FESPACO

I am back in Ouaga after a short week in village to enjoy FESPACO, the huge international film festival held in Burkina Faso every two years. This is the fortieth anniversary of the festival and I felt like it was something I could not miss since I probably will be back in the States before the next one. There are over 300 films from around the world being shown in theatres throughout the city during the weeklong festival. There are a variety of theatres ranging from new stadium style air conditioned places selling popcorn and soda and others being outdoor seating on cement benches. I have only seen one film so far but hope to make it to one or two more today. There are tons of volunteers in town so it has been fun to catch up with them and meet new people as well as run errands in the big city. There also is a market for the festival and I enjoyed looking at arts and crafts from around West Africa. I made a few small purchases though so much of what I saw are things I would want to take back to the U.S. so will wait to purchase later on.

The film I saw was called Ouaga Battle so takes place in Burkina Faso. I am happy to have seen a film from here since Burkina is actually well-known for their film industry though it is fairly small. The movie was about rival hip-hop groups and had lots of interesting dance scenes. I felt like I understood most of the dialogue which was French and a little Moore with French subtitles but still struggled to understand the overall film. It was shown in an outdoor theatre on the far edge of the city so was enjoyable to sit outside under the moon and stars and watch a movie. The director of the film was sitting near us and asked us what we thought after the movie. Its not everyday you get to meet the folks that actually create the movie you just watched!

My Rough Guide to West Africa informed me that FESPACO was started by the government of Burkina Faso in order to break free from the colonial hold of France and the French film industry. I guess its fairly uncommon to have a nationalized film industry and Burkina has been fairly successful. Along with the festival, the government also provides equipment to crews producing films and there are several film schools in the country.