5 New Films to Watch Out For, N°29

Nègre Blanc (“White Negro”) is Cheikh N’diaye’s new film about albinism, in which he tackles rumors, stereotypes and misconceptions through the eyes of Cameroonian storyteller Léonard de Semnjock:

Sans Image (“Without Image”) is a French documentary film by Fanny Douarche and Franck Rosier about three sans-papiers from Mali (Matenin, Gaye and Abdoulaye) who work on a theatre piece that reflects their daily hustles as workers “without papers” in France:

Pokou, Princesse Ashanti is marketed as the first animated film coming out of Côte d’Ivoire — produced by Afrikatoon:

Christian Lajoumard’s documentary In the Courtyard of the Puppeteers of Burkina Faso is part of a mini-series about puppets from around the world. In Burkina Faso, a number of young puppeteers have revived this dying art, and today about twenty troops flourish in the country. These small enterprises with limited means usually set up shop in the courtyards of family homes:

La Rive Noire (“The Black River”) is a documentary by Blaise Ndjehoya (Cameroon) and Olivier Van’L — after historian Michel Fabre’s book by the same title — about the Transatlantic links (from Harlem to Paris) between African-American and African-French thinkers and artists at the beginning of the 20th century. Names and interviews include those of Aimé Césaire, Howard Dodson, Lilyan Kesteloot, Daniel Maximin, Gordon Parks, Herbert Gentry and Manuel Zapata Olivella:

Further Reading

Not exactly at arm’s length

Despite South Africa’s ban on arms exports to Israel and its condemnation of Israel’s actions in Palestine, local arms companies continue to send weapons to Israel’s allies and its major arms suppliers.

Ruto’s Kenya

Since June’s anti-finance bill protests, dozens of people remain unaccounted for—a stark reminder of the Kenyan state’s long history of abductions and assassinations.

Between Harlem and home

African postcolonial cinema serves as a mirror, revealing the limits of escape—whether through migration or personal defiance—and exposing the tensions between dreams and reality.

The real Rwanda

The world is slowly opening its eyes to how Paul Kagame’s regime abuses human rights, suppresses dissent, and exploits neighboring countries.

In the shadow of Mondlane

After a historic election and on the eve of celebrating fifty years of independence, Mozambicans need to ask whether the values, symbols, and institutions created to give shape to “national unity” are still legitimate today.

À sombra de Mondlane

Depois de uma eleição histórica e em vésperas de celebrar os 50 anos de independência, os moçambicanos precisam de perguntar se os valores, símbolos e instituições criados para dar forma à “unidade nacional” ainda são legítimos hoje.