Abuja, November 13, 2021 (Innocent Iroaganachi, SIGNIS Correspondent). The recently concluded 27th African International Film Festival, organised by FESPACO, – the Pan – African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Festival Pan – Africain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou), which took place in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, West Africa, offered a unique opportunity for young film critics from the African Continent.
Several young Africans were selected to take part in a training session in film criticism organized by the African Federation of Film Critics (AFFC/FACC) in collaboration with the NO’O Cultures Program as a prelude to this year’s FESPACO. The training session took place online and in person, with some selected participants contributing to the production/editing of Africine Magazine during and after the FESPACO event in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The workshop featured training in the following: the different cinematographic genres; introduction to film analysis; how to read a movie and the tools to read a movie well; the point of view: from the filmmaker’s vision to the viewer’s gaze; the techniques of film criticism; structuring of a film critic article; interview techniques and the pitfalls to avoid while covering a film festival.
The participants were drawn from a number of countries in Africa. They include: Sidney Cadot-Sambosi (Angola); Rodéric Dedegnonhou (Benin); Anaïs Kere (Burkina Faso); Sita Pare (Burkina Faso); Harouna Simian (Burkina Faso); Perfect Nzeyimana (Burundi); Kuessie Tatiana Ngnombouowo (Cameroon); Yolande Marcelle Welimoum (Cameroon); Abdel Kader Omar (Ivory Coast); Kadiatou Balde (Guinea Conakry); Annick Sedson (Madagascar); Yasmine Bouchfar (Morocco); Souleymane Moutari (Niger); Rutamu Fabiola Uwera (Rwanda); Mamadou Oumar Kamara (Senegal); Israel Tounou (Togo); Hanène Chaabane (Tunisia); Taryn Joffe (South Africa) and Innocent Iroaganachi (Nigeria).
Under the supervision of seasoned journalists and film critics, the participants during the FESPACO 2021 event, were mobilized to continue to produce content about cinema in Africa and its diaspora, in particular through the production of the AFRICINE/FESPACO magazine and other innovative channels.
FESPACO is the first Pan-African film and television festival, was established in Ouagadougou in 1969. The festival became known FESPACO at its third edition in 1972. Since its inception, it has remained the one annual festival in the African continent that is recognized worldwide. Its films enjoy huge popularity among film distributors in America and Europe.