Film festival and archival efficiency as reservoir of epistemy for national development
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Date
2019
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Faculty of Arts, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
Abstract
It is generally believed that the cinematic tradition had started in Africa as far back as the 19th century, not long after its evolution in Europe and was exhibited within the cities by the imperial forces that colonised the continent. Granted that majority of the films at this time were produced by the Europeans and reflected foreign cultures, except a few with local content, though negatively, most of the time. It is noteworthy that the postcolonial period of Africa produced its own films, telling its own stories. It is lamentable, however, that many of the early but vital films, particularly celluloid, produced by Africans may have been lost. Reasons for this may not be unconnected to poor archival practices by most African nations and lack of synergy between film producers and the archives, a situation that has caused a lot of historical gaps in the documentation of African film industries and African socio-cultural practice. This has also impacted negatively on episteme and by extension pedagogy, both of which are crucial to the development of African cities and nations. In light of this, this paper theorises the relationship between film industries and archival practice and submits that a sustained film festival culture will go a long way in bridging this gap and help provide a myriad of information - sociopolitical economic and technological - that can be channeled towards a meaningful development of African city, especially when stakeholders in film festivals work hand in glove with the archives.
Description
This is a paper that argues for a sustained synergy between organisers of film festivals, filmmakers and the archives for the preservation of vital films that could be of immense significance to the development of African cities.
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Citation
Agboola, M. O. (2019). Film festival and archival efficiency as reservoir of epistemy for national development. Calabar Journal of Liberal Studies, 21(1): 156-162: Calabar, Nigeria: Faculty of Arts, University of Calabar.