5. Titles: D-G
D
Diary of a Maasai village. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1984, 5 videocassettes (300 min.) A study of life in a Maasai village as a representation of the Maasai people in Kenya. An attempt to describe a moment in the history of the Laibon’s family.
See also: Indigenous peoples' wisdom and power ; The history and some traditions of the Maasai ; Time, space, and the unknown
Kenya
Masai - Social life and customs - Ethnology
English and Masai with English subtitles
Prophet’s family - Two ways of justice - Two mothers - Two journeys - Nine cows and an ox
Dakan. By Mohamed Camara. 1997, 87 min. The first feature
film on homosexuality from sub-Saharan Africa.
See also: African intimacies ; Boy-wives and female husbands ; Colonialism and homosexuality
Guinea
Gay men – Drama - Social life and customs – Homosexuality, Male
French and Malinke with English subtitles
Dance in Africa. 1987, 58 min. A survey of dance in
West Africa with footage taken from the Lion Festival and the First World
Festival of Negro Art held in Dakar in 1966.
See also: Highlife time ; Dance music from West Africa ; Heya-- danse! ; African dance ; Si sa danse bouge
West Africa
Dance music
English
Dance Like a River: Odadaa! Drumming and Dancing in the U. S.
Directed by Barry Dornfeld and Tom Rankin, Oboade Institute of
African Culture. 1985, 45 min. Shows the dance styles and several performances
of Odadaa!, a Ga dance company from Ghana, West Africa.
See also: Listen to the silence ; Songs we can't sing ; Music of the Ga People of Ghana ; The Ga family and social change
Ghana
Ga (African people) – Odadaa! (Dance company) – Interviews – Percussion music – Dancing – Folk music - Dancers
English
Dance of the Bella. By Taale Laafi Rosellini, 11 min.
A film of dance performed to humming and hand-clapping on the southern
reaches of the Sahara desert. The Bella people, having survived seven
years of drought and famine, dance at dusk, as they celebrate Tabasky
(‘Id al-Adha), the major Islamic feast in West Africa.
See also: Les chemins de la voix peule ; Hado ; La tribu lobi ; Biwanté ; Les Fulbe du Boobola ; Image and reality in African interethnic relations
West Africa – Burkina Faso
Lobi (African people) – Fula (African people) – Folk music - Social life and customs – Rights and ceremonies – Folk dance
English
Adama, the Fulani magician – Diro and this talking musical bow
Dances of Southern Africa. 1973, 55 min. Presents a
general survey of the dances of southern Africa, including the stamping
dances of the Nguni peoples, the Shona-Karanga, and the Ndau.
See also: The formation of the Zulu kingdom in South Africa ; Introduction to Shona culture ; Dances of Southern Africa ; Africa: Shona mbira music ; The process of creation and production of popular music in Zimbabwe
Southern Africa
Nguni (African people) – Shona (African people) – Music – Folk music – Folk dance music - Karanga (African people) – Ndau (African people)
English
Dancing. Produced by Geoff Dunlop and Jane Alexander;
directed by Geoff Dunlop; telescript by Geoff Dunlop and Jo Ann Caplin.
1993, 8 videocassettes, 58 min. each. Probes the traditions of dance in
communities around the world.
See also: Dance, sex, and gender ; Dance in the field ; Jarocho's soul ; The dance experience
Africa, General
Dance - History - Cross-cultural studies
The dancing church of Kenya: jubilee 2000. Executive producers, Richard J. Quinn, Martin Kivuva; script, Mary G. Otuka. 2000, 34 min. Expresses in vivid colours, movement, gestures, and the God given creativity of the African people as a means of glorifying God and professing the faith.
See also: The cultural music of the people and church of eastern Africa ; East African expressions of Christianity
Kenya
Christianity - Christians - Church dance - Social life and customs
Dancing Out of Tune: A History of the Media in Zimbabwe.
By Edwina Spicer. Harare, Zimbabwe. 1999, 56 min.
See also: Zimbabwe: media monopoly and popular protest ; Zimbabwe, attacks on freedom of expression ; South Africa and Zimbabwe, the freest press in Africa?
Zimbabwe
Press – 20th century – Freedom of the press
English
Daresalam. Issa Serge Coelo. 2000, 105 min. The first
African feature film to focus on the civil wars convulsing the continent
from Sierra Leone to Somalia.
See also: Le prix du rêve: récit ; A teenager in the Chad Civil War ; Peacekeeping and the Organization of African Unity
Chad
History – Drama – Civil War, 1965-
Arabic and French with English subtitles
Let there be peace
The Day I Will Never Forget. 2002, 90 min. Examines
the practice of female genital mutilation in Kenya and the pioneering
African women who are reversing the tradition.
See also: Female circumcision ; Youth voices ; Female circumcision: the interplay of religion, culture, and gender in Kenya ; Politics of the womb
Kenya
Social life and customs – Female circumcision
English and Kenyan languages, with English subtitles
De Feuille et le Terre: Traditional Tribal Architecture of the
Cameroon. 45 min. Production Director: Bruno Lamaury. Part of
the Anthony Roland collection of films on art. Cameroon is portrayed as
a country where man and women continue to construct their own habitats
according to ancestral methods and in perfect harmony with the environment
in which they live.
See also: Paläste und Gehöfte im Grasland von Kamerun ; Representing rulership ; Culture and customs of Cameroon ; Le Cameroun: arts, histoire et traditions
Cameroon
Traditional Architecture – Art - Social life and customs - Traditional tribal architecture of the Cameroon
Of Leaves and of Earth
Dead mums don't cry. By Tristan Quinn for the BBC. 2005, 50 min. This documentary follows Grace Kodindo, an obstetrician in Chad, as she tries to stop mothers from dying from pregnancy and childbirth.
See also: Wakina mama wafu hawalii ; Care and protection in the worst of times ; Female well-being: toward a global theory of social change ; L'abandonnisme en Afrique sud-saharienne
Chad
Mothers - Mortality - Childbirth - Maternal Welfare - Maternal Health Services - Pregnancy Complications
The Deadline. By David Jammy. 1996, 52 min. Commissioned
by the South African Constitutional Assembly to document the process and
negotiations which led to the new Constitution which had to be written
by the deadline of May 10, 1996.
