AfroCinema: Celebrating Africa’s Stories through Film

Vanessa Obioha

Fifty-eight years after the African Union was established to celebrate the onward progress of the African countries and symbolise the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation, the continent has significantly continued to exhibit that enormous progress and determination.

While many may cast doubts on the leadership of most African countries, the global appeal of African culture and arts cannot be overemphasised and is certainly indubitable. Be it music, films or other forms of art, indeed, African art has consistently portrayed Africans in the best light. It showcases the beauty of the ambitious men and women who are shaping the continent’s narrative with their creativity.

In music, the likes of Nigerian music artiste, Burna Boy set the trailblazing earlier this year when he clinched the first solo Grammy award for a Nigerian artiste. MultiChoice Nigeria brought the epic moment to Nigeria through one of its M-Net channels.

Other Nigerian artists like Wizkid, Davido, Yemi Alade are likewise breaking boundaries alongside their African counterparts like Ghanaian Gyakie, South African Busiswa among others.

However, one notable export of the continent is films. Through the stories told by African storytellers, the continent is reimagined. Where stories of impoverishment and underdevelopment have flourished in the past, the present is replete with tales of success and innovation. The Nigerian film industry commonly known as Nollywood has played a significant role in pushing these narratives. The industry which is the second-largest film producer in the world is arguably synonymous with African cinema. Nollywood combines talent, creativity and zealousness to make African stories global, reflecting not just who we are but the future of us.

A consistent enabler of Nollywood is MultiChoice Nigeria through which various interventions such as the MultiChoice Talent Factory, Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) and Africa Magic channels have helped to groom and showcase African talents. The media and entertainment company prides itself on being Africa’s biggest and most loved storyteller with its rich offering of contemporary films, TV series and reality TV shows that portray African passion and determination.

Therefore, as the continent marked the Africa Day celebration, MultiChoice launched a pop-up channel dedicated to African cinema. The M-Net Movies channel called AfroCinema started airing on May 21 and will continue to show the best of African films such as ‘Sunset in Makoko’, a production by MTF alumnus Allen Onyige, till May 30. Other Nollywood films premiering on the pop-up channel available on DStv channel 198 to customers on Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, Confam and Yanga packages and GOtv channel 29 to customers on Max and Jolli packages, include ‘Bling Lagosians’, ‘Sylvia’ and ‘Dream Chaser’. They will also showcase top films from other African countries such as ‘The Train of Salt and Sugar’ (Mozambique), ‘Ensulo’ (Kenya) and ’94 Terror’ (Uganda).

AfroCinema is arguably a befitting way to celebrate Africa’s cultural diversity captured by filmmakers across the continent. Their doggedness and positivism have yielded collaborations that turned challenges into possibilities and produced award-winning productions that have launched the careers of many directors, producers, and stars.

Indeed, AfroCinema rightly symbolises the onward progress of the continent in creating colourful stories for us and by us.