Cinema and Development in West Africa: Film as a Vehicle for Liberation

"Illuminates the enduring importance of political and economic dynamics not yet fully explored in the study of African cinema." — Africa Cinema and Development in West Africa shows how the film industry in Francophone West African countries played an important role in executing strategies of nation building during the transition from French rule to the early postcolonial period. James E. Genova sees the construction of African identities and economic development as the major themes in the political literature and cultural production of the time. Focusing on film both as industry and aesthetic genre, he demonstrates its unique place in economic development and provides a comprehensive history of filmmaking in the region during the transition from colonies to sovereign states. This book shows how the film industry in Francophone West African countries played an important role in executing strategies of nation building during the transition from French rule to the early postcolonial period. The author sees the construction of African identities and economic development as the major themes in the political literature and cultural production of the time. Focusing on film both as industry and aesthetic genre, he demonstrates its unique place in economic development and provides a comprehensive history of filmmaking in the region during the transition from colonies to sovereign states Cover Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction: Cinema as Art and Industry 1 The Cinema Industrial Complex in French West Africa to the 1950s 2 The Colonialist Regime of Representation, 1945–60 3 West African Anticolonial Film Politics, 1950s–60s 4 The Postcolonial African Regime of Representation 5 The West African Cinema Industrial Complex, 1960s–70s Postscript: Francophone West African Cinema to the Present Notes Bibliography Index