Cinema and documentary festival

29 janvier 2013.
 

Africa is moving at a furious pace. The new wave of African cinema is a perfect illustration of this trend : it is urban, rhythmic, tense – sometimes even explosive. It offers crude and realistic portrayals of the monstrous and hybrid nature of sprawling cities bursting with energy. And humor. You won’t find the sordid realism that is all too often used in reports and documentaries on Africa made by outsiders, there is no scolding. You will see the eruptive power of a continent in upheaval, the emergence of a new generation. An African generation that is firmly attached to its roots, as every image reminds us. But also a generation opened to the world, in touch with its time, and intent on taking part in this great world gathering. And these film-makers most certainly do have a lot to say !
A new African society is born, so what is at stake for film-makers ? They must create a new imaginary space for modern times. Achille Mbembé, the philosopher, announced the emergence of an “Afropolitan” reality in cities, where beyond literature, a street culture is invented with rap, slam and hip-hop, through which the youth can express its rage and its hopes.
From Nollywood studios to rapper films in Brazzaville, from the streets of Kinshasa to the Mbandaka port on the Congo River, from China to Romania, this is a truly mutating African cinema...