See also: Constitution-making and democratisation in Africa ; A people's constitution ; The politics of transition
South Africa
Constitutional History – Constitutional law - Constitutions
English
Deadly myths. Director, Ramadan Suleman; producer, Jill Kruger. Johannesburg: Film Resource Unit. 2004, 50 min. Documentary examining the deadly myths surrounding the AIDS pandemic and efforts to counteract these myths and superstitions.
See also: Life skills and HIV education curricula in Africa ; Sexual networking and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa
AIDS (Disease) - Transmission - Prevention - Documentary
English and other African languages with English subtitles
A Decade of AIDS. Producer, Channel One. 1993-1994, 90 min. News-based program for high school students.
Notes: With Somalia: Lessons of the Holocaust.
See also: Somali children and youth ; Knowledge, attitudes, behaviour, and practices ; A self-portrait of Somaliland ; Networks of dissolution: Somalia undone
Somalia
AIDS (Disease) - Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) - Politics and government (1960-) - Social conditions
Somalia - Lessons of the Holocaust
A la découverte de l'ile Maurice. Produced by Saint-Denis de la Reunion.
See also: Histoire de la Colonie ; La France et la première abolition de l'esclavage, 1794-1802 ; Île Maurice: une francophonie paradoxale
Ile Maurice - Mauritius
Deep Hearts. Robert Gardner, Harvard University. Film
Study Center. 1980, 53 min. An ethnographic portrayal of the Bororo people
of Niger, showing an annual ritual dance, which symbolizes their beliefs
about containing and controlling their feelings of love.
See also: Dud̳al: histoire de famille et histoire de troupeau chez un groupe de Wod̳aab̳e du Niger ; Nomads who cultivate beauty ; Savannah nomads ; Nomades du Sahel ; Nomads of Niger
Niger
Bororo (African people) – Rites and ceremonies – Social life and customs
English
Delta force. Writer/researcher, Kay Bishop; director/producer, Glenn Ellis. 1995, ca. 49 min. Tells the story of the non-violent efforts of the Ogoni people to halt 30 years of environmental damage, suffering and inequality on the Niger Delta.
See also: Economic, social, and cultural rights of the Ogoni ; The agony of the Ogonis in the Niger Delta ; Ken Saro-Wiwa, 1941-1995 ; Ken Saro-Wiwa's shadow
Niger Delta (Nigeria)
Ogoni (African people) - Shell-BP Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria - Petroleum industry and trade - Environmental aspects - Social conditions
Dialogue in English and a Nigerian language with English subtitles
Les Derniers Colons. By Thierry Michel, 1995, 61 min.
A documentary about the last whites living in Congo-Kinshasa (Zaire) against
the backdrop of the escalating crises in that country.
See also: Conflict and social transformation in Eastern DR Congo ; Les origines du sous-développement au Congo ; Heart of the Congo ; Le Congo et l'Afrique à l'orée du troisième millénaire ; Zaïre
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Politics and government, 1960-1997 – Social conditions – Colonial influence
French with English subtitles
Last Colonials
The Desired Number. 1995, 28 min. Directed by Ngozi
Onwurah, produced by Simon Onwurah and Daniel Riesenfeld. Investigates
the condition of women in Nigeria, where a woman’s status and value are
tied to her ability to bear children of the desired number.
See also: Male role and responsibility in fertility and reproductive health in Nigeria ; Secret strategies ; Contraceptive use and the quality, price, and availability of family planning in Nigeria ; Differences among friends ; The silent power ; The Nigerian woman
Nigeria
Women – Birth control – Social conditions
English and African languages with English subtitles
Question of numbers
Destination Cameroon. 1990, 19 min. Office of Creative
Services, United States Peace Corps. Depicts interaction of Peace Corps
members in the daily lives of the people of Cameroon.
See also: Culture and customs of Cameroon ; Introduction to the history of Cameroon ; Le Cameroun
Cameroon
Description and travel – Peace Corps (U.S.)
English
Cameroon – World Wise Schools presents Destination
Destination Lesotho. 1995, 20 min. Describes daily life
in Lesotho as experienced by Peace Corps volunteers who live and work
there.
See also: Common country assessment of Lesotho ; Goldwidows ; Storm in the mountain ; A short history of Lesotho
Lesotho
Social life and customs – Social conditions - Economic conditions – Peace Corps (U.S.)
English
Lesotho – World Wise Schools presents Destination Lesotho
Destination Senegal. 1991, 16 min. Produced by the Peace
Corps, an overview of their programs in Senegal.
See also: Under the neem tree ; Polite society ; Looking at ourselves and others ; Senegal ; The peoples of the Middle Niger
Senegal
Description and travel - Peace Corps (U.S.)
English
Senegal – World Wise Schools presents Destination Senegal
Devil takes the youngest. Producer/director, Richard J. Quinn. 2000, 24 min.
Catherine, Cyril, and Michael were introduced to devil worship in their teenage years. Ann Monyanye, a Catholic nun discovers devil worship in school and swings into action.
See also: Power of darkness ; Christian crusades in Nairobi ; African traditional religion in biblical perspective; Luo traditions and Christian warfare
Kenya
Children - Conversion to Christianity - Satanism - Demonology
Diamonds and rust. Produced and directed by Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz. 2001, 73 min. "The supply of the coveted little diamonds on the ocean floor seems endless, but their extraction is muddied by politics, and fraught with racial tension. The [film] directors Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz received permission to film everyday life on the trawler, Spirit of Namibia, from diamond exporter De Beers."
See also: In the company of diamonds ; The last empire ; The story of De Beers ; Dying for De Beers ;
Departmental report on the mining and production of diamonds at CDM (1945 to 1983) ; Kolmanskop: past and present
Namibia
De Beers Consolidated Mines - Diamond mines and mining - Marine mineral resources - Diamond miners - Social conditions - Discrimination in employment - Trawlers (Vessels) - Ships- Documentary - Economic conditions - Race relations
Chiefly English, with some dialogue in Hebrew and Spanish; all dialogue subtitled in English
Dignity: African Women in Crisis. By Raphael Tuju.
