Stream Convenors: Añulika Agina, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria aagina@pau.edu.ng & Ezinne Ezepue, University of Nigeria, Nsukka ezinne.ezepue@unn.edu.ng
Rationale
The Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) in Africa are major contributors to national economies, youth employment and positive gender discourses. From South Africa to Kenya, Nigeria and elsewhere, women are rewriting the narratives of respective film industries with compelling outcomes and social change. Rather than regard these efforts from the margins, our interdisciplinary stream seeks to centre women’s voices, labour and access to film funding as key determinants of the Africa that we want. Thus, in reimagining the Africa of our dreams, we believe that highlighting the remarkable achievements and struggles of women filmmakers is germane to the major disciplinary concerns of African Studies in the world and particularly to colleagues in the UK with whom we have shared academic interests for over two decades.
Description
African women filmmakers are not in short supply of narrative ideas or how to craft them but obtaining the funds to actualize production aspirations continue to mystify many. One of the main problems faced by filmmakers in Africa is the lack of sustainable distribution outlets itself linked to funding. While industry conversations aimed at attracting investment and distribution opportunities are frequent, the scholarly examination of existing funding routes or models and their impact on storytelling appears to fall short. Added to this are debates around funding made available by global streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime, which arguably subvert cultural identity, deepen cultural imperialism or disrupt an industry when such funding ceases.
From Western funds flowing unsustainably into Africa, to a wide range of informal routes including crowdfunding, barter, personal savings and networks, and formalized models like industry partnerships, bank loans, government grants, and corporate investment, funding strategies are changing to reflect risk-averse investor demands, donor priorities and socioeconomic constraints. Acknowledging the recent developments altering how films are produced in Africa, not least the use of AI, the complicated relationships women filmmakers have with investors and distributors, and industry practices outpacing scholarship, we seek to engage with researchers working on funding routes accessible to African women and how they influence feminine labour, narrative output and screen worlds. We ask: what gender differences exist in accessing funds for filmmaking? What are the narrative implications of the political economy of African women filmmakers’ funding routes and models? How are women
negotiating the funding ecosystem and creative autonomy desired for film production when dealing with global streamers? What intersections and divergences are observable in the comparative funding experiences of African women filmmakers and those from other contexts? How do migrant women filmmakers of African descent navigate funding infrastructure in their new locale and how does that shape the stories told?
