Africa in Motion reveals 2017 programme

For over a decade Africa in Motion has been giving Scottish audiences the opportunity to see the vibrant and varied new cinema coming out of the African nations, as well as educating Scottish audience on the rich history of African cinema. The 2017 programme has been announced this morning, and it offers up a typically thought-provoking and eclectic lineup.

“This year the festival will undertake journeys across the continent and beyond,” notes the AiM press release, “looking at both African and black identities globally.” Rare and little-known gems of African cinema are on the menu in the African Lost Classics section, with a must-attend event looking to be the screening of Med Hondo’s Soleil O, barely known in the UK despite being a hit at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival and winning the Golden Leopard at Locarno the same year. 

Also intriguing should be Afro-Latin (in)visibility, a strand looking at cultural politics in Nicaragua, Colombia and Cuba through exploring Afro-descendant history, while Reviving Scotland’s Black History brings the spotlight on to Scotland’s uneasy relationship with Africa. This latter programme allowed aspiring film curators from a diverse range of backgrounds to learn about black history in Scotland and use this knowledge to programme events during Africa in Motion and Black History Month.

The festival opens with the FESPACO Golden Stallion and Berlinale Silver Bear winner Felicite, directed by French-Senegalese director Alain Gomis, who will be in attendance for the screening at Edinburgh Filmhouse on 27 October. Other film highlights include Winnie, Pascale Lamche’s documentary on the controversial life of Winnie Mandela; Vanishing Sail, a documentary looking at the Scottish settler influences on boat building in Carriacou; and Berni Goldblat’s Wallay, which depicts everyday life in Burkina Faso through the eyes of its 13-year-old protagonist. 

“Each of the films and events in the programme offers new perspectives on the continent, challenging conventional storytelling narratives and paving the way for new forms of creative expression,” says the festival’s producer Justine Atkinson. “It is important in current political climates for a festival such as Africa in Motion to exist to offer new perspectives on African and black history, told by African and black people. Too often western and white voices continue to speak on behalf of African people, and it is extremely important to create space for these histories and stories to be expressed.”  

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Africa in Motion runs from 27 Oct to 5 Nov at various venues in Glasgow and Edinburgh. For full programme details, head to africa-in-motion.org.uk