1992, 27 min. Produced for United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),
African Women in Crisis Initiative (AFWIC). It shows the resilience of
African women in the face of tragedies, like the death of loved ones,
rape, and lack of food for their families. Also discussed is how the UNIFEM/AFWIC
programme has helped women to learn new skills in agriculture, construction
and trade.
See also: Women in African development ; Gogo mama ; Reflections on gender issues in Africa
Kenya – Africa – General
Women – Social conditions - United Nations Development Fund for Women – UNIFEM – African Women in Crisis Initiative – (AFWIC)
English
Dimbulka. Addis Ababa: Audio Visual Electronics, 1987.
See also: The history of Ethiopia ; Ethiopia, the unknown land ; A short history of Ethiopia and the horn
Ethiopia
Amharic
Diro and His Talking Musical Bow. By Taale Laafi Rosellini,
11 min. A portrait of West African musician, Diro Dah, who gathers materials
from nature to construct, tune and play a new kankarama (musical bow).
See also: La tribu lobi ; Biwanté ; La première hégémonie peule ; Les Fulbe du Boobola
West Africa – Burkina Faso
Lobi (African people) – Fula (African people) – Folk music - Social life and customs – Rights and ceremonies – Folk dance
English
Adama, the Fulani magician – Dance of the Bella
Disability is not inability: disability through the eyes of Anthony Muriithi. Executive producer, Mayknoll Missionaries; producer-director-script, Richard Quinn; co-producer-director-script, Shiela Joy Mulinya. 2004, 27 min. This documentary is on the life of Anthony Muriithi, a parapelgic who was crippled by polio since the age of two but has overcome the odds of disability to attain university education.
See also: Community based rehabilitation ; Association for the physically disabled of Kenya ; My life as a paraplegic
Kenya
Muriithi, Anthony - Paraplegics - Biography - Disabilities
Disability through the eyes of Anthony Muriithi
Divine Carcasse. Directed by Dominique Loreau. 1998,
59 min. Half fictional and half ethnographic, this hybrid film is a study
in cultural contrasts between a desacralized, materialistic Eurpean view
of reality and an animist, pre-industrial African view.
See also: Culture des peuples du Bénin ; Le Dahomey ; Au pays des Fons ; Dahomey and the Dahomans
Benin – Belgium
Culture and conflict – Social life and customs
French, Fon and Yoruba with English subtitles
Djabote. Published by Multicultural Media, Montpelier,
Vermont. 1993. A film of Eric Serra’s audio recording session of Doudou
Ndiaye Rose and his drumming ensemble outdoors on the island of Gorée,
off the coast of Dakar, Senegal.
See also: Djabote [sound recording] ; Histoire de Gorée ; Gorée, island of memories ; La turbulente histoire de Gorée
Goréé (Senegal)
Percussion music – Percussion ensembles
Introduction in English; sung in Wolof
Senegalese drumming and song
Djembefola: The Man Who Makes a Djembe Speak. 1994,
65 min. Mamady Keita, Guinean drummer, returns to Guinea after several
years in Brussels.
See also: Mamady Keïta: a life for the djembé ; Kindia, jardin de la Guinée
Guinea
Drummers – Musicians – Biography – Keita, Mamady Djembé – Dance – Music – Social life and customs
French, English, and African languages with English subtitles.
Man who makes a djembe speak
Dodoth morning. By Timothy Asch; produced by the Peabody Museum of Harvard University in collaboration with John Marshall and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. 2001, 20 min. An ethnographic study of the Dodoth tribe of northern Uganda.
See also: Warrior herdsmen ; The northern Bantu ; Eastern Africa to-day ; The herdsmen. I-IV
Uganda - Northern Uganda
Dodoth (African people) - Social life and customs - Documentary films
Narration in English; dialogue in a Nilo-Hamitic language
Dokwaza: Last of the African Iron masters. Nicholas
David, Yves Le Bleis. 1988, 49 min. Shows the process of smelting iron
and steel as performed by Mafa peoples in the Mandara Highlands of North
Cameroon.
See also: Studies in industrialization ; The promotion of small and medium-scale industries ; Plan directeur d'industrialisation du Cameroun ; L'Industrie camerounaise
Mandara Highlands (Cameroon)
Mafa (African people) – Iron industry and trade - Industries – Iron – Metallurgy
English
The last of the African ironmasters
Dole. By Imunga Ivanga. 2001, 80 min. This look at youth
culture in the streets of Libreville won first prize at Carthage in 2000,
and best screenplay in Ouagadougou 2001.
See also: Sociologie de la vie associative au Gabon ; Les sociétés gabonaises traditionnelles ; Recensement général de la population et de l'habitat de juillet 1993
Libreville (Gabon)
Male friendship – Juvenile delinquents - Drama – Youth – Social conditions
French with English subtitles
Dolly & the Inkspots. 28 min. One of the most dynamic
singing combinations to emerge in the early Fifties was Dolly Rathebe
and the African Inkspots. They were the toast of Sof’town, getting star
billing in musical shows round the country and appearing in feature films
such as Jim Comes to Jo’burg, The Magic Garden, and Song of Africa.
See also: African stars ; Where is the way ; In township tonight! ; Rhythm of resistance
South Africa
Music – Jazz - Popular music
Narrated in English; musical numbers sung in English or Zulu
A profile: Dolly & the Inspots – Dolly and the Inkspots
Domba, 1956-1958: A personal record of Venda initiation rites,
songs & dances. By John Blacking. Recorded in South Africa.
Society for Ethnomusicology, 2001. 71 min.
See also: The Bavenda ; Black background ; Music, culture, & experience
South Africa
Venda (African people) – Rites and ceremonies - Dance music – Venda Songs – Music – Initiation rites
Voiceover in English; sung in Venda
Domestic differences. Produced by Matty Kaufman; written and directed by Nanette Burstein. 1996, 47 min. Depicts South African society during the ten days leading up to the 1994 election.
See also: Desire lines ; Unfrozen ground ; Whiteness just isn't what is used to be ; Phela-ndaba ; The end of apartheid? ; Liberation Chabalala
Transkei (South Africa)
Elections, 1994 - Public opinion - Case studies - Social conditions - Politics and government - Documentary films
English and Xhosa with English subtitles
Donka: X-ray of an African Hospital. A film by Thierry
Michel. 1996, 59 min. This documentary follows daily life in the largest
public hospital in the Republic of Guinea, Donka Hospital, in Conakry.
