Women in African Cinema: an Aesthetic and Thematic Analysis of Filmmaking by Women in Francophone West Africa and Lusophone and Anglophone Southern Africa
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University of Stirling Women in African Cinema: An aesthetic and thematic analysis of filmmaking by women in francophone West Africa and lusophone and anglophone Southern Africa Lizelle Bisschoff Supervised by Professor David Murphy Submitted for the degree of PhD in French Studies School of Languages, Cultures and Religions November 2009 ABSTRACT Women in African Cinema: An aesthetic and thematic analysis of filmmaking by women in francophone West Africa and lusophone and anglophone Southern Africa This study focuses on the role of women in African cinema – in terms of female directors working in the African film industries as well as the representation of women in African film. My research specifically focuses on francophone West African and lusophone and anglophone Southern African cinemas (in particular post-apartheid South African cinema). This research is necessary and significant because African women are underrepresented in theoretical work as well as in the practice of African cinema. The small corpus of existing theoretical and critical studies on the work of female African filmmakers clearly shows that African women succeed in producing films against tremendous odds. The emergence of female directors in Africa is an important but neglected trend which requires more dedicated research. The pioneering research of African-American film scholar Beti Ellerson is exemplary in this regard, as she has, since the early 2000s, initiated a new field of academic study entitled African Women Cinema Studies. My own research is situated within this emerging field and aims to make a contribution to it. The absence of women in public societal spheres is often regarded as an indicator of areas where societies need to change. In the same sense the socio-political and cultural advancements of women are indicators of how societies have progressed towards improved living conditions for all. Because the African woman can be viewed as doubly oppressed, firstly by Black patriarchal culture and secondly by Western colonising forces, it is essential that the liberation of African women includes an opportunity for women to verbalise and demonstrate their own vision of women’s roles for the future. The study analyses a large corpus of films through exploring notions of nationalism and post/neo-colonialism in African societies; issues related to the female body such as health, beauty and sexuality; female identity, emancipation and African feminism in the past and present; the significance of traditional cultural practices versus the consequences and effects of modernity; and the interplay between the individual and the community in urban as well as rural African societies. Female filmmakers in Africa are increasingly claiming the right to represent these issues in their own ways and to tell their own stories. The methods they choose to do this and the products of their labours are the focus of this study. Ultimately, the study attempts to formulate more complex models for the analysis of African women’s filmmaking practices, in tracing the plurality of a female aesthetics and the multiplicity of thematic approaches in African women’s filmmaking. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing this thesis has been a long, at times challenging, but mostly extremely rewarding and stimulating journey. My first word of thanks should go to my supervisor, Professor David Murphy, whose support and enthusiasm for my work never waned since the first speculative email I sent to him back in 2004. I also wish to thank my second supervisor, Professor Elizabeth Ezra as well as my internal examiner Dr. Cristina Johnston and external examiner Dr. Jacqueline Maingard. I greatly appreciate all the intellectual support I received from them, and the many stimulating and helpful chats, often on a train between Stirling and Edinburgh. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the School of Languages, Cultures and Religions at the University of Stirling, and in particular the various heads of School and the School administrator Alison Cooper, as well as the University’s Faculty of Arts, for the tremendous amount of support I received throughout my studies, financial and otherwise. A range of bursaries and scholarships from the University enabled me to conduct this research and undertake numerous field trips to Africa. An Overseas Research Student Award made it possible for me to study in Scotland as a South African, and a generous grant from the British Federation of Women Graduates provided much-needed funding for the final year of my PhD. The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland provided a grant for an extended research trip through West Africa in 2007. Many organisations and people in Edinburgh supported me, not least the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where I need to thank in particular Professor James Smith, Dr. Barbara Bompani and Dr. Andrew Lawrence for their unflinching encouragement and enthusiasm