Originally published in Sisters of the Screen: Women of Africa on Film Video and Television. Africa World Press, Trenton, NJ, 2000.
Interview held at the 15th FESPACO, February-March 1997, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Translated from French.
We are here at Media 2000; I am impressed with what looks to be the result of a lot of hard work and dedication. Could you talk about the company, your background, and how you came to cinema?
I am producer/filmmaker and general manager of Media 2000, a company that I created after finishing my studies in 1991. I did my studies in cinema, then a Master's degree, followed by a DEA (Diplome d'études approfondies). I am now preparing to defend my doctoral thesis; it is somewhat difficult with all the work that is to be done here.
Media 2000 is a production company for film and video as well as communication consulting for advertising. We do technical consulting for business publicity. On the production side, we do a television magazine for the National Television of Burkina Faso as well as television reports and other magazines for TV5 Afrique. In addition, we do fiction films and commissioned institutional films. We work with the United Nations systems, such as UNDP, UNESCO, and UNICEF. When they ask for our assistance, we attempt to meet their needs.
What is the topic of your doctoral research?
I am working on the subject of media and development. Because you know in our country we have not yet achieved a certain level of development, which means there are many questions left to be resolved in the area of health, AIDS, and education in particular. I am doing my research on the media as it relates to development. How can we Africans, who have several languages—you know in Burkina we have some sixty dialects—how can we use the media support to transmit information and to communicate so that the people can acquire knowledge in all spheres of development?
When speaking about sustainable human development, I think that the media can contribute a great deal in this context. You know this is a concern of women in general. All the films that were screened yesterday [March 8, the International Day of the Woman] were like a collective call, they were films that were very engagé, and they all focused on development. Though we think that commercial cinema is a good thing, we also think that a cinema for development can be a complementary source, if we want the country to go forward. That is, therefore, the objective of my research.
As you stated, yesterday [March 8th], and today, a colloquium was held to commemorate the International Day of the Woman. This event gave me an opportunity to see films by women that were not presented during FESPACO, as well as to participate in the forum that dealt with women in cinema and their contribution to women and development through the use of the media. What do you see as the role of women in the cinema?
I think, generally speaking, that African women have much to bring to the development of our continent. It is for this reason that we fight more and more so that women may be trained and educated and have at least a minimum amount of instruction. Because to put a woman in school is to teach her how to open the door to life. Even if she does not go to school for a long period of time, she can at least acquire a minimum amount of knowledge to be able to manage her household and communicate values to her children for their future. In general, the development of Africa depends on what we will do for women of our generation and those of the future.
If we extend this philosophy in the context of cinema, we, with a woman's sensibility, can bring a great deal to this continent. While the number of women who go to school is not very high, the number in the area of the media and cinema is even less. Though we are only a few in this field, if each of us would aim her camera towards the area of awareness-building—or even in commercial filmmaking—she may contribute in her own way to the development of the continent.
I think that a complementarity is necessary between genders in the audio-visual area in general. Because we have our perception that is particular to us, we have our way of seeing. Moreover, we women have always taken on the role of organizer of the household. Though we speak about images contributing to the general deterioration of morals, I don't think that women filmmakers will contribute to this deterioration of morals. Thus, we have our brick to add to the construction. I think that encouraging women to become producers or directors in the cinema is to open another style of expression to this half of Africa, which has a great deal to give and much to say.
Are there workshops or training sessions that are organized either here at Media 2000 or in other structures in Burkina Faso for women to be able to train in this area?
The school, INAFEC (Institut Africain d'Education Cinématographique from 1976 to 1987), where we received training in Burkina, no longer exists. We had people like Filippe Sawadogo, the outgoing Secretary General of FESPACO, filmmaker Idrissa Ouedraogo, Ardiouma Soma of the Cinémathèque, Souleymane Ouedraogo who is the assistant to Baba Hama, the Secretary General of FESPACO, and others. They as well as others were products of this school. It was a school where filmmakers were trained throughout Africa.
Burkina Faso found itself alone in administering the school and was forced to close it because of the difficulty in trying to manage it alone. Since then, the training for filmmakers has taken place outside. This means that the possibility of getting training has been reduced. I think that FEPACI (The Pan-African Federation of Filmmakers) is now working on a project to revive it.
During the colloquium in commemoration of the International Day of the Woman, it was encouraging to see the many films and videos by women. At FESPACO, also, there were many short films and videos and documentaries as well as several feature films. What can be done to encourage more women to go into cinema?
