise award-winning films, in Nairobi (Kenya), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Cairo (Egypt). Also, a competition was organised for young cinema goers, with the winner going to France in November 1999, all expenses paid, to attend the 19th Amiens International Film Festival.
More than a hundred women journalists and producers met during FESPACO '99 to exchange views on the theme: «Cinema - Women and Poverty», their aim being to come to the help of their sisters who are weighed down by poverty. The meeting took place 2-3 March under the auspices of the Panafrican Union of Women Film Producers, the United Nations Development Programme (PNUD) and FESPACO. At the end of their deliberations, participants committed themselves to take concrete action through a three-phase action plan:
- On the community level: Among other things: To ensure that politicians in high places are informed about the population's real needs; to associate women in identifying their own needs and finding solutions to their own problems; to allow women both urban and rural areas to speak for themselves. Participants also undertook: To make a serious study of women's social situation in order to identify the real reasons for women's poverty; to inform women about development activities elsewhere which could be used in their own local situation.
On the national level: Participants undertook: To establish a National Associations of Women working in the Multimedia in countries where it does not already exist; to strengthen existing associations and link them into networks; to emphasise the eradication of poverty by producing audio-visuals, articles and other kinds of information documents; to create a data-base of facts about successful efforts at eradicating poverty and place it at the disposal of women working in communications. As a practical project, they envisage producing a series of 20-minute programmes on the theme of «Cinema - women and poverty» for national television stations and to distribute them in all countries where PNUD is represented. Also, to support the United Nations in its efforts to eradicate poverty.
- On the international level: Women in communications are committed: To seeking affiliation and partnership with regional and international structures which have the same aims, in order to share experiences; to keeping abreast of world events relating to the eradication of poverty; to adapting strategies to local needs and conditions; to setting-up a date-base on multimedia productions made by African women; to giving women the means of accessing new communications technology.
In order to have an efficient follow-up to all these resolutions, participants at the meeting decided to establish a regional network of women working in Multimedia. This is a particular commitment undertaken by women journalists and film producers to eradicate the poverty which afflicts so many people. Don't forget, in Africa, more than 300 million Africans are approaching the millennium whilst living on less than one dollar a day, and the situation doesn't look like improving.
FESPACO is a springboard for Africans in so many areas of life. It's up to those with a real interest in Africa's culture to contribute their support in ensuring the festival's continued success. It's to be hoped they will not fail in their mission.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1999 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement