In particular, Pan-African film festivals have played a key role in promoting African and diasporic cinema to global audiences. Let’s look at a few Pan-African film festivals around the world and their impact;

Film Africa – London, England

Film Africa is the biggest Pan-African film festival in London and one of the leading film festivals in England at large. Established in 2011 and run by the Royal African Society, it is one of the key stages for celebrating African cinema in the United Kingdom. It offers a platform for filmmakers from Africa and the diaspora to present their work to a global audience. The 2022 instalment showcased 48 films both in cinemas and online, from 16 African countries and around the diaspora.

On top of screenings, the festival includes events like workshops, masterclasses and Q&As with different directors. The Film Africa Festival also facilitates the Baobab Award for Best Short Film and the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. The awards feature cash prizes which encourage new voices in African cinema to take the stage. This is a biennial festival and its next instalment can be expected in 2024.

The Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) – Los Angeles, USA

This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the famed the Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF). Established in Los Angeles in 1992, PAFF is the biggest black film and Arts Festival in the United States. Started by Danny Glover, Ayuko Babu and the late Ja’Net DuBois, this festival has become a favourite of the African American community. Every year it showcases a staggering 200 films from Africa and the diaspora. Like most contemporary film festivals, it has a mix of physical and virtual screenings to cope with changes since the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to popular demand this year, there was a virtual encore screening several weeks after the festival ended.

The festival is not limited to only film. It also features showcases by talented black artists and craftspeople. PAFF is also known for its star-studded red carpets, workshops and panels with top film industry professionals. The festival is typically held in February so we can look forward to its next instalment next year.

Pan-African Film & TV Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) – Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

We cannot talk about Pan-African film festivals without going to Africa itself. We cannot go to Africa without mentioning the Pan-African Film & TV Festival of Ouagadougou, more commonly known as FESPACO, the acronym for its French translation. This biennial festival is the largest in Africa and was established in 1969. It has been kept running despite years of political instability and military violence. The Burkina Faso government specifically ramped up security for this year’s edition which took place from February to March. The fact that it has endured all odds exemplifies the strength of African filmmakers.

The unique aspect of this festival is that it only showcases works by Africans. Every two years, it attracts the big and small of the African film industry. More than the fame and prizes, the festival brings together Africans in Africa to enjoy the work of our own hands. FESPACO especially champions work of the youth and women, with about half of this year’s submissions being directed by women.

Keep in Mind,

These are only a drop in the bucket of Pan-African film festivals. Whether you are on the continent or in the diaspora, take advantage of the festivals near you to enjoy African cinema. With many offering virtual screenings, talks and workshops, you can attend wherever you are.

Also Read: The Rise Of Nigerian-British Filmmakers

Your contribution to Big Picture Film Club will allow us to continue to produce content. No matter the amount your contributions are greatly appreciated.

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We know the names: Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Thandiwe Newton (Westworld), Idris Elba (The Wire), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Game of Thrones), David Oyelowo (Selma), Ruth Negga (Preacher), John Boyega (Star Wars), and dozens more. They’ve played comic book characters, civil rights activists, sci-fi heroes, inner-city drug dealers— The entire gamut of Black American cinema and tv. Some of my AfrAm brothers and sisters take exception to that. And I understand why.  But hear me out. And stay ’til the end. 

The Americans

Since the moment we set foot on the American continent, Black Americans have been inundated with accusations of inferiority. This issue isn’t unique to us; However, no other country was built around that concept. Each generation has inched along, fighting the destruction of our self-esteem and our bodies by White America, as well as generational poverty, injustice, and erasure. And after centuries cut off from our roots, from global “Blackness”, we’ve developed in a vacuum. Everyone is other. We are surrounded on all sides. We will not be erased. 

With that in mind, Black British actors, in a sense, are seen as performing “American Blackface”. Someone outside of ourselves, “… that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more…” From our perspective, British actors swoop in, are granted coveted roles, then disappear with accolades. It’s just another case of outside exploitation.

There’s also a feeling of loss: In the film ‘Black Panther’,  the antagonist Killmonger says, “Just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than bondage.” That line was added by Chadwick Boseman, who played the titular character. A British actor would not think to add or change lines to better reflect the Black American experience, nor would they fight for those changes, even if they occurred to them. Although David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo, who played Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King respectively, did excellent jobs, their performances came across as sterile, and exact, as a concert pianist trying to capture “the Blues”. Technically correct, yet missing the “flavor” and “heart” of Black America.

The British

In contrast to the isolationist viewpoint of Black Americans on this topic, Black British performers seem to take the view that, although not always as explicit, the tendrils of racism have stretched far and wide– and touch Black Britons as much as anyone. Perhaps more so, as the insidiousness of the systemic racism they’re entrenched in is a quiet, creeping thing: Hard to suss out and defeat. When George Floyd was killed in May of 2020, marches sprang up around the globe. Like Superman’s death cry in the opening scene of Zack Snyder’s ‘Justice League’, the pain of Black America sent piercing ripples throughout the world. And when those self same people appear to reject the British experience of Blackness– there’s a sense betrayal. The knife cuts deeper.

Theirs is the same quest for opportunity. The same desire for Black stories to be told. The same drive to give a stellar performance. Only to be told you’re the wrong kind of Black.

My Thoughts

Are Black British actors more prepared, and better trained? Perhaps. When you’re coming to a topic from the outside, you don’t coast. You don’t take it for granted. American actor Brian White is quoted as saying: “I have not seen one British actor that hasn’t trained in theatre show up in an audition.” Pair that with the dismantling of the arts in America, and you may have a point.

But is that really the core issue? This river has two heads: The lack of opportunities for Black performers… and the need for unification amongst the Diaspora. United Artists, currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, was founded in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin et al on the premise of empowering actors to control their own interests, breaking dependance from commercial studios. I propose Black Americans put suspicion and offense aside, and take the long view: The more we embrace and reconnect with our allies in the Diaspora, the more of an empire we build around the world. It’s time to abandon the internal skirmish mentality, and embrace the Big Picture: We’re stronger together. As they say, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”.

Also Read: The Rise of Nigerian-British Filmmakers

Your contribution to Big Picture Film Club will allow us to continue to produce content. No matter the amount your contributions are greatly appreciated.

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