See also: La République de Guinée ; Medical assistance to self-settled refugees ; Conférence nationale de la santé ; Programmes de coopération technique thématiques
Conakry (Guinea)
Donka Hospital – Medical care – Social conditions - Documentary - Medical economics
Narration in English; English subtitles provided for conversations in French
Donka: radioscopie d'un hôpital africain
The donor circus. Filmed & directed by Ben Summers. 2007, 26 min. Looks at the economic situation in Zambia and how foreign aid is being utilized by the Zambian government and non-governmental organizations.
Series: Life series 5
See also: The aid relationship in Zambia ; Foreign aid, debt and growth in Zambia ; The church's contribution to development in Zambia ; Making it possible
Zambia
Economic assistance - Non-governmental organizations - Poverty - Politics and government - Economic conditions, 1964-
Life (Bullfrog Films, inc.). Series 5
The draft constitution: what they haven't told Wanjiku. Director/producer, Wanjiru Gikonyo; executive producer, Richard Quinn. 2003, 16 min. Focuses on various family groups concerned that the draft constitution does not represent the values and aspirations of Kenyans.
See also: The people, the constitutional review and the Government ; Making our constitution ; The pocket Constitution of Kenya ; Reviewing the Constitution ; The big debate ; When the Constitution begins to flower
Kenya
Constitutional law
A dream come true for the Ethiopian Jews. Immigration
and Absorption Dept. of the Jewish Agency, 1989.
See also: Again the second time ; Mi-Etyopiah derekh Sudan le-har Hertsel ; Yehude Etyopyah ; Les Falāshās
Falasha: exile of the Black Jews
Ethiopia – Israel
Ethiopian Jews – Immigration and emigration
The Drums of Dagbon. 2000, 58 min. Writers, Alhaji Ibrahim
Abdulai, John Miller Chernoff; photographer, Mike Fox; film editor, Don
Fairservice; narrator, Louis Mahoney. Discusses the Dagbomba drummers
in northern Ghana.
See also: Ghana: Rhythms of the people ; Drum damba: talking drum lessons ; History and traditions of Dagbon ; A brief history of the Dagbamba people
Ghana
Dagbani (African people) – Music
E
Ebola War: The Nurses of Gulu. 2002, 46 min. Produced
by Alethia Productions. Through interviews, personal accounts
and archival footage, this film documents a five-month heroic battle in
an African hospital against a modern-day plague, and the final triumph
over the outbreak.
See also: Examining the status of health rights of patients ; Crisis in Uganda ; Gulu: una discesa agli inferi ; The urban geography of Gulu
Uganda
Hemorrhagic Fever – Ebola – Hospitals – Nurses – Epidemiology – Disease Outbreaks – Communicable Disease Control
Educating Lucia. Directed by Charlotte Metcalf, Kirsten
Brathen and Sean Smith. 2000. Part 25 of a series on how the globalized
world economy affects ordinary people.
Series: Life (Bullfrog Films)
See also: L'école et les filles en Afrique scolarisation sous conditions ; "Girl friendly" education ; Educations, diversités culturelles et stratégies politiques en Afrique subsaharienne ; Cutting the gordian knot ; Gender, literacy, and life chances in Sub-Saharan Africa
Africa, Eastern – Zimbabwe – Uganda – Benin
Globalization – Social aspects – Women – Girls – Elementary education – Economic aspects – School attendance – Discrimination in education – Sex discrimination against women – Social condictions
In English and African languages with English voiceovers.
Life (Bullfrog Films, Inc.); 25
Een dorpstraject (Changing paths; La route d'un village). Productie, Jacqueline Persson [et al.] This film documents efforts of NGOs in Mali to eradicate female circumcision. After five years, their hard work does bring results as old traditions make way for new ones.
See also: L'excision au Mali ; Une loi contre l'excision au Mali? ; The Hosken report ; Stop female genital mutilation ; Female "circumcision" in Africa ; Female genital mutilation
Mali
Female circumcision - Clitoredectomy - Circumcision, Female - Social Change
French and Bambara with English subtitles; title and credits in Dutch.
Efunsetan Aniwura: Iyalode of Ibadan. Diirected by Tunde Kelani; screenplay, Akinwumi Isola. 2005, 2 videodiscs, ca. 110 min. The epic story of Efunsetan Aniwura, the most powerful woman in Ibadan history. When her only child dies during birth, Efunsetan blames God for her tragedy and, in turn, vents her anger on the people of Ibadan.
Note: Based on the play by Akínwùmí Ísolá.
See also: Two Yorùbá historical dramas ; Ẹfúnsetán Aníwúrà, ìyálóde Ìbàdàn ; (Ogunleye, F) "Television Docudrama as Alternative Records of History" in
History in Africa - Volume 32, 2005, pp. 479-484
Africa, West - Ibadan (Nigeria)
Yoruba (African people) - Drama - History, 19th century - Historical drama - Feature films
Yoruba with English subtitles
Real story behind Iyalode Ibadan
The Emperor's birthday. Produced and directed by John
Dollar; produced by Volcano Films for Channel Four. 1992, 52 min. Rastas
come from various parts of the world to celebrate the centenary birthday
of Haile Selassie, the late Emperor of Ethiopia.
See also: Haile Selassie, western education, and political revolution in Ethiopia ; Haile Sellassie I: the formative years, 1892-1936 ; My life and Ethiopia's progress, volume two, Addis Abeba, 1966 E.C ; Chapman-Andrews and the emperor
Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, 1892-1975 - Anniversaries - Rastafari movement - Ethiopians - Religion - Emigration and immigration - Jamaicans - Documentary films
Enkishon: The Maasai Child in Kenya. By Jane Murago-Munene,
1995. Maasai twins journey from their modern school to their rural Maasai
homestead where we are introduced to their brother and his warrior age
mates.
See also: The Maasai and agents of change ; The history and some traditions of the Maasai ; Enkop ai: (my country) ; Beyond the plains
Kenya
Maasai (African people) – Children – Social life and customs
Entangled. Written, produced and directed by Doreen Fonju and Sylveria Anye. Cameroon, 2004, 79 min.
