Lifestyle/Culture
Africa's Oscar-shortlisted Films Show an Industry Spreading Across Borders By Aisha Salaudeen, CNN
IT'S AN EXCITING TIME for filmmakers and movie fans around the world: Academy Awards season is here. And with several African films up for official nominations, people across the continent will be paying close attention when those nominations are announced on Monday, March 15th. "My Octopus Teacher," (https://edition.cnn.com/ travel/article/my-octopus-teacher-craig-foster/index.html)
a South African documentary about a man who formed an unlikely bond with an octopus, is on the shortlist for the Documentary Feature category, while "The Man Who Sold His Skin" -- a Tunisian film about a Syrian man whose body is used by an artist as a canvas -- is up for a nomination in the International Feature category (https:// Behind the Scenes at Netflix: Entertainment giant Netflix has variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-man-who-sold-his-skinreview-1234904874).
As films from the continent continue to gain international recognition, Philippe Lacôte, Ivorian director of the 2020 film "Night of the Kings" (also on the shortlist for an International Feature Oscar nomination) says it is important for Africans to create movies that include their vision of the world (www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeoFQZ6wB8c). His film explores themes across the physical world and the mythical one. Last year, he told CNN in an interview that it was key to show the world these themes because they are a part of Ivory Coast's culture. "Today, Ivory Coast is on the map of international cinema," he said. "It's important for me -- even if it's one film. We don't want to be outside this map." Meanwhile, Nigeria's film industry, Nollywood, will have to wait at least another year for its first chance at Oscar glory. The country, which has the largest film industry in Africa -- and the second largest in the world -- was disqualified in 2019 for 88
March-April 2021
Its "Made in Africa" collection features more than 100 titles fro Kenyan entertainment veteran and film producer Dorothy Ghe its head of African Original Programming. "We want our Africa she told CNN.
failing to meet language requirements. An Evolving Industry African films are gaining more international attention as technology continues to remove some traditional access barriers -- helping films flourish across borders and find new audiences. Video streaming sites like Disney+, iROKOtv (www.iroko.ai), Netflix, YouTube, and Showmax act as aggregators, helping Africans gather and share content online from across the continent and beyond. iROKOtv has hundreds of thousands of subscribers who can easily access Nigerian and Ghanaian movies from any part of the world. And Netflix, in partnership with multiple African filmmakers and production companies, is showcasing African movies that are accessible to people in over 190 countries. DAWN
www.africabusinessassociation.org
