Description

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This volume attempts to join the disparate worlds of Egyptian, Maghrebian, South African, Francophone, and Anglophone African cinema—that is, five “formations” of African cinema. These five areas are of particular significance—each in its own way. The history of South Africa, heavily marked by apartheid and its struggles, differs considerably from that of Egypt, which early on developed its own “Hollywood on the Nile.” The history of French colonialism impacted the three countries of the Maghreb—Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco—differently than those in sub-Saharan Africa, where Senegal and Sembène had their own great effect on the Sahelian region. Anglophone Africa, particularly the films of Ghana and Nigeria, has dramatically altered the ways people have perceived African cinema for decades. History, geography, production, distribution, and exhibition are considered alongside film studies concerns about ideology and genre. This volume provides essential information for all those interested in the vital worlds of cinema in Africa since the time of the Lumière brothers.
 

About the Author

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Kenneth W. Harrow is Distinguished Professor of English at Michigan State University. His work focuses on African cinema and literature and diaspora and postcolonial studies.
 

Praise For…

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“Harrow has assembled an engaging cast of esteemed scholars who masterfully intertwine analyses of politics, genre, production, and technological shifts in African cinemas. A valuable resource for scholars, students, and anyone interested in filmmaking in Africa today.”
—Maryellen Higgins, Pennsylvania State University, coeditor of The Western in the Global South and editor of Hollywood’s Africa after 1994