See also: Children, youth, women and development plans ; La jeunesse camerounaise et l'éthique de responsabilité ; Sex, work, and social class in Cameroon ; Women and economic development in Cameroon
Cameroon
Child labour - Social aspects - Economic aspects - Feature Films
English with a few dialogues in French and some Pidgin English
Equatorial Guinea: drowning in oil? Un reportage de Lluis Jené, Enric Miró. 2003, 30 min. In 1995 U.S. oil companies arrived in Equatorial Guinea in West Africa and found oil. Until then production of cocoa crops was the only economic activity.
See also: Guinée équatoriale, 1995 ; Guinea Ecuatorial: historia en blanco y negro ; Del estado colonial al estado dictatorial
Equatorial Guinea
Petroleum industry and trade - History - Industrial productivity - Political persecution - Economic conditions - Politics and government - Documentary films
English audio track with occasional dialogue in Spanish with English subtitles
Drowning in oil
Eritrea: After Peace Falls Rain. By Henri Alexandre.
From Grassroots International. 1993, 30 min. This film demonstrates how
the Eritreans are rebuilding a country devastated by 30 years of war with
Ethiopia and a decade of drought.
See also: Eritrea: a new beginning ; Anatomy of an African tragedy ; Never kneel down ; Post-conflict Eritrea
Eritrea
Economic conditions – Social conditions
Eritrea: Hope in the Horn of Africa – After Peace
Ethiopia. BBC Videos for Education & Training. 1999,
59 min. Originally made for the BBC television program, Under African
Skies. Features the music of Ethiopia, traditional and contemporary. Includes
live performances using traditional instruments.
See also: Ethiopia: its people, its society, its culture ; Multiple interpretations of dynamics of creativity ; Abyssinie swing ; Music from Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Music
Ethiopia, The Hidden Empire. By N. H. Cominos. 1970,
52 min. Surveys the history of Ethiopia through its peoples and customs.
See also: Unconquered Abyssinia as it is to-day ; Ethiopia: its people, its society, its culture ; Ethiopia, the land of promise
Ethiopia
Falasha Jews – Social life and customs
Ethiopian policemen train in Israel. Jerusalem: Steven
Spielberg Jewish Film Archive, Hebrew University – WZO. 1999.
See also: ha-Ukhlusiyah ha-Etyopit be-Yiśrael ; Ethiopian realities ; Saving the lost tribe ; al-Taghalghul al-ihyūnī fī Afrīqiyā
Ethiopia – Israel
Police training – Foreign relations
Ethiopiques. By Marie Jose and Joseph Tubiana, Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique, Meudon, France. 1978, 14 min. Film
of the public rituals of 5 Christian celebrations. Filmed in Addis Alem
in 1964.
See also: L'Éthiopie ; Revolution & religion in Ethiopia ; The Ethiopian cultural heritage ; Saints and monasteries in Ethiopia ; The Church of Ethiopia ; The contribution of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church to the Ethiopian civilization
Ethiopia
Social life and customs – Religious life – Music Christians – Rites and ceremonies – Fasts and feasts
Narration in French
Everyone’s Child. By Tsitsi Dangarembga. 1996, 90 min.
A theatrical film about the tragic fate of one Zimbabwean family devastated
by AIDS. Script based on a story by Shimmer Chinodya, directed by the
author of Nervous Condition. Soundtrack features 12 original
songs by Zimbabwe’s most popular musicians.
See also: Trampled no more ; Children and women in Zimbabwe ; Farm Orphan Support Trust of Zimbabwe ; Coping with orphans and children in difficult circumstances at community level ; Orphans on farms : who cares?
Zimbabwe
Orphans – AIDS phobia – Drama – Children
Everything Must Come to Light. Directed by Mpumi Njinge
and Paulo Alberton. 2002, 25 min. This documentary focuses on the lives
of three dynamic lesbian women who are sangomas (traditional healers)
living in Soweto, South Africa.
See also: Defiant desire ; Mary Renault: a biography ; Out in South Africa
South Africa
Lesbianism – Spiritual healing – Women healers – Lesbians – Documentary
Narration in English with English subtitles
Extra bitter: the legacy of the Chocolate Islands. Directed and photographed by Derek Vertongen; produced by Nutaaq Media Inc. and DEH Vertongen Inc. 2000, 52 min. Archival film and interviews with historians, writers and the inhabitants create a portrait of a little-known country and history of São Tomé and Principe (also known as the "Chocolate Islands").
See also: A social history of black slaves ; Escravos no sul de Portugal ; Os negros em Portugal
São Tomé and Principe
Slavery - Portugal - History - Blacks - Colonies
Portions spoken in Portuguese with English voiceovers
Legacy of the Chocolate Islands
Ezra. Scénario de Newton I. Aduaka et Alain-Michel Blanc; idée originale et dialogues, Newton I. Aduaka. 2007, 105 min. Tells the story of Ezra, a young boy kidnapped and forced to become a soldier with a rebel faction in the Sierra Leone Civil War.
See also: The Sorious Samura collection ; Juvenile justice and children in armed conflict ; Re-examining voluntarism: youth combatants in Sierra Leone ; A long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier ;
Armies of the young: child soldiers in war and terrorism ; A child's century of war
Sierra Leone
Child soldiers - Drama - Truth commissions - History - Civil War, 1991 - Feature films
F
Faat Kine. Ousmane Sembene. 2000, 110 min. Ousmane Sembene
sums up 40 years of path-breaking filmmaking with a penetrating analysis
of the interplay of gender, economics and power in today’s Africa.
See also: Reassemblage ; Selbe: one among many ; Femmes Aux Yeux Ouverts ; L'entrepreneuriat féminin au Sénégal
Senegal
Drama – Single mothers – Social conditions – Patriarchy – Women – 20th century – Women service industries workers – Man-woman relationships
French and Wolof with English subtitles
Falasha: exile of the Black Jews. Written and directed
by Simcha Jacobovici; produced by Jamie Boyd and Simcha Jacobovici. 2004,
80 min.
See also: Again the second time ; Mi-Etyopiah derekh Sudan le-har Hertsel ; Yehude Etyopyah ; Les Falāshās
A dream come true for the Ethiopian Jews
Ethiopia – Israel – Sudan
Operation Moses, 1984-1985 – Ethiopian Jews – Search and rescue operations
The Falashas. Produced and directed by Larry Frisch; written by Meyer Levin. 1987, 27 min.
