In this episode, we trace the powerful evolution of South African cinema from the dawn of democracy in 1994 to today’s digital streaming era. From Oscar wins to streaming wars, we explore how South Africa’s film industry has transformed its stories, funding models, institutions, and reach. Through case studies like Tsotsi, District 9, and Inxeba, we unpack the industry’s greatest challenges—and its most triumphant breakthroughs.

🔍 What You'll Learn:

• How post-apartheid freedom opened new storytelling possibilities

• Why Afrikaans and indigenous language cinema redefined the industry

• The impact of state funding and private investment (NFVF, MultiChoice, Netflix)

• The rise of streaming and digital production

• How institutions like SABC, Ster-Kinekor, and Showmax shaped the new era

In this episode of The African Cinema Podcast, we explore how South African cinema evolved under the shadow of apartheid — from state-sponsored propaganda to underground resistance films.

From the rise of strict censorship in the 1960s to the emergence of anti-apartheid films like Mapantsula and Sarafina!, this episode unpacks how filmmakers used the screen as a battlefield for truth, survival, and freedom.

Whether it was through coded critique, smuggled scripts, or global co-productions, cinema during apartheid was never neutral — it was either complicit or courageous.

🎬 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• How apartheid policies shaped film production and censorship

• The role of the Publications Control Board in banning and editing films

• How state-backed institutions like SANLAM and SABC controlled media narratives

• The emergence of the B-scheme film system and its limitations

• Key figures like Jans Rautenbach, Simon Sabela, Anant Singh, and Oliver Schmitz

• Why Mapantsula and Place of Weeping became turning points in South African film history

• Jans Rautenbach – Pioneer of Afrikaans psychological cinema

• Simon M. Sabela – First Black South African film director (U'Deliwe)

• Darrell Roodt – Director of Place of Weeping and Sarafina!

• Anant Singh – Producer of numerous anti-apartheid films

• Ster Films / Kinekor

• Publications Control Board

• SANLAM Insurance Group

• SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation)

• Katrina (1969)

• Boesman and Lena (1973)

• U'Deliwe (1974)

• Mapantsula (1987)

🎧 Tune in and discover how cinema became a weapon of both oppression and defiance.

This week's episode takes us back to the turn of the 20th century just before the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa as the bioscope was introduced to the world South Africa was not far behind. Did you know the first film was screened in Johannesburg just one year after the Lumière brothers' debut in Paris? I didn’t either — until I found out about Carl Hertz and his “bioscope” showcase in 1896.

In this episode, we dive into:

• 🎥 How South Africa became one of the earliest adopters of cinema in the world
• 🧠 The powerful rise of Isidore Schlesinger and African Film Productions
• 📽️ Why De Voortrekkers (1916) became more than just a film — but a cultural ritual
• 📢 How film was used for nationalism, propaganda, and even censorship
• 🌍 The unexpected global links to Hollywood and the British Empire

This era — from 1895 to 1947 — shows how cinema in South Africa was never just about entertainment. It was always about identity, power, and the stories that shaped the nation.

Quote of the Episode:
“De Voortrekkers wasn’t just South Africa’s first epic — it became a ritual film for the descendants of the Great Trek.”

📩 Got a thought or question about today’s episode? Just hit reply. I read everything.

Thank you for listening!

In this episode of The African Cinema Podcast, we journey through over a century of Moroccan cinema — from colonial-era propaganda to a globally recognized filmmaking industry that’s breaking taboos and pushing boundaries.

We explore how Moroccan filmmakers have navigated colonial legacies, state censorship, international co-productions, and digital revolutions to shape one of Africa’s most dynamic cinematic landscapes. With deep dives into institutions like the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM), and films like Wechma, Ali Zaoua, and The Blue Caftan, this episode uncovers how Moroccan cinema has evolved into a bold mirror of society.

