Cinema of the Central African Republic

The Central African Republic is one of the world's poorest countries and the film industry is correspondingly small. The first film made in CAR appears to have been Les enfants de la danse, a short French-made ethnographic documentary of 1945. Joseph Akouissone was the first Central African to make a film in the country, with his 1981 documentary Un homme est un homme;[1] he was followed by the documentaries made in the 1980s by Léonie Yangba Zowe.[2][3] Since then a series of ongoing conflicts and economic crises have severely limited the potential growth of film-making in the country. The first feature-length drama made in the country was Le silence de la forêt, a 2003 CAR-Gabon-Cameroon co-production about the Biaka people.[4][5][6]

More recently, director and producer Elvis Sabin Ngaibino has feature documentaries Makongo and Le Fardeau (The Burden) screened at international film festivals.

List of Central African films

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This is a sortable list of films produced in the CAR.[7][8][9]

Year Title Director Genre Notes
1958 The Roots of Heaven (film) John Huston Documentary short American
1960 boganda films boganda Documentary short English
1970 Les enfants de la danse Geneviève Dournon & Arom Simha Documentary short English title: Children of the Dance
1978 Safrana or Freedom of Speech Joseph Akouissone,

Med Hondo

Documentary short
1981 Un homme est un homme Joseph Akouissone Documentary short English title: A Man is a Man
1985 Lengue Léonie Yangba Zowe Documentary short
1985 Nzale Léonie Yangba Zowe Documentary short
1985 Yangba bolo Léonie Yangba Zowe Documentary short
1987 Paroles de sages Léonie Yangba Zowe Documentary short English title: Words of Sages
1990 Echoes from a Sombre Empire Werner Herzog Documentary English title: Echoes From a Sombre Empire
1992 Bogande Bogande
1993 Un Pygmée dans la baignoire Léandre-Alain Baker Broadcast: Canal Plus, TV5, CFI Festival: Montreal, Fespaco, Amiens...
1993 documentary Diogène à Léandre-Alain Baker Drama
1995 Tatie pouvait vivre. Video, color, Opportune Aymadji Drama
1996 Colis postal (1996) Léandre-Alain Baker Documentary short
1998 Au bout du couloir Léandre-Alain Baker Documentary short Festivals: Montreal, Amiens.
2003 Le silence de la forêt Bassek Ba Kobhio & Didier Ouénangaré Drama English title: The Silence of the Forest
2004 Les Oranges de Belleville Léandre-Alain Baker Documentary short
2005 Paris la métisse Léandre-Alain Baker Documentary short
2006 Tchicaya U’Tamsi Léandre-Alain Baker Drama
2007 Ramata (film) Léandre-Alain Baker Documentary short
2008 35 Shots of Rum Claire Denis Documentary short
2009 World of Witchcraft Daniel Bogado Documentary short
2009 Saignantes (Les) Jean-Pierre Bekolo Documentary short
2009 Sofie la Banguisoise (Series) 2009 Sylviane Gboulou Mbapondo Documentary short
2010 A Screaming Man Mahamat Saleh Haroun Documentary short
2010 White Material Claire Denis

Marie NDiaye

Documentary short
2011 Oka! Lavinia Currier Drama American drama filmed partly in CAR
2011 The Ambassador (2011 film) Mads Brügger Documentary short American
2011 Love and Bruises Lou Ye Documentary short
2012 magleorie kolisso magleorie kolisso Documentary short
2012 Georgette Florence Koyt Georgette Florence Koyt-Deballé

Tchicaya U’Tamsi

Documentary short
2013 Aya of Yop City Marguerite Abouet

Clément Oubrerie

Documentary short
2014 chimende

Loseba

freed yapandee Documentary short
2015 freed yapandee freed yapandee Documentary short
2016 Nascent Lindsay Branham & Jon Kasbe Documentary short
2017 Sarafina Sarafina Documentary short
2017 Ozagin Dany Grepande Drama
2017 Chambre 1 Leila Thiam Documentary short
2018 Elephant Path: Njaia Njoku Todd McGrain Documentary
2018 Yé mbi Yémbi,

Par Hermann LINGANGUE

Documentary short
2019 demain je pare en Yann harris

Dawro

Drama
2019 Camille Boris Lojkine Documentary short

Films made

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La Couture de Paris,

short film, 1995. Distribution: CFI, Canal + Horizon, TV5, Festivals: Fespaco, Amiens, Montréal, Namur.

Diogenes to Brazzaville,

Documentary film, 2004. Portrait of the Congolese writer Sony Labou Tansi. Broadcast: TV 10, CFI, Canal + Horizon, TV5, Festivals: Vue d'Afrique Montreal, Amiens, Fespaco, Namur, Milan, Lisbon.

Tchicaya, the little leaf that sings its country,

Documentary film, 2004. Portrait of the Congolese writer Tchicaya U'Tamsi. Diffusion: Images Plus, CFI, Canal + Horizon, Festivals: Fespaco, Amiens.

Central African Republic film directors

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*Didier Ouénangaré

*Léandre-Alain Baker

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Various (2000) Les cinémas d'Afrique: Dictionnaire, Editions Karthala, p. 29-30
  2. ^ Various (2000) Les cinémas d'Afrique: Dictionnaire, Editions Karthala, p. 493
  3. ^ Schmidt, Nancy (1997). "Sub-Saharan African Women FIlmmakers". In Kenneth W. Harrow (ed.). With Open Eyes: Women and African Cinema. Rodopi. pp. 169–70. ISBN 90-420-0154-2.
  4. ^ JC Woodfrok (2006) Culture and Customs of the Central African Republic, Greenwood Press, pg. 150
  5. ^ Blandine Stefanson (2014). "Literary Adaptation". In Blandine Stefanson; Sheila Petty (eds.). Directory of World Cinema Africa. Vol. 39. Intellect Books. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-78320-391-8.
  6. ^ Valérie K. Orlando (2017). New African Cinema. Rutgers University Press. pp. 72–. ISBN 978-0-8135-7957-3.
  7. ^ IMDb - CAR, retrieved 18 December 2019
  8. ^ IMDb - Filming location: CAR, retrieved 18 December 2019
  9. ^ Various (2000) Les cinémas d'Afrique: Dictionnaire, Editions Karthala