- Title: Burkina Faso film maker recalls golden era of cinema before insurgency
- Date: 16th December 2022
- Summary: VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS USING CEREMONIAL CLAPPERBOARD, AUDIENCE APPLAUDING (SOUNDBITE) (French) SALI Z, ARTIST BASED IN BOBO DIOULASSO, SAYING: "For me, this festival really warms my heart because seeing a film festival in Bobo Dioulasso, it allows us artists to dream of seeing ourselves in a film one day, featured in a cinema." VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE (SOUNDBI
- Embargoed: 30th December 2022 09:29
- Keywords: africa arts burkina cinema culture emerging markets entertainment faso feature film human interest movies profile west
- Location: BOBO DIOULASSO, BURKINA FASO
- City: BOBO DIOULASSO, BURKINA FASO
- Country: Burkina Faso
- Topics: Africa,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA007631713122022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Rust has almost erased the white painted letters spelling "programme" on a sign outside the sand-coloured building that was once the only cinema in Burkina Faso's southwestern city of Bobo Dioulasso.
Film producer Drissa Toure peers nostalgically through locked glass doors, reminiscing a time when residents of the country's cultural capital could enjoy films from across the continent and beyond on the big screen.
"I competed for the Camera d'Or... in '95," Toure said, reminiscing on a golden era during which he socialised with African movie stars and spent time in the United States.
"I said, 'Mom, this is like the Mecca of cinema. I am going to the Mecca of cinema in France.' And there was joy."
A spiraling insurgency in Burkina Faso's north has forced the government to increase security spending, diverting funds from its arts and culture budget in the process.
The once state-run "Cine Sanyon" was relegated in 2020 to a national social security fund, which ended film projections and rents the space out for more profitable uses such as conferences and weddings.
"That desire - that need to give that dream to people so they can grow in their field - was cut off, and I didn't have anyone to support me," Toure said. "And that made me sick."
Heartbroken but not discouraged, Toure judged a week-long film festival at the start of this month, that showcased a selection of African productions in a bid to revive local interest in the art.
Burkina Faso has clout in the continent's film industry, with several feature productions landing international awards over past decades.
The West Africa country hosts the renown PanAfrican film festival FESPACO in its capital Ouagadougou every two years, but the new festival is a first for residents of Bobo Dioulasso.
"In the history of Burkinabe cinema, you will see that many great names have come from Bobo Dioulasso, but there has never been this kind of festival to bring people together," said Burkinabe film producer Omer Dangoon, who attended the festival's first day.
"A festival like this represents a moment of exchange, sharing, learning from elders and passing on to the new generation too," he added.
Seated in the audience with a wide grin, Toure said that participating in the festival felt like being reborn.
As the curtain fell, he and other attendees left the theater with the feeling that Bobo Dioulasso's cinema culture might soon have an encore of its own.
(Thiam Ndiaga, Cooper Inveen) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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