Are Sitcoms the Future of Francophone West African Cinema
2014; Issue: 94 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2562-2528
Autores Tópico(s)African history and culture studies
Resumo[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Feature films have not only dominated the African cinematic landscape, but they have also come to represent the (un)official norms by which directors establish their reputation. The primacy of feature-length films is evident in prestigious prizes awarded at festivals like FESPACO (Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou) and in the number of publications by critics and academics every year. Feature films and foreign sitcoms make up a great part of TV programming across Francophone West Africa. Growing up in Burkina Faso in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I watched Latin American telenovelas and detective TV series from France, Germany and the USA. Series such as Derrick (1974), Columbo (1968), Maigret (1991), Dona Beija (1986), Luz Clarita (1996) and 'Terra Nostra (1999) were household names in West Africa and the subject of conversations in offices, at schools and in the markets. Anticipating the next episodes or next season tested the patience and built the excitement of viewers. Latin American telenovelas, especially Brazilian productions, enjoyed strong viewer ratings on Francophone West African TV channels. That domination of foreign sitcoms in local TV programming changed in the late 1990s when the first Francophone West African sitcoms like A nous la vie (1) (1998) by Dani Kouyate, Kadi Jolie (2) (1999) by Idrissa Ouedraogo, and Ma Famille (3) (2002) by Akissi Delta hit the TV screens to a tremendous reception from viewers. In certain ways, the shift to local sitcom production and programming highlights the stagnation or regression of feature-length productions in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa over the last twenty years. The instant success of the new sitcoms led to more productions across the region, with Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire emerging as pioneers in the movement. Not only did local sitcom production and popularity grow steadily through the first decade of 2000s, but they have also been a major source of entertainment at home on television, in movie theaters and via the Internet. These locally produced sitcoms became more numerous and accessible at a critical time when the production of feature films was declining and the distribution circuits were not diversified. Concerning local sitcoms, simple plots and easy accessibility through the web or on DVD proved to be very appealing to the public. The combination of digital and web technologies is now breathing new life into Francophone West African cinemas. This paper seeks to examine the changing landscape of Francophone West African cinemas in light of the ever-growing production, popularity and accessibility of sitcoms. What is the role of digital and web technologies in bringing about these changes? Are sitcoms just a temporary phenomenon, or are they an indication of a larger shift in the delivery method towards web-based distribution channels? This paper argues that sitcoms are creating a new dynamic in African cinemas with regard to accessibility and delivery that are enhanced and democratized by the development digital technologies. There is also renewed interest from viewers for local stories and images, which attracts more audience to television series as a form of adult entertainment. This article is structured around four main parts including a brief presentation of West African sitcoms, the resulting changes in accessibility and affordability from the development of digital technologies, the audience of these sitcoms and how sitcoms are shaping African cinematic productions. Examples are drawn from Ma Famille, Les Bobodiouf (4) (2000) by Patrick Martinet, Vis a Vis (2004) by Abdoulaye Dao and the work of the Burkinabe filmmaker Boubakar Diallo. In discussing sitcoms, it is tempting to get drawn into the debate on popular cinema versus avant-garde cinema, or to focus on distribution challenges facing African cinema, but those topics are not the subject or the scope of this paper, which seeks to investigate how sitcoms are revolutionizing African cinema. …
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