See also: Again the second time ; Mi-Etyopiah derekh Sudan le-har Hertsel ; Yehude Etyopyah ; Les Falāshās
A dream come true for the Ethiopian Jews
Ethiopia
Jews - Ethiopian
Fang: An Epic Journey. Directed and written by Susan
M. Vogel. 2001, 8 min. This is a work of fiction but everything in it
is based on real events. About the journey of an African sculpture, beginning
in Cameroon in 1904.
See also: The influence of African sculpture on British art, 1910 to 1930 ; L'art négro-africain ; African art in cultural perspective
Africa – Cameroon
African Art – African sculpture
Idol becomes art
Faraw!: une mere des sables. Scenario/realisation, Abdoulaye Ascofare. New York. 1997, 90 min. With three difficult children, a crippled, mentally unbalanced husband and no steady income, Zamiatou, the poorest woman in an impoverished desert village in Mali, is forced to seek outside help for survival.
See also: L'importance de la famille Mali ; Citadines ; Femmes du Mali ; Mali: [rapport]
Mali
Drama - Women - Family - Social conditions - Villages - Rural conditions - Feature films
Songhoĭ with English subtitles
Farawi: Mother of the dunes
Father. Electronic Media Network. 2000, 87 min. Three
films, each offering a critical look at the relationships between fathers
and their children in contemporary Africa.
See also: Relative values
Tanzania – Nigeria – Ethiopia
Patriarchy – Drama – 1960 - Social conditions – Fathers
English and Amharic, Swahili, with English subtitles
The Father – Surrender – Barber’s wisdom
Fela in Concert. 1991, 57 min. Fela is the most celebrated
Black African musician today, and a politician who represents the uprising
of Black Africa.
See also: A study of the music and social criticism of African musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
; Arrest the music!
; Historical trends of Nigerian indigenous and contemporary music
Nigeria
Jazz musicians – Kuti, Fela Anikulapo – Popular music – Music – Black musicians
Fela Live: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the Egypt 80 Band.
1991, 90 min. A concert performance by Fela, Nigerian saxophonist and
singer, his 20-piece band, Egypt 80, his singers and his dancing wives.
See also: A study of the music and social criticism of African musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti ; Arrest the music! ; Historical trends of Nigerian indigenous and contemporary music ; Fela: the life & times
Nigeria
Fela – Performances – Popular music Music – Jazz music – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the Egypt 80 Band
Female Circumcision: Human Rites. 1998, 41 min. Reporter/Producer:
Marion Mayer-Hohdahl. Documents the ritual of female genital mutilation,
also known as female circumcision. Graphic scenes of an actual female
circumcision are shown.
See also: Female "circumcision" in Africa ; Female circumcision: multicultural perspectives ; Traditional and cultural practices harmful to the girl-child ; Asylum
Africa
Female circumcision – Psychology – Ethnology – Clitoridectomy – Ceremonial behavior – Methods – Cultural characteristics
Femmes Aux Yeux Ouverts. By Anne-Laure Folly. 1994,
52 min. This film presents portraits of contemporary African women from
four West African nations as they speak out on issues such as marital
rights, female genital mutilation, and women’s roles in economics and
politics.
See also: Reassemblage ; Faat Kine ; Selbe: one among many
West Africa – Burkina Faso – Senegal – Bénin – Mali
Women – Feminism – Businesswomen – Social conditions – Marriage customs and rites – Sexually transmitted diseases – Clitoridectomy – Infibulation
French with English subtitles
Women with Open Eyes
Femmes du Niger: Entre Integrisme et Democratie. 1993,
26 min. Focuses on the impact of Islamic fundamentalism on women’s rights
in Niger and how this clashes with the country’s struggle for democracy.
See also: Engaging modernity ; Femmes africaines en devenir ; Niger: [rapport]
Niger
Women – Muslim women – Islamic fundamentalism – Human rights
French with English subtitles
Women of Niger: Between Fundamentalism and Democracy
Fighting for Rights, Pre-Poll 2002 Zimbabwe Before the Elections.
By Edwina Spicer. 2002, 45 min.
See also: Are they accountable? ; Human rights and Zimbabwe's president[i]al election ; Zimbabwe after the elections ; Of stuffed ballots and empty stomachs ; Robert Mugabe ; Fraud and Corruption: A Growing Concern in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Elections – Political violence – Politics and government, 1980-
Zimbabwe before the Presidential elections of March 2002: a nation in turmoil – Pre-poll 2002.
Fighting poverty together: the core challenges. Produced by Willy Mantuku, Sylvia Mudasia Mwichuli. 2000, 33 min. Discusses the goals of ActionAid, an international aid organization which endeavors to rid the world of poverty.
See also: Poverty situation in Zimbabwe ; Zimbabwe's current socio-economic and political situation ; That they may have life ; Why has poverty increased in Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe
ActionAid (Organization) - Poverty - Moral and ethical aspects - Social aspects - Starvation - Hunger
Fintar o Destino. Directed by Fernando Vendrell. 1998,
77 min. This film explores the tension, personal and political, between
remaining true to one’s dreams or making the best of limited opportunities.
See also: Cape Verde: politics, economics, and society ; Compreensão de Cabo Verde ; Cabo Verde, retalhos do quotidiano ; The Cape Verdean diaspora in Portugal ; Cape Verde: Crioulo colony to independent nation
Cape Verde
Feature films - Sports
Portuguese and Criolo with English subtitles
Dribbling fate
Finzan. By Cheick Oumar Sissoko. 1990, 107 min. A story
of two women’s rebellion from the customs of circumcision and forced marriage.
See also: Etapes de la vie de l'homme Bambara
; Une société rurale bambara à travers des chants de femmes
; Essai sur la féminité Bambara
; L'Enfance bambara
Mali
Bambara (African people) – Drama – Feature films – Marriage customs and rites – Social life and customs
Bambara with English subtitles
Dance for the Heroes
Fire eyes. A film by Soraya Mire. 1994, 60 min. Explores the socio-economic, psychological, and medical consequences of an ancient custom which affects more than 80 million women worldwide. Focuses on an African view of the subject.
