African Film Heritage Project

African Film Heritage Project
Harald Krichel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	African Film Heritage Project
Established	2017
Type	Film preservation
Location	Paris, Nairobi, Cairo, Dakar

African Film Heritage Project is a pan-African initiative led by the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers and the Film Foundation to locate, preserve, and restore historically significant films from across Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Background and Origins

The project was announced in collaboration with UNESCO, Martin Scorsese, Ousmane Sembène, Sembène Ousmane-related archives, Souleymane Cissé, Djibril Diop Mambéty, Moussa Sene Absa, Tunde Kelani, and archival institutions such as the Cinémathèque Française, the British Film Institute, Bibliothèque nationale de France, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, and the Library of Congress to address film loss in Niger, Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burkina Faso. The initiative draws on precedents set by the National Film Preservation Foundation, the International Federation of Film Archives, the Association des Cinémathèques Africaines, and restoration campaigns for films like Black Girl (1966), Xala (1975), Touki Bouki (1973), Yeelen (1987), and Mandabi (1968).

Objectives and Scope

Primary objectives include identifying endangered prints from collections such as the Institut Français, the Egyptian National Film Archive, the Cinematheque de Dakar, the Nigerian National Film Corporation, and the Tanzania Film Archive; producing digital preservation masters for titles by filmmakers including Haile Gerima, Akinsola Akinwande, Merzak Allouache, Sarah Maldoror, Idrissa Ouédraogo, Abderrahmane Sissako, Félix Houphouët-Boigny-era cinema holdings, and providing access through festivals such as FESPACO, Cairo International Film Festival, Durban International Film Festival, Carthage Film Festival, and Lagos International Film Festival. The scope spans narrative features, documentaries, newsreels, and ethnographic films by directors like Safi Faye, Oumarou Ganda, Kydouma Dembélé, Cheick Oumar Sissoko, Pierre Goudin, Gaston Kaboré, and producers from the African Union cultural programs.

Restoration and Preservation Process

The project employs conservation techniques developed by the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, the National Film Preservation Board, the George Eastman Museum, and private laboratories such as L'Immagine Ritrovata and Cinea. Steps include physical inspection of cellulose nitrate and acetate prints from repositories including the Tunisian Film Archive, Moroccan Cinematheque, and Ethiopian Film Archive; chemical stabilization using treatments advocated by the International Council on Archives; high-resolution scanning to IMAX-grade or 4K masters following standards from the American Film Institute and European Film Academy; color grading referencing original interpositive elements associated with filmmakers like Ousmane Sembène and Souleymane Cissé; and archival storage in cold vault facilities managed by institutions such as the British Film Institute National Archive and the Cineteca di Bologna.

Key Film Restorations and Notable Titles

Restored titles include canonical works such as Black Girl (1966), Touki Bouki (1973), Yeelen (1987), Mandabi (1968), Xala (1975), The Silences of the Palace (1994), Hyenas (1992), Ceddo (1977), Ariel (1983), and regional classics like Borom Sarret (1963), La Noire de... (1966), La Rue Cases-Nègres (1983), La Vie Et Rien D'Autre (1989), Moolaadé (2004), The Wedding Ring (2008), The Last Mapou (1976), The Battle of Algiers (1966), Chronicle of a Disappearance (1996), and lesser-known works by Amílcar Cabral-era filmmakers and pioneers from the Nigerian New Wave and Egyptian New Wave movements.

Partnerships and Institutional Support

Key partners include UNESCO, The Film Foundation, Pan African Federation of Filmmakers, Cinémathèque Française, British Film Institute, Cineteca di Bologna, L'Immagine Ritrovata, Fondation GAN pour le Cinéma, Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Prince Claus Fund, National Film and Video Foundation (South Africa), National Film and Video Foundation (Nigeria), Africalia, Doha Film Institute, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, and national cultural ministries in Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa.

Exhibitions, Screenings, and Outreach

Restored films tour international and regional festivals including Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, FESPACO, Cairo International Film Festival, Durban International Film Festival, Carrefour des Cinémas d'Afrique, Lagos International Film Festival, TIFF, Locarno Film Festival, and specialized retrospectives at institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Institut du Monde Arabe, Royal Academy of Arts, and the Smithsonian Institution. Outreach programs pair screenings with panels featuring filmmakers such as Ousmane Sembène, Souleymane Cissé, Safy Nebbou, Tunde Kelani, Abderrahmane Sissako, Haile Gerima, Djibril Diop Mambéty, and curators from the Africa Centre.

Impact and Legacy

The initiative has influenced curriculum at universities like SOAS University of London, University of Cape Town, University of Nairobi, University of Lagos, American University in Cairo, and archival practices at the National Archives of Mali and National Archives of Senegal, informed scholarship by critics associated with Cahiers du Cinéma, Film Quarterly, Sight & Sound, and inspired subsequent projects with the European Commission cultural programs, strengthening film heritage policy in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Senegalese Ministry of Culture, and contributing to a renewed global appreciation for African cinema through retrospectives, restored home media releases, and digital access initiatives spearheaded by partner institutions.

Category:Film preservation Category:African cinema