Additional Events on Digitalisation

Early feature films on the impact and dangers of digitalisation

Nadia El Fani from Tunisia and Faouzi Bensaïdi from Morocco were among the first African directors to make films that explore the impact of digital technology. They have both attended the Cologne festival as guests on numerous occasions and their films have been screened here many times. The films are now available in the online section.

Digitally restored classics of African cinema

Across two Sunday matinee screenings, FilmInitiativ will present two masterpieces by Ousmane Sembène from Senegal and Med Hondo from Mauritania. The two internationally successful directors were key members of the first generation of independent filmmakers in West Africa, as was Gaston Kaboré, who in 1982 in collaboration with WEND KUUNI made the very first feature film from his country, which at that time still bore the colonial name Upper Volta, before being renamed Burkina Faso in 1984 by the revolutionary president Thomas Sankara. FilmInitiativ presented the digitally restored version of the cinema classic for the first time in Cologne in 2019, which was attended by the prominent director. For the 2021 festival it will again be available as an online stream.

Pan-African online projects and web series

At the 18th AFFK, FilmInitiativ will present pan-African online projects for the first time. These will include the web series AFRIPEDIA and AFRICA RIDING.
Both web series are also available in the festival’s online section until the end of October.

The online section will also feature the Ghanaian web series TALES OF THE BLUE BUS, a production that was supported by the Deutsche Welle Akademie (DWA).

FilmInitiativ will additionally present the ten winners of the pan-African short film competition on the topic of ‘African women in times of Covid-19’, which was announced last year by the Ladima Foundation with the support of the DWA. ‘A compilation of short films that reflects the varied and compelling voices of African women living though one of the most difficult periods in recent times.’ (Total length: 22 minutes.) 

Displacement and migration

Displacement and migration have always been among the most important and heavily represented subject matters in African cinema.
Two films tackling these topics are available online this year.