Twenty-Five Black African Filmmakers: A Critical Study, with Filmography and Bio-Bibliography

(Hardback)

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An invaluable work on black African cinema has at last appeared in English. Francoise Pfaff's volume synthesizes relevant information, devoid of hagiography, about twenty-five sub-Saharan African filmmakers, according a separate chapter--consisting of a biography, filmography, and thematic analyses of individual films--to each. Varying critical viewpoints are brought to bear from both African and non-African perspectives. The author has gone beyond translation and compilation to explore the decades of black African cinema within the historical context of the continent's problematic emancipation. . . . Twenty-Five Black African Filmmakers offers enormous insight along with valuable data heretofore unavailable in English. Cineaste Black African motion pictures emerged in the 1960s, at the height of the sociopolitical upheavals experienced by many nations in the transition from colonialism to independence. Working mostly with minimal budgets and limited distribution opportunities, African filmmakers nevertheless have been consistent prizewinners at international film festivals. Francoise Pfaff introduces this developing artistic tradition to American readers with her informative and highly readable guide to the work of twenty-five Black African directors.

Reviews

An invaluable work on black African cinema has at last appeared in English. Francoise Pfaff's volume synthesizes relevant information, devoid of hagiography, about twenty-five sub-Saharan African filmmakers, according a separate chapter--consisting of a biography, filmography, and thematic analyses of individual films--to each. Varying critical viewpoints are brought to bear from both African and non-African perspectives. The author has gone beyond translation and compilation to explore the decades of black African cinema within the historical context of the continent's problematic emancipation. . . . Twenty-Five Black African Filmmakers offers enormous insight along with valuable data heretofore unavailable in English.-Cineaste
The importance of this work lies in its examination of a 'too often neglected area of cinema studies, ' Black African film. Pfaff looks in depth at a representative group of significant filmmakers, e.g. Moustapha Alassane, Safi Faye, and Ousmane Sembene. Each chapter provides a biography of the cineast, major themes of his/her films, a critical survey, filmography, and a bibliography that includes interviews of and film reviews/studies of each filmmaker. Pfaff, author of The Cinema of Ousmane Sembene, clearly demonstrates her expertise in Black African cinema. The entries are well researched. They are also extremely interesting because they include information taken from personal interviews with the filmmakers, and offer a variety of viewpoints. Stills of selected films, a general bibliography, and index complete this overall fine work.-Choice
This much-needed book on a neglected area of world cinema presents a chapter on each of twenty-five directors whose films have significantly enriched African filmmaking and received substantial international exposure. Each chapter includes a biography, a breakdown of the films and major themes, a survey of criticism written by both African and non-African critics, filmography, and bibliographic information for further reading.-The Bloomsbury Review
"An invaluable work on black African cinema has at last appeared in English. Francoise Pfaff's volume synthesizes relevant information, devoid of hagiography, about twenty-five sub-Saharan African filmmakers, according a separate chapter--consisting of a biography, filmography, and thematic analyses of individual films--to each. Varying critical viewpoints are brought to bear from both African and non-African perspectives. The author has gone beyond translation and compilation to explore the decades of black African cinema within the historical context of the continent's problematic emancipation. . . . Twenty-Five Black African Filmmakers offers enormous insight along with valuable data heretofore unavailable in English."-Cineaste
"This much-needed book on a neglected area of world cinema presents a chapter on each of twenty-five directors whose films have significantly enriched African filmmaking and received substantial international exposure. Each chapter includes a biography, a breakdown of the films and major themes, a survey of criticism written by both African and non-African critics, filmography, and bibliographic information for further reading."-The Bloomsbury Review
"The importance of this work lies in its examination of a 'too often neglected area of cinema studies, ' Black African film. Pfaff looks in depth at a representative group of significant filmmakers, e.g. Moustapha Alassane, Safi Faye, and Ousmane Sembene. Each chapter provides a biography of the cineast, major themes of his/her films, a critical survey, filmography, and a bibliography that includes interviews of and film reviews/studies of each filmmaker. Pfaff, author of The Cinema of Ousmane Sembene, clearly demonstrates her expertise in Black African cinema. The entries are well researched. They are also extremely interesting because they include information taken from personal interviews with the filmmakers, and offer a variety of viewpoints. Stills of selected films, a general bibliography, and index complete this overall fine work."-Choice

Author Bio

FRANCOISE PFAFF is a Professor of French at Howard University.