Step two. This is Awotele 2. It’s like the second step in the long walk of African critics alongside African cinemas.
This second edition is headed towards the Southern part of the continent. On the occasion of the Durban Film Festival, the critics of African cinemas have raised the issue of the relationships between films from the rest of the continent and movies from SA.
Over two decades after the end of apartheid and the return of this nation endowed with a well-structured cinema infrastructure among its African peers, the question arises as to what is the situation now? Was a bridge laid down between the sprouting SA cinema and the poorer productions elsewhere in the continent?
From another standpoint, when an African film with a prize received at a festival outside of the continent does not meet the same welcome or, on the contrary, achieves recognition at Fespaco or Carthage, this often raises questions. In the first case, some people say there is no justice. In the second case others will say that the jury was influenced by the prize received outside. Hence the importance of asking ourselves about the impact of the success achieved outside of the continent on its future career or the way it is received in Africa.
Awotele is a Pan African magazine, with the sounds of many African languages. There are texts in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, etc. We are endeavoring to translate them and to make them available to a larger audience. And we will succeed, as we are taking stock of our strength as well as of your solidarity. As Aimé Césaire said, we are convinced that “the sun is going around our planet earth, casting a light on the piece of land selected by our sole will, and that any star falls from sky to earth under our limitless command”.
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The Editorial Committee