for my research. I am fortunate to not only count them as colleagues, but also as friends. All the committed cinephiles at Filmhouse Cinema made it possible for me to put my research into practice through the Africa in Motion film festival, as well as Noe Mendelle and Mark Cousins, who share my passion for African cinema. Many other friends in Edinburgh played a role, emotional and intellectual, in supporting me throughout my research. I wish to thank Robert in particular, who encouraged and supported me to embark on this PhD, because he understood that it was the best thing for me to do at a time when I was somewhat at a loss of finding direction and inspiration in my career. Hanna, Melissa, Louis, Jen, Kari Ann, Jamie and Simon were all there for me at various junctures: I am extremely grateful for their friendship. I need to thank Stefanie Van de Peer not only for proofreading my thesis, but above all for being a soulmate and great friend. My friend Anita in South Africa helped me tremendously in maintaining a balance over the years, with her generosity of spirit and emotional wisdom. In South Africa I spent many inspiring hours of discovery while watching films in the library of the Centre of African Studies at the University of Cape Town, with the support and invaluable advice of Sue and Freddy Ogterop. Professor Martin Botha at UCT also took a great interest in my work, and provided fantastic resources and ideas for my research. iii The love, support and pride of my wonderful family accompanied me throughout this journey – my siblings Sarita and Riaan, and parents Tom and Philma Bisschoff, who always encourage me to be ambitious, but mostly just wish me happiness and fulfillment. My greatest word of thanks goes to the African filmmaking community, and all the wonderful women, and men, I met throughout the course of my research. I received wisdom, warmth and hospitality from so many people all over Africa, and in particular in South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. Immersing myself in Africa has brought passion and purpose to my life, and I have constantly been amazed and inspired by the dedication and talent of these men and women who often struggle against tremendous odds to tell their stories to the world. This study is dedicated to you all. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents v Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Introduction: Women in francophone West African and Southern African cinema 1 Research methodology 4 Theoretical frameworks 6 Postcolonial theory 7 African feminism 15 Islamic feminism 23 Aesthetic and thematic questions 26 Existing frameworks for classifying and analysing African cinema 26 Aesthetic and thematic preoccupations of female African filmmakers 34 Assessing the presence of women in African filmmaking 40 Conclusion: Towards a female aesthetics in African cinema 49 Chapter 2: Historical, Geographical and Regional Contexts 54 Introduction 54 Southern Africa: Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique 55 Zimbabwe 55 Angola and Mozambique 58 South Africa 61 A brief history of South African cinema 61 Contemporary South African filmmaking 65 The role of women in South African film 66 Francophone West Africa 73 Francophone West African cinema from past to present 73 Female filmmakers in West Africa 78 Conclusion 87 Chapter 3: Women and the Nation 89 Introduction: Nationalism and Feminism: Irreconcilable conflict or complementary endeavour? 89 Women in war and conflict 97 Southern African feature films: Sambizanga and Flame 98 v West Africa: La Nuit de la Verité 106 Nationalism and female filmmaking in South Africa: From apartheid to the new nation-state 115 Fiction feature filmmaking 117 Documentary filmmaking 121 Female voices in post-apartheid documentary filmmaking: The Project 10 series 127 Conclusion 142 Chapter 4: The Female Body 144 Introduction: The female African body: A struggle for ownership 144 Female beauty 147 Sexuality and female desire 151 Taboo desires: Lesbianism and African film 155 Motherhood 170 Women and health 177 HIV/AIDS 177 Female circumcision 183 Conclusion 192 Chapter 5: Performing Female Identities through Film 195 Introduction 195 Racial identities 199 From farmers to politicians: Leadership and emancipation 202 Shaping identity through collective female traditions: The documentaries of Katy Léna N’diaye 213 Islam in South Africa: Forging female Muslim identities 220 Conclusion 233 Chapter 6: Conclusion 235 Researching women in African cinema 235 An African feminist aesthetics in film? 235 The question of audiences 239 The future of women in African cinema 242 Further research 244 Bibliography 245 Online resources 259 vi Filmography 261 Interviews 267 vii Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction: Women in francophone West African and Southern African cinema This study aims to assess the role of women in African cinema – in terms of female directors working in the African film industries and the representations of women in African cinema – and to analyse films by female directors working in the audio-visual industries in francophone West Africa and lusophone and anglophone Southern Africa.