Appel à communication au colloque du FESPACO 2021

Genre : Calls for papers
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv

The 27th Edition of the Pan-African Film & TV Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) will be held from 16 to 23 October 2021. The first after celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Biennale, this edition is taking place in a worrying security and health context.
Despite this challenging environment, the highest authorities of Burkina Faso and the entire filmmaker family have expressed the interest in maintaining the 27th Edition of FESPACO this year.
To achieve this requires restructuring the festival's events, focusing on professional activities, including film programming, film market and so on. The success of these activities calls for a robust communication campaign starting with the unveiling of the edition theme "Africa and Diaspora Cinema: New Insights, New Challenges" and its poster.
It is worth remembering that the previous edition of FESPACO dealt with the issue of memory of African cinema while inviting to celebrate the future. In recent years indeed, the movie industry in Africa and Diaspora has experienced a spectacular development translated in the ground into a massive influx of new talents in all segment of the industry, notably directing, acting, camera and sound, editing and post-production, distribution, and more.
The current approaches and trends mainly driven by young authors, but not only, range from creative documentary to low-cost fictional production and also include series production, Web production, broadcasting and digital distribution, etc.
These new approaches face challenges which are of course not new, but are increasing unavoidable in building a genuine African film industry. Such major challenges include:
- Film and audio-visual financing;
- Film distribution and circulation; and
- Training.
These challenges are compounded by:
- The Covid-19 and its socio-economic impact on the film and audio-visual industry;
- Security threats and violent extremism in some regions of Africa;
- Social unrest caused by poor governance and democratic deficit;
- Resurgence of racist assaults against Black diasporas; and
- Gender bias and abuse in the industry.

It is interesting in this context to look at how these new insights take shape and account of the challenges facing Africa today. This also provides an opportunity to table these challenges with a view to proposing solutions for the film and audio-visual industry to break the grip of the economic, social and political constraints hindering its development across the content.
The colloquium is being organized to offer a platform for exchanges to further explore the 27th Edition theme, and will articulate around three (03) panels.
Panel 1: African film and audio-visual financing: Challenges and Prospects.
This panel will take stock of discussions on the issue of financing cinematographic and audio-visual works in Africa. What financing modalities? Why financing cinema and audio-visual in Africa? What roles should public and private sectors play? What industrial model for cinema and audio-visual in Africa?
Panel 2: New Insights, distribution and exhibition channels.
This panel will discuss thematic and aesthetic specificities of current film and audio-visual productions, their relationship to security challenges, culture of peace and good governance, gender and social inequalities. It shall also touch on the circulation of these works in a context of changing distribution formats. What are the characteristic features of these works? How to ensure their visibility and profitability?
Panel 3: What training? What educational approaches?
This panel will capture discussions on this topic, building of the 2017 symposium in Ouagadougou, and question training in cinema and audio-visual in Africa in connection with the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the security context, ever-changing working tools and the market. How to increase the professional and academic efficiency of training schools? What educational approaches and governance for better consideration of gender issues?
Conditions for participation
The colloquium is open to film and audio-visual professionals and researchers.

Practical modalities for submissions

Papers in French or English (title, maximum 250-to-300-word summary, key words, full name and address, author's home institution, if applicable) are expected until 10 September 2021 at: colloque@fespaco.org
NB: Return tickets for authors of selected papers will be paid for by the Organizing Committee of FESPACO 2021. However, charges for accommodation, meals and local transport in Ouagadougou will be at participant's expense. Only one author shall be considered per paper.

Important dates

Colloquium dates: 18 and 19 October 2021
Final date for submission of papers: 10 September 2021
Date for notification of acceptance of papers: 17 September 2021
Final date for receipt of paper texts: 27 November 2021 (drafting standards will be specified later on)
Final date for receipt of texts for publication of Colloquium proceedings: 31 January 2022
Date of publication of proceedings: June 2022

Colloquium Coordinator:
Alex Moussa SAWADOGO, General Delegate of FESPACO
Scientific Director
Justin OUORO, Lecturer, Joseph KI-ZERBO University
Scientific Committee
- Pr Joseph PARE, Joseph KI-ZERBO University
- Pr Mahamadé SAWADOGO, Joseph KI-ZERBO University
- Pr Yves DAKOUO, Joseph KI-ZERBO University
- Pr Fatoumata BADINI, Joseph KI-ZERBO University
- Pr Jean Célestin KI, Joseph KI-ZERBO University
- Pr Christophe KONKOBO, Austin Peay State University (USA)
- Pr Jean OUEDRAOGO, College of the Holy Cross (USA)
- Pr Isaac BAZIE, University of Montreal
- Pr Giusy PISANO, ENS Louis-Lumière (France)
- Pr Farah POLATO, Università degli Studi di Padova
- Pr Alexie TCHEUYAP, University of Toronto
- Pr Aboubakar SANOGO, University of Carleton
Review Committee
- Dr Mamadou Lamine OUÉDRAOGO, Norbert ZONGO University
- Dr Valentine PALM/SANOU, Joseph KI-ZERBO University
- Dr Fatou Ghislaine SANOU, Joseph KI-ZERBO University
- Dr Issiaka TIENDREBÉOGO, Joseph KI-ZERBO University
- Dr Adiko Jean Michel ANOUMAN, University of Cocody, (RCI)
- Dr Hassane CISSÉ, Nazi BONI University
- Dr Souleymane GANOU, Joseph KI-ZERBO University

Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

With the support of