Banlieue Films Festival (BFF): Growing cinephilia and filmmaking in Senegal Estrella Sendra SOAS, University of London and Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton
[email protected] http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8344-2928 ABSTRACT This article examines small film festivals in the socio-cultural context of Senegal. Through the case study of the Banlieue Films Festival (BFF) in Dakar, founded in 2013 by Abdel Aziz Boye, I analyse the crucial role of festivals in strengthening the film industry, fostering cinephilia and encouraging the practical application of cultural policies. I suggest that contemporary film production, particularly, in the past five years (2015-2020) has been significantly shaped by grassroots initiatives that have eventually been transformed into structures. I also explore the role of “rooted cosmopolitans”, borrowing Kwame Appiah’s term in relation to the figure of Abdel Aziz Boye, who founded Cine UCAD at the Universite Cheikh Anta Diop, in Dakar, Cine Banlieue, and, upon returning to Senegal from France, the BFF. I discuss BFF’s various forms of legacy, concluding that it has been an active agent in forging a new cinephilia and inspiring a wave of young filmmakers in Senegal. KEYWORDS Banlieue Films Festival; Senegalese filmmaking; cinephilia; “rooted cosmopolitan”; film training; ethnography. Introduction Senegal enjoys an emblematic position in the history of African cinema. Following the increasing independence of African countries from French colonialism, Senegal became the home of pioneering filmmakers who would soon acquire international recognition, such as Ousmane Sembe ne (1923- 2007), Safi Faye (n. 1943), and Djibril Diop Mambe ty (1945-1998). These filmmakers sought to decolonise minds through the medium of film, and in doing so, to create a cinema from, by and for African people.