African Cinemas: Spaces, Technologies, Audiences and Genres

This research project presents an ethnography and political economy of different spaces – cinemas, film festivals, websites, and other public spaces – where African films are screened, as well as an analysis of contemporary African films and of the genres and trends they represent. African Cinemas maps the changes in contemporary African cinemas and screen media brought about by digital production and distribution technologies, as well as by new sociocultural contexts and audiences. I investigate these changes by conducting a comparative analysis of film production, distribution and consumption in South Africa and in West African regions and cities, as well as through a “netnography” of digital spaces where African films are viewed. My original contribution is: 1) an innovative methodology that combines ethnographic and sociological research on cinema and screen media with film theory and analysis; and 2) a new approach to contemporary South African cinema that situates it in an African frame. This project also illustrates that work in Pan-African contexts that applies multimedia approaches can support and is sustained by current struggles to decolonise the African humanities.