🎬 What You’ll Learn:

• How colonialism shaped early film in Morocco

• The birth of “cinematic modernity” in the 1970s

• The role of the state and television in growing local film

• The rise of female directors and diaspora voices

• How Moroccan filmmakers use cinema to confront social issues

🎞️ Featured Films:

• Le chèvrier marocain (1897)

• Le fils maudit (1958)

• Wechma (1970)

• A Thousand and One Hands (1973)

• Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets (2000)

• A Door to the Sky (1988)

• The Blue Caftan (2022)

• Everybody Loves Touda (2023)

🎤 Notable Figures:

• Hamid Bénani

• Nabil Ayouch

• Maryam Touzani

• Farida Benlyazid

• Faouzi Bensaïdi

• Narjiss Nejjar

• Souheil Ben Barka

• Farida Bourquia

• King Mohammed VI (film patronage)

🏛️ Institutions & Events:

• Centre Cinématographique Marocain (CCM)

• RTM, 2M, Medi1 TV

• Marrakech International Film Festival

• Atlas Workshops

• Cinémathèque de Tanger

🔗 Resources & Mentions:

• CCM: https://www.ccm.ma

• Festival International du Film de Marrakech: https://marrakech-festival.com

• Learn more at [Insert your podcast site or social link]

📣 Support the Podcast:
Enjoyed this episode? Follow The African Cinema Podcast, rate us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and share with fellow cinephiles.

In this episode of The African Cinema Podcast, we journey through the remarkable evolution of Ghanaian cinema — from colonial screenings meant for British elites, to a post-independence cultural tool under Kwame Nkrumah, and eventually to a thriving independent video and digital film movement known as “Ghollywood.”

We spotlight the key eras, films, and voices that have shaped the industry: from The Boy Kumasenu and I Told You So, to Love Brewed in the African Pot, Keteke, and The Perfect Picture. Along the way, we meet legendary figures like Kwaw Ansah, Shirley Frimpong-Manso, King Ampaw, and Leila Djansi, and reflect on the institutions—from the Gold Coast Film Unit to NAFTI and the National Film Authority—that held the vision together.

🎬 You’ll learn about:

• The colonial roots of Ghanaian cinema (1920s–1950s)

• The nation-building film policy era (1960s–1970s)

• The rise of independent cinema and Ghollywood (1980s–present)

• The impact of key directors, producers, actors, and state institutions

• How Ghanaian cinema intersects with Nollywood and global platforms like Netflix

🎧 Perfect for listeners who love:

• African film and history

• Postcolonial and Pan-African storytelling

• Behind-the-scenes film industry insights

• Cultural policy, identity, and creative entrepreneurship

📣 Support the Show:
If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your network, subscribe to The African Cinema Podcast, and leave us a rating or review. Your support helps amplify African stories and creators around the world.

🔗 Resources & References:

• Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture: https://www.motac.gov.gh/film

• “Love Brewed in the African Pot” Review: The Broken Cliché

• NAFTI: https://nafti.edu.gh

• Ghanaian cinema history via GhanaWeb, Wikipedia, and festival archives

From propaganda films projected in remote villages to queer love stories banned at home but celebrated abroad, Kenyan cinema has had a long, complex journey. In this special episode of The African Cinema Podcast, we trace the rise of Kenyan cinema from colonial control to digital creativity — uncovering how power, technology, censorship, and storytelling have shaped Kenya’s film industry over more than a century.

This episode explores:

• The colonial-era film apparatus and its use as a propaganda machine

• The erasure and exoticization of Kenyan people in early cinema

• The slow post-independence build-up toward local production

• The game-changing rise of Riverwood and digital storytelling

• Key films and figures that have defined Kenya’s cinematic identity

• The contemporary struggles and the growing global promise of Kenyan filmmakers

If you’ve ever wondered why Kenya, with its rich culture and powerful stories, took so long to emerge on the global film stage — this is the history you need to hear.

