La distribution en France des films d'Afrique sud saharienne francophone

Authors

Patricia Caillé, Université de Strasbourg
Claude Forest, Université de Strasbourg

Abstract

Since the first such productions of the post-independence era, films directed by African filmmakers from former sub-Saharan French colonies have enjoyed very limited broadcast in theatres in France. Indeed, with very few exceptions, they have hardly been seen by French audiences at all. The image of the "festival film" - a label they were assigned - has had a significant negative impact, reinforcing their status as niche films reserved exclusively for film buffs. The few film titles that come up over and over again have led critics astray, restricting their view of this cinema to the places and stories portrayed in that small selection of films. This phenomenon also serves to cover up another more uncomfortable one: the rejection of these cinemas by the legitimating institutions of the North, accompanied by a condescending attitude tainted with postcolonial guilt. While France has been the birthplace of a number of these films from the South, it has also, de facto, served as their cemetery. As the principal site of their broadcast as well as their material and symbolic existence, particularly with respect to film critics, it has never managed to interest the French public in these films and has never supplied them with the means for gaining any international recognition.

Recommended Citation

Caillé, Patricia and Forest, Claude (2020) "La distribution en France des films d'Afrique sud saharienne francophone," Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature: Vol. 95: No. 1, Article 5.
Available at: https://crossworks.holycross.edu/pf/vol95/iss1/5