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AuthenticA in Geneva!
- How are African stories interpreted from an international perspective? What is the power of African storytelling?
(Chantel Clark is a South African director and screenwriter)
There are so many complex facets of South African life and history that haven’t been explored on film or in television, whereas we have seen every possible era represented in American media. It feels as if we only get the opportunity to tell one big story about our country that will be easily recognizable to an international audience. Film and television are a kind of history making and it’s important that we see our histories on screen too.
I don't have a clear image of what Johannesburg looked like in 1972 but almost everyone knows what every corner of New York looks like in every decade. We haven’t yet had a very complex visual history formally represented on television. Even though there are a multitude of fascinating stories and interesting people in South African history. We’re often restricted to an image of an African country that someone else has decided is acceptable for international audiences.
What's great about AuthenticA is that the image is really coming from within and it's not the usual mandate… often one to just showcase trauma.
(Tony Sebastian Ukpo is a Nigerian filmmaker and photographer, based in France)
There's a certain idea that people have of western society because one of its biggest exports is pop culture, mostly American, and that comes mostly from movies and television. A lot of people are very much aware of what New York looks like even if they have never been to the US. We have such a rich visual knowledge of a lot of those spaces, however, representations of other cultures tend to always be an interpretation of how a ‘civilized society’ presents or interprets them.
Every time you have these interpretations of Africa as a continent it's always very binary. They tend to be either all about negative aspects like poverty, civil war and corruption or neutral idealistic concepts of beautiful but primitive landscapes and people.
It is important to make work that is multilayered so that people are not just entertained by it but also learning about the culture in a more authentic and organic way.
I think the more you show the everyday mundanity that happens on the continent, not just all the extreme surface elements, the more people understand that the countries are a lot richer in terms of stories; not just human interest, political or social stories that stem from the cliched images of “poor” Africa.
Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, has the talent and the capacity to develop work that has global appeal not just because there is a very rich literary and artistic legacy of storytelling that has already been recognised and celebrated, but because there are human stories that resonate regardless of where you come from. The same is true for many other countries in Africa.
- Why are the same stories constantly repeated?
Chantel: I think it's the result of which stories get financed from the Global North.Unfortunately, we still have very limited resources for film and television in our own countries and most of our national film funds all have very particular mandates. It's this conundrum. It’s all about who the gatekeepers are. It's not as if we don't have
storytelling on the African continent. It’s the opposite, our continent originated storytelling. It is not for lack of history, vision, or perspective but it comes down to which stories from our countries gatekeepers have decided are worth the support.
(Jessica Hagan is an Accra-based Ghanaian-British playwright and screenwriter)
I think it is also important to recognise that only one type of storyteller is being financed. For example in Ghana, we don't really have that much of an industry and we are only now getting international funding. There is a local industry of movie-makers and TV show writers who primarily write for Ghanaian audiences and it's thriving.
The reason why there isn't a discussion on post colonialism is because we are still living in the realities of colonialism where narrative and our image is very much determined by the holders of the funding who still play such a part in how Africa seems.
Chantel: We’re often told the quality storytelling in television comes from abroad. In the television space our storytellers haven’t been entrusted with the complexities and genre experimentation that often creates breakout series from outside the US or European markets – we haven’t had a Squid Game or a La Casa de Papel (Money Heist).
- What is the change that the African Diaspora could bring to today's film and narrative creation?
Chantel: The Diaspora is very valuable in exporting cultures out of the continent. Moving to a different country, finding a community…and then within that community you want a connection from back home. A growing African Diaspora increases the global appetite for creating narratives focused on African stories. And it’s also about building wealth and individuals who want to invest in cinema and storytelling and not always having to be dependent on the same streams of financing.
(Angela Wanjiku Wamai is as a film editor and screenwriter based in Nairobi, Kenya)
The big question is how do we extract ourselves from this sort of control. How do you take charge of our own stories? I think that it is really encouraging that there are people willing to step out of those boundaries. There are more and more storytellers telling the stories they want to tell.
Also, with the democratisation of cinema, someone can do a film on their phone. Just that in itself it is a huge step! I have watched tons of short provocative documentaries that were shot on phones. That is really important because it means we are documenting a time in Africa that is going to be part of our history somehow. We are recording and archiving our own stories.
Jessica: With AuthenticA I really enjoy the opportunity to just play. I feel like a lot of the expected work from African artists is to preach a message. I think there are so many writers both in TV and film in the Global North who have been afforded opportunities to just create and enjoy the act of production.
Even though my series is political, I want to explore this world. I want to write. I want to enjoy what I am writing and not feel that I have to be an advocate for my country. Why is there this excessive need for us to always be ambassadors?
Angela:Yes, it takes away from our humanity.
Jessica: I believe that the artist becomes an ambassador because they do good work. African artists have this ‘burden’ before they even start to do their art.
Others News to Read
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StoryBoard Awards at FIFDH Impact Days
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AuthenticA On the Way to Series Mania
The AuthenticA cohort spent a full working day with four TV and film producers who joined us from Berlin, Paris and Geneva at the StoryBoard House. We are thankful to Alex Iordachescu, Stefanie Plattner, Kai Künnemann and Ghislaine Choupas Loobuyck.
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AuthenticA Interview with Story Expert: Selina Ukwuoma
Selina Ukwuoma, accomplished freelance script consultant, has been closely accompanying the story development of the fellow writers since the inception of the AuthenticA Series Lab. We are keen to learn about what keeps Selina inspired to work closely with African storytellers