To encourage women to go into cinema would not be a bad thing. Unfortunately, it is an area where training is expensive, which means that it is not necessarily a priority. However, it is absolutely necessary that there be more women trained in this area in order to have a complementarity between women and men. Beyond the problem of training, perhaps, it is women themselves who do not venture into cinema. I think this is because working in the media is considered a profession occupied by people who are not very serious, who frequent too many people, who go out a lot. And for an African woman this is not particularly encouraging. As long as this attitude persists, women will continue to rebuff the possibility to go into this area.
I think that more and more, however, especially in our country that organizes and houses FESPACO, people understand that a woman in the cinema is not vulgar, nor is she someone who is not serious. I think that the mentality is changing. People of the younger generation come when we have screenings. Afterwards we meet many high school students who express an interest in going into the cinema like us, and I think it is very encouraging for the future.
FEPACI wants to initiate a project in this sense, but with a focus more on video. Because, you know, video is a means that is much more accessible, at the present time, simply because it is more manageable. The technology has evolved in terms of the quality of the image, and in terms of the level of production costs it is more reasonable to work in video than in film. Even in the context of the United Nations system, there are funds that are no longer allocated to our countries. Our countries are very much in debt. Thus, the cinema may be seen as a luxury if it continues to be so costly. Whereas video is more practical and we are able to work as simply as possible.
I know that there is a big debate between film technology and video\television technology. But I think that people are beginning to realize themselves, that aside from the conservation—the durability of celluloid versus the video-cassette, where there is no comparison—that in the future there will be no choice but to work in the video\television format.
Unfortunately, the reality is there, and it is advancing rapidly, so I think people should reconsider. Of course, films will still be made, but there has to be a credible endorsement, such as with the work of Gaston Kaboré and Idrissa Ouedraogo, in order to gain the confidence of investors. On the level of funding, we are increasingly realizing that people are not putting money in African cinema because it is not considered to be profitable. It is also a fact that we do not have the means, and so people are going more and more to video\television technology.
You are producing a telefilm series called Naitre fille en Afrique (To Be Born a Girl in Africa) and you have already done two films for this series. Could you talk about these films and the reception they have received?
This series was my first work with fiction film. The film that you saw this morning is called Kado ou la bonne à tout faire, which received Second Place for the best fiction film in video at this edition of FESPACO. I also made the film that you saw yesterday called Les vrais faux jumeaux.
These were actually the first two public screenings that I have had. But for the first release, I have to thank the public because the responses were favorable. Since these are engagé films, whose purpose is to fight for the right of education for girls, it is not always easy to find such favorable responses in all situations.
On the other hand, I have done many commissioned institutional films, and advertisements. This has been limiting to some degree, because if one only does advertisements or institutional films, one cannot really measure one's capacity as a director. Since these are orders with precise terms and references, we must do the work according to these specifications. With these last two films, I was free to write and create the script, and I am satisfied. I would not have minded if I could have worked a bit more because, when looking at the film again today, I felt that perhaps I could have developed the script differently. Because one always learns, even from one's own work.
For the public who do not have access to the cinema houses such as those who live in the villages and rural areas, how does Media 2000 assist in making the cinema available to a larger, non-urban public?
We do have plans to have itinerant screenings, which means going to the villages with video-mobiles and having public screenings in the marketplace areas and under the palaver trees and discussing the themes of the films with the people.
We have made films whose objective is to sensitize the public on certain issues. Because we are a private company, we are waiting for backing from the NGOs and it is up to them to purchase these films to use for specific audiences. At any rate, we are prepared to do the itinerant screenings. It has in fact already begun: people have screened videos, even in the city, and afterwards they discuss it.
You completed your film studies at INAFEC, and you have established a media company. It seems that you have a commitment to a viable cinema in Africa. Could you talk about African cinema in general, your impressions, thoughts?
Actually this is a question that has brought about a great deal of debate at the present, because some African filmmakers prefer that one speak of their cinema as simply cinema, rather than the term "African cinema." They also say that there really is no African cinema. However, I think that this is not totally true, because our cinema does not always have a large budget, thus our films cannot be as competitive in the international arena.
We have the skills; we have all been trained in schools in Europe or here with well-known professors. We have the technical expertise, but you know cinema is not only technique, it is more of a problem of having a large enough budget. It is also a problem of actors, to have known talent. For a long time a lot of the filmmakers have worked like us in the area of consciousness-raising, which means that this cinema has been usually known as a "cinema of conscious."
