Programmers

Meet the programmer for the 24th edition of CinemAfrica Film Festival.

“Many of the films the festival is presenting this year have a focus on personal experiences, particularly within the family context. Love, motherhood, fatherhood, loss, filiation, and coming of age, are themes found in many of the long features but also in documentaries and short films. The female perspective is also at the heart of many films through the lenses of female and also male directors. Of course, some films also deal with socio-political issues affecting larger communities“

“Like every year, the festival shows films from young and established directors coming from different parts of the continent and its diaspora, reflecting the diversity and richness of African cinema“
The programmers about the festival.

Oulia Makkonen is a film scholar with a Russian and Togolese background. She received her PhD from the Faculty of Theology at Uppsala University where she wrote her thesis on religion in African film. Presently, Oulia works as research coordinator at Uppsala University’s Forum for Africa Studies. 

Who is your favorite African filmmaker for the moment?
It is rather difficult to choose a favorite African filmmaker, or a favorite filmmaker for that matter. If one were to decide however, Djibril Diop Mambety was the first who made on me an everlasting impression. Mambety in his films, critically looks at societal issues whilst filling the cinematic worlds with incredible beauty, punk and magic. 

Roda Abdalle is 29 years old, a part of the program group at cinema Africa festival.  She works with film and currently studies at royal institute of art. Rodas works both film, art sound and installation with old analogue projectors, and her artistic process is to work through the camera lens.

Who is your favorite African filmmaker for the moment?
Sembène Ousmane

Meryem Saadi is an art curator and researcher from Morocco based in Sweden. She is currently pursuing a PhD in art history at Uppsala University. Before relocating to Sweden in 2017, she worked at the National Foundation of Moroccan Museums (Fondation Nationale des Musées du Maroc) and regularly wrote articles for the Moroccan magazine TelQuel.

Who is your favorite African filmmaker for the moment?
My favorite African filmmaker is Egyptian director Youssef Chahine (1926-2008). During his prolific career, he addressed important topics such as sexuality, gender, and religious extremism and was never afraid of controversies.  I think that his films such as The Land (1969) or An Egyptian Story (1982) are classics that every cinephile interested in African and Arab cinema should see once in their life. 

Érika Baiana Lager is filmmaker and photographer. She been working on fashion weeks in Paris & London, also she been working at SVT. She is a Visual anthropology with a passion for representation and the unpredictable.

Who is your favorite African filmmaker for the moment?
Nelson Foix