Focus on African Films

Emphasizing post-independent films released since the 1950s and the burgeoning commercial film production of the last decade, Focus on African Films provides unique and pluralistic perspectives on filmmaking throughout Africa. As a whole, the collection highlights the distinct thematic, stylistic and socioeconomic circumstances of African filmmaking. Individual essays show how conditions in Africa have generated a broad range of views and techniques, from the stylistically innovative documentaries of Jean-Marie Teno and Abderrahmane Sissako and the ""documentary fiction"" of Mahamat-Saleh Haroun to the vibrant art films of Jean-Pierre Bekolo and the new films from South Africa. Contributors also outline the direction of increasingly popular, less didactic sub-Sarahan filmmaking in films such as Daniel Kamwa's Pousse-Pousse, Ngangura Mweze's la vie est belle, and Imungu Ivanga's Dole. Up-to-date and richly informative, Focus on African Films will be essential reading for students and scholars of African film.