We are increasingly seeing that films such as Buud Yam [by Gaston Kaboré] and Kini and Adams [by Idrissa Ouedraogo] are definitely commercially viable. These are films that can be viewed in the large cinema houses in Paris and that can hold their own anywhere. Thus, there becomes less of a distinction, apart from the fact that the actors are Africans, between a film from Africa and any other film. The level of professionalism is such that financiers have confidence in certain filmmakers and they are doing quite well. However, for the younger generation of filmmakers it might not be as easy.
What are some of the future plans for Media 2000?
Some of the future goals for Media 2000 are to do television series for African television stations and international networks. We have already done a treatment and plan to develop it using a professional scriptwriter. In addition, there are also plans for animation films, because there is a paucity of programs for children and youth.
The programs that are broadcast on African televisions come from the outside, while we have our own culture. We have our own stories that we can tell to our people. Thus, our ambition is to initiate an African series, which may permit us to be less dependent on the exterior and to consume locally. We are also interested in developing a type of partnership with television networks or independent companies interested in buying footage from the image bank that we are developing.
I am optimistic about the future of African cinema because, as I said earlier, it is a question of having the means and a general policy. For instance, our country is not known in the context of music. Outside of the country, it is rare to hear about Burkinabé music. On the other hand, when one talks about cinema in Africa, everyone looks toward Burkina because we have a cultural policy that has always encouraged cinema. In addition, I think that this cinema will be very profitable one day and there will not be a question about investing in it. What is lacking, perhaps, is a leader who will tap the pointer on the table and say, "We have had enough, this or that has to happen." Things are happening. I think that the European Economic Community (EEC) wants to support Burkina in developing its cinematic infrastructure.
We are seeing a true emergence of a national cinema with the centralization of diverse components, which perhaps means that this is a good indication for African cinema in general and for Burkinabé cinema in particular. There is a consciousness among filmmakers and a political awareness in general. These two forces united may bring much in the area of productivity and creativity. What perhaps is lacking is the means for exhibition, and with the emerging significance of satellite, we may find the means for exhibiting our work, if it is sufficiently competitive.
In an earlier conversation, you told me about your experiences with people from the Africa Diaspora during your stay in the United States. Could you talk about your encounters and your impressions?
Before going to the United States, I had somewhat of a preconceived idea about black Americans who lived there. I was able to visit the country in 1994, in Atlanta, as well as New York. I realized that they were a people who were on a perpetual quest for their identity. As soon as it is known that you come from the continent, you are immediately adopted by them. They wanted to know everything about the continent. I actually gave this small detail in order to say that we are very proud when we have such a warm meeting.
I noticed that when living in France, one could live ten years in an apartment building without knowing the people who live there, and in the streets no one will greet you. However, in Atlanta, I actually wondered if I was dreaming. In the elevator, everyone says hello. They live a bit like in Africa and it was very touching to find this contact, which was very warm and particular to the black world, because we are not a people who are immediately cautious and apprehensive. We are always open; we always open our doors; although later, there have been consequences.
In terms of the diasporan participation at FESPACO, for sometime FESPACO has opened up to all of its black Diaspora, in the United States and other areas of the world. We have observed an increasingly great passion that this world has for Africa, for Burkina. There has always been a great deal of emotion when they come, when we meet. We have realized that there remains a certain resemblance, despite the differences, and that is something that is very strong that we share. It brings about a chain of friendships.
In the film school where I was in Atlanta, we worked with Haile Gerima, who is a professor at Howard University. He came with a group of young black students who wanted to do research on African cinema. Since then, we continue to maintain contact.
Black Americans, in fact, have been the ones to make FESPACO known in the United States. I find it great that they have always come to the source to learn, understand, and meet other people, and vice versa. It is true that it is a festival, but it is a film festival. We converge in Ouagadougou because there is this magic image, the cinema. That attracts people. The media may be the source of a union and the source of the discovery of oneself and others.
We speak of awareness films or information films in general, if through your stay in Burkina you return to the United States to show what you have seen here, there is not a better thing on which to speak about it than the audio-visual medium. In my opinion, the aspect of image and sound is very strong. If you were only to do a written report when you return and it is filed in the library, perhaps one day someone will come across it and read it. However, it is not the same effect as the audio-visual.
On the other hand, if you distribute your videocassette, thousands or even millions of people can see it at the same time around the world. Therefore, the magic of the image and sound remains irreplaceable. I cannot imagine a medium that will be able to extend this medium. The media remains the most important means by which people may come together.
