Journal Article

FESPACO and Its Many Afterlives

Petty, Sheila

2020

Overview

According to Haida artist and master carver Bill Reid, an artwork/film's \"real life\" is the process through which it becomes a work, but its \"afterlife\"3 is constructed during readings of and engagement with the work through shared participation in local and diasporic cultural manifestations. Established in 1983 to answer a call to action during the 1982 Niamey Congress, MICA opened its doors to FESPACO festivalgoers in 1989 to encourage exchanges between producers, directors, distributors, and TV-buyers and the diffusion of the richness and plurality of African cultures around the globe.4 It seems, however, that thirty years later, MICA \"does not yet organize English language screenings for international buyers, as is done in more established festivals\"5 Olivier Barlet makes a salient point here. Yet, perhaps it is FESPACO's \"openness and accessibility\" compared to other festivals, and the \"generosity of the filmmakers\" who take the time to meet industry professionals and scholars alike, that softens the edges of this frustrating situation.6 MICA, and the generosity of industry professionals exhibiting their films, videos, and television programs, made it possible for me as a scholar to research the circulation of ideas and aesthetics in global television in the 1990s. The final production deal included the two broadcasters and a private production company, Vidéocam, which provided camera, optics, and some post-production support.

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Subject: Accreditation / Achebe, Chinua / Diaspora / English as an international language / Festivals / II. FESPACO: AN EVER-EVOLVING CINEMATIC AND CULTURAL FORMATION / International relations / Motion picture directors & producers / Nigerian literature / Pan-Africanism / Radios / Television / Television miniseries / Television programming