See also: Transcultural bodies ; Female circumcision: multicultural perspectives ; Female genital mutilation: legal, cultural, and medical issues ; Re-thinking sexualities in Africa
Africa
Female circumcision - Clitoridectomy - Infibulation - Documentary films
Female circumcision
First run. New York: United Nations Development Fund
for Women, Ethiopia (UNIFEM). 1994, 20 min.
See also: Land, poverty and livelihoods in an era of globalization ; The impacts of urban "development" on a peasant community in Ethiopia ; Population, health, and development in Africa
Ethiopia
Rural development projects – Family
Integrated rural development programme for women, Ethiopia
Fishers of Dar. A film by Lina Fruzzetti, Akos Ostor and Stephen Ross. 2002, 37 min. Explores traditional fishing practices of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and the hundreds of people who make a living in the process.
See also: Access to formal and quasi-formal credit ; Learning about livelihoods ; Custodians of the land
Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)
Fishers - Social life and customs - Documentary films
Flame. By Ingrid Sinclair. 1996, 85 min. A
feature film which presents the view of Zimbabwe’s national liberation
war from the perspective of its female combatants. It also follows the
life of its main character after the war.
See also: The women of Zimbabwe ; Our struggle for liberation ; Reclaiming Zimbabwe ; Zimbabwe: struggles-within-the-struggle, 1957-1980 ; The struggle for Zimbabwe: the Chimurenga War ; Guns and guerilla girls ; Young women in the liberation struggle
Zimbabwe
Drama – National liberation movements – Feature films – Women soldiers
Flip-flotsam. Filmed, written, edited & produced by Etienne Oliff & Lucy Bateman. 2003, 26 min. Traces the journey of Africa’s most popular shoes, the flip flop.
See also: African entrepreneurship
; Small-scale rural industry in Kenya
; African entrepreneurs: pioneers of development
; Small enterprises
Mombasa - Kenya
Thongs (Sandals) - Shoe industry - Documentary films
Food Distribution in Zimbabwe. By Edwina Spicer. 2002,
14 min.
See also: Alleviating hunger in Zimbabwe
; The root causes of hunger in Zimbabwe
; Incomes, poverty and food security in the communal lands of Zimbabwe
; The food problem
Zimbabwe
Food supply
For love of neighbour. Video producer-director-script, Agnes Lucy Lando. Ukweli Video Productions. 2004, 30 min. Focuses on reactions to the Kenya Government eviction notice issued on January 29th 2004 to all living below power lines and close to the railway line.
See also: Access by women and the urban poor to urban land and credit ; The housing of Africans in the urban areas of Kenya ; Development of informal housing in Kenya ; Building a prosperous Kenya
Kenya
Eviction - Urban poor - Housing policy - Church work with the poor
Evictions in Nairobi, Kenya
Forbidden fruit. Directed by Sue Malawa Bruce; screenplay by Beate Kunath; produced by Chemnitzer Filmwerkstatt. 2000, 30 min. This docu-drama examines long held taboos about sexual identity and lesbian love in African society.
See also: Tommy boys, lesbian men, and ancestral wives ; Boy-wives and female husbands ; Colonialism and homosexuality
Zimbabwe
Lesbians - Lesbianism
English, some dialogue in Afrikaans with subtitles in English
The Forbidden Land. By Daniele Lacourse and Yvan Patry.
1989, 55 min. Using archival footage to document the conflict’s roots
and its escalation, the film examines the human cost of the tragic war
which resulted in Eritrea’s independence.
See also: Anatomy of an African tragedy ; Ethiopia and Eritrea ; Eritrea's war ; Deportation of Eritreans from Ethiopia ; Getting home is only half the challenge
Eritrea
Politics and government – 1962-
Forgiveness. Directed by Ian Gabriel; written by Greg Latter; producer, Cindy Gabriel. 2005, 118 min. A white former South African policeman who tortured and killed a black anti-apartheid activists seeks forgiveness from the victim’s family.
See also: The rise, fall, and legacy of apartheid ; Justifying oppression ; Capitalism and apartheid ; Have you heard from Johannesburg? ; South Africa: beyond a miracle ; Reconciliation through truth: a reckoning of apartheid's criminal governance ; From truth to transformation
South Africa
Ex-police officers - Drama - Murder victims’ families - Race relations
English and Afrikaans audio track with English subtitles
Forgotten Children: The Legacy of Poverty and AIDS in Africa.
2001, 13 min. Brad Strickland and Donna Woolf. U.S. Agency for International
Development.
See also: Findings of the orphans and vulnerable children psychosocial survey ; Zambia's orphans and vulnerable children, 2004 ; Situation analysis of orphans in Zambia ; Kanayaka = The light is on ; We can tell them
Zambia
Children of AIDS patients – Orphan – Street children - AIDS (Disease) – Social aspects
Forsaken Cries: The Story of Rwanda. By Kathy Austin,
Amnesty International, USA. 1997, 34 min. Documentary examines Rwanda
as a case study of the human rights challenge of the 21st century. Incorporates
historical footage, interviews, analyses.
See also: L'UEJF au Rwanda ; Une guerre noire ; The bishop of Rwanda ; Life laid bare: the survivors in Rwanda speak ; Rwanda means the universe ; Hotel Rwanda: bringing the true story of an African hero to film ; The debris of Ham ; Hotel Rwanda
Rwanda
History – Civil War, 1994 – Genocide – Human rights - Ethnic relations
La Fournaise: un volcan dans la mer. Un film de Maurice Krafft et Alain Gerente.
See also: Au cœur de la Fournaise ; Colloque sur l'imaginaire du volcan ; Coulées de lave, couleurs de vie
Réunion
Volcanoes - Fournaise, Piton de la (Réunion)
Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask. By Isaac Julien.
1995, 50 min. A film biography of the preeminent anti-colonial theorist
whose written works were pioneering studies of the psychological impact
of racism on both the colonized and colonizer.
See also: Frantz Fanon: colonialism and alienation ; Frantz Fanon: de la Martinique à l'Algérie et à l'Afrique ; Frantz Fanon: a biography ; Frantz Fanon: a critical study
Algeria
Fanon, Frantz – Biographies Intellectuals – Revolutionaries – Psychiatrists
English and French with English subtitles
Fraud and Corruption: A Growing Concern in Zimbabwe.
