Guide to African Cinema

(Hardback)

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Description

Intended as a guide to the filmmakers and films of the African cinema, this reference book also provides the framework for understanding the history and development of African film with respect to its situation in world cinema. The goals and achievements of African film are studied with respect to the forces that impact it, such as colonialism and racism. The importance of the creative efforts of African filmmakers and the diversity of their approaches to cinema are explored. Examined as well are the views of Africa presented by European colonial filmmakers - views often contested in contemporary African film. The listings include critical analysis, bibliography and filmographies. Both Saharan and sub-Saharan films are included. As a reference to African film, the information outlined is valuable due to a lack of researched data on African cinema, in part as a result of postcolonial attitudes on production and distribution. The book concentrates on films and directors who work toward defining a unique, African perspective without compromising thematic concerns due to commercial considerations. The research detailed in this text should enourage a wider appreciation of the film work being done in Africa, especially to those without the benefit of access to specialized libraries and collections.

Reviews

"Overlooked and all but unknown in North America, African cinema, especially in the continent's post-colonial era, has been a channel both for reclaiming cultures suppressed by European domination and for exploring the problems and opportunities independence has posed....Covering the entire continent, Russell describes and analyzes significant films and the careers of major filmmakers....[He] helps the uninformed along by providing long, informative entries....Russell's guide begins to fill a gap in cinema collections."-"Rettig on Reference" Gale Research, http: //www.gale.com
Guide to African Cinema is useful, especially for the general public, and is jargon-free. Russell should be commended for her interest in explicating the relationship of films to their political milieu and for attending at times to their cinematic aspects. Her book is superior in scope and information.-Research in African Literature
Overlooked and all but unknown in North America, African cinema, especially in the continent's post-colonial era, has been a channel both for reclaiming cultures suppressed by European domination and for exploring the problems and opportunities independence has posed....Covering the entire continent, Russell describes and analyzes significant films and the careers of major filmmakers....[He] helps the uninformed along by providing long, informative entries....Russell's guide begins to fill a gap in cinema collections.-"Rettig on Reference" Gale Research, http: //www.gale.com
Russell has compiled a list of film distributors and an unusually extensive bibliography. Her volume is an important addition to world cinema students.-American Reference Books Annual
The work's informative essays on 40 individual films...make a unique and important contribution to the literature on African cinema.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"Guide to African Cinema is useful, especially for the general public, and is jargon-free. Russell should be commended for her interest in explicating the relationship of films to their political milieu and for attending at times to their cinematic aspects. Her book is superior in scope and information."-Research in African Literature
"Russell has compiled a list of film distributors and an unusually extensive bibliography. Her volume is an important addition to world cinema students."-American Reference Books Annual
"The work's informative essays on 40 individual films...make a unique and important contribution to the literature on African cinema."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

Author Bio

SHARON A. RUSSELL is Professor of Communications and Women's Studies at Indiana State University.