📌 Key Topics Covered:

1. The Colonial Gaze and Cinema as Control (1909–1963)

• 1909: First film shot in Kenya documents Theodore Roosevelt’s safari

• Colonial Film Unit (CFU) and its mobile cinema vans produce “instructional” propaganda

• African stories sidelined; censorship institutionalized by the 1912 ordinance

• Hollywood arrives: Trader Horn, Men Against the Sun, and Mogambo filmed in Kenya — with zero Kenyan input

• Film as an imperial project: reinforcing British rule and racial hierarchy

2. Post-Independence Struggles and Sparks of Storytelling (1963–1990s)

• Kenya Film Corporation (KFCp) founded in 1967 to promote local production

• Feature filmmaking begins slowly: Kolor Mask (1985) and Saïkati (1992) break ground

• A mix of government short films and co-productions dominates the era

• Limited infrastructure, outdated equipment, and a lack of funding stall progress

• National identity on screen remains elusive but emerging

3. The Riverwood Revolution and Rise of the Digital Filmmaker (1990s–Today)

• Cheap VCD tech and DSLR cameras spark Riverwood: a grassroots film movement

• Hundreds of titles made in Swahili, Sheng, Kikuyu, and more — shot in under 7 days

• Distribution via matatus and DVD stalls; actors paid in DVD shares

• Riverwood gives Kenya its own low-budget but high-volume film culture

• Critics attack quality, but audiences respond — and new talent rises

4. Institutional Frameworks, Censorship, and Policy Gaps

• Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) and outdated colonial censorship laws still shape content

• Rafiki (2018) banned for queer themes — sparking legal and global conversation

• Kenya Film Commission (2005) and Kalasha Awards offer limited support

• Piracy, limited distribution, and lack of copyright enforcement plague growth

• Current initiatives include regional hubs, digital streaming, and school-based film training

5. Contemporary Cinema and Cultural Representation

• New wave directors: Wanuri Kahiu (Rafiki), Judy Kibinge (Something Necessary), Likarion Wainaina (Supa Modo), David Gitonga (Nairobi Half Life)

• Stories explore LGBTQ+ identity, urban poverty, Maasai traditions, and post-election trauma

• Visual storytelling is evolving: from neorealism to Afrofuturist aesthetics and genre play

• Films like Kati Kati, Veve, and From a Whisper put Kenya on international festival circuits

• Docubox, Lola Kenya Screen, and Hot Sun Foundation fuel new voices and documentary storytelling

6. What’s Next for Kenyan Cinema?

• Youth-led film collectives and content creators on the rise

• Netflix, Showmax, and YouTube shifting the distribution game

• Growing calls for a distinct “Kenyan film voice” — rooted in local languages, stories, and aesthetic choices

• Mobile filmmaking, AI dubbing, and co-productions with Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa point to a bold, diverse future

• Kenya’s cinematic potential lies in its ability to balance commercial viability with cultural truth-telling

In the 1980s, Senegalese cinema was brought to its knees. Austerity measures gutted funding, theatres closed, and filmmakers were left with little support. And yet—the stories didn’t stop.

In Part 2 of our Senegal series, we explore how cinema in Senegal endured through silence, adapted with digital tools, and re-emerged through new voices and platforms. From Sembène’s final masterpieces to Mati Diop’s historic Cannes debut, this is the story of resistance, rebirth, and reinvention.

🎬 We examine how Camp de Thiaroye and Guelwaar extended Ousmane Sembène’s cinematic resistance into a new political decade.
📽️ We look at Safi Faye’s lyrical Mossane and her ongoing commitment to rural Senegalese stories.
🎞️ We revisit Hyènes and La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil, Djibril Diop Mambéty’s haunting final statements.
📺 We dive into the digital era—from YouTube series to streaming culture—and a new generation reclaiming the screen.