1996, 30 min. Media for Development Trust, with sponsorship from the Zimbabwe
Institute of Public Administration and Management (ZIPAM).
See also: Human rights and Zimbabwe's presidential election ; Fighting for rights ; Zimbabwe after the elections ; Are they accountable? ;Of stuffed ballots and empty stomachs ; Robert Mugabe ;
Zimbabwe
Political corruption – Fraud
From Congo to Zaire. Olivier Moser and Frederic Tadino;
narrated by John Boyle. 2001, 52 min. Documents how the legacy of colonialism
affected modern Congo after being granted its independence from Belgium
in 1960, led first by Patrice Lumumba, then by general Mobuto for thirty
years.
See also: The political economy of Third World intervention
; Naître et mourir au Zaïre
; Le Congo: de la colonisation belge à l'indépendance
; European atrocity, African catastrophe
Congo (Democratic Republic)
History, 1908-1960 – Politics and government, 1960-1997
Future Remembrance: Photography and Image Arts in Ghana.
1998, 55 min. By Tobias Wendl and Nancy duPlessis. Documentary about the
role of photography, photographers and the art of image making in Ghana.
See also: Tabourets Asante ; If this is the time ; Spirits without boundaries ; Ancient treasures in terra cotta of Mali and Ghana
Ghana
Photography – Photographers – Portrait photography – Sculpture – Portrait sculpture – Sculptors
G
Gacaca: Living Together Again in Rwanda? 2002, 55 min.
Directed and produced by Anne Aghion. In 1994, decades of politically
motivated ethnic strife culminated in a wholesale slaughter of the Rwanda’s
Tutsi minority, along with many Hutu moderates. This film follows the
first steps in one of the world’s boldest experiments in reconciliation:
the Gacaca Tribunals.
See also: L'UEJF au Rwanda ; Une guerre noire ; The bishop of Rwanda ; Life laid bare: the survivors in Rwanda speak ; Rwanda means the universe ; Hotel Rwanda: bringing the true story of an African hero to film ; The debris of Ham ; Hotel Rwanda
Rwanda
Tutsi (African people) – Hutu (African people) – 20th century – Genocide – Ethnic relations – Civil War, 1994 – Truth commissions – Politics and government – Reconciliation – Case studies
Rundi with English subtitles; some narration in English
Gelede: A Yoruba Masquerade. 1970, 24 min. Discusses
the gelede society of Southwest Yorubaland in Nigeria and the annual gelede
festival. Emphasizes the symbolism inherent in the ceremonies.
See also: Gẹlẹdẹ: art and female power among the Yoruba
; The Gẹ̀lẹ̀dé spectacle
; Women in the Yoruba religious sphere
; The invention of women
; Yoruba: masques et rituels africains
; Understanding Yoruba life and culture
; The good, the bad, and the beautiful
Nigeria
Yoruba (African people) – Art - Social life and customs
Genesis. By Cheick Oumar Sissoko. 1999, 102 min. Sissoko
discovers insights into one of the most urgent problems facing Africa
and indeed the world -fratricidal strife - by returning to the biblical
account of its origins.
See also: Mali & Senegal: the power of Islam ; Essai sur la religion Bambara ; Le sanctuaire Kama blon de Kangaba ; Social history of Timbuktu
Mali
Feature films – Bible stories O.T. – Genesis
Bambara with English subtitles
La Genèse
Gerrie & Louise. By Sturla Gunnarsson. 1997, 75
min. The story of one of the world’s most unlikely couples, set against
the backdrop of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
See also: Truths drawn in jest ; Overcoming apartheid ; Facing the truth ; Narratives of nation media, memory and representation ; Truth and reconciliation in South Africa ; Between Joyce and remembrance ; Political forgiveness ; Peace and reconciliation in South Africa ; A human being died that night
South Africa
Truth and Reconciliation Commission – Apartheid
The gift of sight. Produced by Julie Gal. Galex Foundation, in association with the Anti-Defamation League. 1987, 28 min.
See also: The state visit to Africa of His Excellency the President of Israel and Mrs. Ben-Zvi ; What my country needs today ; The question of human rights to nationality
Liberia - Israel
Frucht, Joseph - Eye - Diseases - Medicine - Relations
Girls around the world. Women Make Movies, New York.
1999, 169 min. A collection of extraordinary documentaries on seventeen-year-old
girls across the globe. Directed by local women filmmakers in Peru, Pakistan,
Bénin, Germany and Finland.
See also: Research on education in Africa ; In search of an ideal school for girls ; Educating Lucia ; Educating tomorrow ; Access of girls and women
Teenage girls – Documentary films
English subtitles.
Gito l’Ingrat. By Léonce Ngabo. 1982, 90 min. Gito personifies
the young African intellectual who, having immersed himself in a foreign
culture, rediscovers the country of his origins and sees his utopian dreams
confronted by daily realities.
See also: Inaburundi, épouse Mutwe ; Itinéraire de la sagesse ; L'Arbre-mémoire ; Burundi: de la nation aux ethnies ; Entre deux mondes; The great lakes of Africa
Burundi
Feature films – Social life and customs – Drama
French with English subtitles
Gito, The Ungrateful
Give Me a Shilling: Phenomenon of the Street Children.
Ukweli Video Productions; producers/directors, Richard J. Quinn, Martin
Kivuva. 1996, 45 min. Pictures of the Charles Lwanga Watoto project, the
efforts of the Brothers of St. Charles Lwanga not only to rehabilitate
Nairobi’s street children, but to prevent slum children from ending up
in the streets.
See also: Africa's children ; Hearing on Street Children in Kenya ; Final report: client consultation study : changing child-rearing practices ; Kenya, child newcomers in the urban jungle ; Enkishon ; Home life in Kikuyu-land
Nairobi (Kenya)
Street children – Services for street children – Social conditions
Globalisation and Africa: Which Side Are We On? By Ben
Cashdan. 2001, 55 min. With clips of local struggles in the townships
of South Africa and material from the Durban Anti-Racism Conference in
September and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2001.
See also: Globalization, negotiation, and the failure of transformation in South Africa ; The making of South Africa Inc. ; South Africa in the global economy ; Is there an alternative? ;