African Filmmaking

This throughly researched study charts the beginnings of film-making in north and francophone west Africa, and it stretches from the post-colonial period to the post-independence generation ! Armes' book covers a broad range of film-making, from the experienced work of Jean Pierre Bekolo (Cameroon) to the fiction of Nabil Ayouch (Morocco), and is essential reading for anyone with an interest in African film. -- Keith Shiri Sight and Sound African Filmmaking is very much a film studies narrative, with only casual references to production structures or audience reception. For classes that cover this terrain, it is supremely useful for students. Not only does Armes canvass enormous territory, succinctly and in elegant prose, but he has also made a judicious selection of directors and films. Most important, he takes an approach that brings together North Africa and Francophone West and Central Africa to draw out insights that might otherwise be blurred... H-Net In the final section, 'The new millennium,' he provides a pivotal update to discussions on African filmmakers with an analysis of 'post-independence' filmmaking... Overall, African Filmmaking: North and South of the Sahara presents a historical analysis of the social, economic, and political factors that have an impact on post-colonial African filmmaking. -- M. M. Oyedeji, SOAS African Affairs Roy Armes's African Filmmaking North and South of the Sahara is an important reference work for films from the African continent. He is well grounded in film theory but frequently offers original and even provocative insights regarding developments in the field. -- Anne Serafin, Newtonville, Mass. International Journal of African Historical Studies An important reference work for films from the African continent. -- Anne Serafin, Newtonville, Mass African Historical Studies This throughly researched study charts the beginnings of film-making in north and francophone west Africa, and it stretches from the post-colonial period to the post-independence generation ! Armes' book covers a broad range of film-making, from the experienced work of Jean Pierre Bekolo (Cameroon) to the fiction of Nabil Ayouch (Morocco), and is essential reading for anyone with an interest in African film. African Filmmaking is very much a film studies narrative, with only casual references to production structures or audience reception. For classes that cover this terrain, it is supremely useful for students. Not only does Armes canvass enormous territory, succinctly and in elegant prose, but he has also made a judicious selection of directors and films. Most important, he takes an approach that brings together North Africa and Francophone West and Central Africa to draw out insights that might otherwise be blurred... In the final section, 'The new millennium,' he provides a pivotal update to discussions on African filmmakers with an analysis of 'post-independence' filmmaking... Overall, African Filmmaking: North and South of the Sahara presents a historical analysis of the social, economic, and political factors that have an impact on post-colonial African filmmaking. Roy Armes's African Filmmaking North and South of the Sahara is an important reference work for films from the African continent. He is well grounded in film theory but frequently offers original and even provocative insights regarding developments in the field. An important reference work for films from the African continent.