Films Mentioned

Camp de Thiaroye (1987)Sembène's dramatization of the 1944 Thiaroye massacre—unflinching in its critique of French colonialism and banned in France for years.
🎞 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094792/

Guelwaar (1992)
A provocative portrait of a political activist whose death sparks a conflict over religious identity, foreign aid, and national values.
🎞 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107060/

Selbé et tant d'autres (1983)
Safi Faye’s documentary chronicling the life of Selbé, a woman in rural Senegal who supports her family alone.
🎞 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1537275/

Mossane (1996)A coming-of-age story centered on a 14-year-old girl in a Serer village, blending beauty, tradition, and quiet rebellion.🎞 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113867/

Hyènes (1992)Mambéty’s surreal adaptation of Dürrenmatt’s The Visit, critiquing consumerism and the price of justice in a corrupt society.🎞 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104485/

La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil (1999)Mambéty’s final film—a short, luminous tale of a disabled girl who defies gender norms to become a newspaper seller in Dakar.🎞 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0201843/

Atlantics (2019)Directed by Mati Diop, this Cannes Grand Prix-winning film blends migration drama with supernatural love story, giving voice to the young and dispossessed in Dakar.🎞 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10403420/

Maîtresse d’un homme marié (2019– )A groundbreaking YouTube/Wolof-language series from Marodi TV exploring love, gender politics, and urban life in contemporary Senegal.🎞 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11247994/

Emerging Voices & Institutions

• Mati Diop – First Black woman to compete at Cannes; creator of Atlantics

• Angèle Diabang – Director of Congo, un médecin pour sauver les femmes and several short films on identity and womanhood

• Moussa Touré – Known for La Pirogue (2012), focused on migration and human rights

• Alassane Sy – Director of Marabout (2016) and advocate for queer and marginalized narratives

• Kourtrajmé Dakar – Film school founded in 2022 to train a new generation of Senegalese filmmakers

• Complexe Cinématographique Ousmane Sembène – Reopened in 2018 to restore cinema-going culture in Dakar

🎥 Emerging Voices & Institutions

From colonial bans to a cinematic renaissance, Part 1 of our two-part Senegal series (1934–1980) traces how filmmakers defied repression to forge Africa’s first film language.

What happens when your art is forbidden—and you insist on telling your story anyway?

🎬 We examine Paulin Vieyra’s Afrique-sur-Seine (1955), shot in Paris against the 1934 Laval Decree.
📽️ We trace Ousmane Sembène’s transition from novelist to filmmaker in Borom Sarret (1963) and Black Girl (1966).
🎞️ We spotlight Djibril Diop Mambéty’s kinetic shorts Contras’ City (1969) & Badou Boy (1970) leading to the surreal road-movie Touki Bouki (1973).
💡 We explore Safi Faye’s vérité poetics in Kaddu Beykat (1975), banned at home but celebrated abroad.

🟢 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube

🎬 Films Mentioned

• Afrique-sur-Seine (1955): West African students in Paris confront identity and prejudice in this 21-minute defiance of colonial censorship.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1705824/

• Borom Sarret (1963): An 18-minute realist drama of a Dakar cart driver’s daily humiliations; often called the first true African film.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060183/

• Black Girl (1966): The first sub-Saharan fiction feature by a Black director, it follows a Senegalese maid’s alienation in France.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060758/

• Mandabi (1968): A Wolof-language satire about an illiterate man’s struggle to cash a money order, skewering post-independence bureaucracy.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063049/

• Emitai (1971): A Diola-and-French epic depicting villagers’ resistance to Vichy France’s World War II conscription.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067368/

• Contras’ City (1969): Mambéty’s debut short: a restless portrait of urban dislocation in Dakar.
  IMDb: N/A

• Badou Boy (1970): A slapstick-laden chase short critiquing social inequality through a petty thief’s flight across Dakar.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181352/

• Touki Bouki (1973): A surreal road-movie of lovers dreaming of Paris, using frenetic editing to capture postcolonial disillusionment.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070975/

• La Passante (1972): Faye’s debut short observing a young woman navigating Dakar’s marketplaces.
  IMDb: N/A

• Revanche (1973): A contemplative short by Faye on rural justice and personal vengeance in her Serer village.
  IMDb: N/A

• Kaddu Beykat (1975): A vérité-style critique of agricultural policies in a Serer village; banned locally, it won Cannes’s FIPRESCI Prize.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073659/

• Xala (1975): Sembène’s satire of post-independence elites, where a businessman’s impotence becomes political allegory.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073871/

• Ceddo (1977): A precolonial allegory of cultural resistance as non-Muslims oppose forced religious conversion.
  IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076468/

• Fad’jal (1979): Faye’s homage to her Serer roots, preserving oral histories through villagers’ storytelling.
  IMDb: N/A

Next Up (Part 2): We dive into the 1980s—when austerity shuttered Dakar’s cinemas, yet visionaries like Sembène and Faye refused to be silenced, and digital tools sparked a vibrant resurgence.

