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AFIDFF News

AFRICA COMING ALIVE THROUGH DOCUMENTARY

Africa with its rich history, culture, languages and hospitality prides itself in its literature. The story telling traditions have been in existence from time in memorial.

Different ethnic groups and culture have passed their tradition to generations through storytelling; mostly oral, some communities in Africa with early advanced development also documented these stories through painting and art forms inscribed on rocks, caves, temples, pyramids, walls etc. This is an evidence of how Africans try hard to preserve their stories and to keep legacies eternally.

In the new age, Africans still maintain most crude methodology in communicating their stories to future generations, but how has the rise of technology in media helped? The problems surrounding African development post-independence have remained a major issue on the global scene, as poverty, hunger, political instabilities and wars have left the continent torn apart. Many are threatened about their culture, ethnicity and religion; elements passed on from long ago through the art of storytelling. With new advancement in media through technology, most continents enjoy the simplicity it brings to documentation and the preservation of stories. We see a rapid rise in the media industry from other continents and how they have been able to influence the globe with stories they share through technological advancements in media. They even tell African stories through their own perspective and angle. This act makes the African image weaker as most storytellers lack in-depth knowledge about the continent.

The expensive nature of technology in media has left Africa lacking behind. Most modern day African storytellers lack the basic knowledge and equipment in telling their stories and bringing these stories to light.  Though, the continent has seen a revolution in the movie industry with Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya leading in this regards, the sector remains a work in progress. The documentary part of film making has not fared well. The funding of documentarians and documentary in Africa is not huge. Funding for documentaries only comes when some African politicians are canvassing for votes during campaigns; they pay documentarians large sums to document achievements and use such documentaries as tools to solicit for support and win elections. In many cases the objectivity of those documentaries are questionable. The next group that patronize the documentary production unit in Africa are international and domestic NGO’s. This group often uses documentaries as research tools, sensitization tools, and teaching tools for various reasons.

Most filmmakers having produced these documentaries use earnings to educate themselves and buy equipment. This act has created a new consciousness to filmmakers, journalists and documentarians to preserve stories through documentaries. In West Africa, East Africa, South Africa and most parts of North Africa, we see this awakening due to the fact that most filmmakers own equipment and skills that can help tell stories better. This influence in the future will create a new image for Africa and impact in her socio-economic frame.

Africa is alive today because of a few filmmakers working tirelessly in the midst of issues to preserve the African story.

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