The final installment of our Egyptian cinema series dives into a 25-year stretch of transformation, turbulence, and tenacity.

From digital disruption and revolution to censorship, economic collapse, and global streaming deals, this episode follows the rise of a new kind of filmmaker — one who builds with less, dreams bigger, and survives on grit.

🎬 Featuring:

• The making of The Yacoubian Building and The Square

• The impact of Netflix and Shahid on local production

• The collapse of box office revenue post-2023

• Why directors like Ayten Amin and Amr Salama matter more than ever

• And the new frontier of indie Egyptian cinema

🎧 Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

Egypt’s golden studio era is often remembered for its glamour, control, and orchestral soundtracks. But what happened after the lights dimmed? What became of an industry once hailed as the beating heart of Arab cinema?

This episode of Projector Dreams is a story of survival.

Spanning from the height of state nationalism in the 1960s to the experimental indie spirit of the 1990s, we track how Egyptian cinema weathered four decades of political shakeups, economic reform, censorship, and cultural reinvention.

🎬 In the 1960s, cinema was a weapon of the state.
🎬 In the 1970s, it became a battlefield for memory, law, and identity.
🎬 In the 1980s, it transformed into a gritty mirror for ordinary lives.
🎬 And in the 1990s, it reached outward—toward the world stage.

Through the voices of directors like Atef El-Tayeb, Daoud Abdel-Sayed, Inas al-Dughaydi, Radwan El-Kashef, and Yousry Nasrallah, we witness a new generation of storytellers rising—armed with realism, resistance, and relentless creativity.

From I Want a Solution to Kit Kat, from feminism to urban decay, this episode explores how film held a mirror to a nation in flux. It's about women taking control of the narrative, artists pushing past censorship, and filmmakers dreaming across borders.

We go beyond the surface—into the politics, the poetry, and the pain that made these films more than entertainment. They were resistance. They were reflection. They were raw truth on celluloid.

What You Will Hear

• The fall of Nasser-era cinematic idealism and the rise of Sadat’s infitah years

• How filmmakers rewrote (or resisted rewriting) Egypt’s revolutionary past

• The rise of feminist narratives and courtroom dramas in the 1970s

• A breakdown of New Realism in the 1980s and how it redefined cinema

• The 1990s wave of international co-productions, artistic risk-taking, and quiet endurance

• The shifting gaze toward Cairo’s underclasses, working women, and invisible lives

• Why this period laid the foundation for the independent wave of the 2000s and beyond

Films You’ll Discover in This Episode:

We break down and analyze major works including:

• I Want a Solution (1975) — A feminist legal drama that shook Egypt’s courtrooms and audiences. IMDb

• Bus Driver (1982) — A story of betrayal, dignity, and economic despair. IMDb

• The Innocent (1986) — A chilling critique of police brutality and political violence. IMDb

• The Iron Woman (1987) — A portrait of a woman standing firm against systemic injustice. IMDb

• The Woman and the Law (1988) — One woman’s journey through Egypt’s legal labyrinth. IMDb

• The File on Samya Sha'rawi (1988) — A powerful story of female resilience. IMDb

• We Are the People of the Bus (1979) — Cairo’s streets become a stage for social tension. IMDb

• The Guilty (1976) — Corruption, class, and moral decay beneath the surface of a crime. IMDb

• Kit Kat (1991) — A blind dreamer’s poetic view of a decaying Cairo. IMDb

• Cheap Flesh (1995) — Gender, survival, and the price of freedom. IMDb

• The City (1999) — An elegy for migration and lost dreams. IMDb

• Mercedes (1995) — A surreal journey through Cairo’s alienation and wealth. IMDb