The theme of the panel seeks to be broad in order to think about the inter-artistic and intermediate relations in which cinema intervenes in all its complexity from the independence period to the present day. There is a clear need for further work on the relationships that cinema maintains with African literatures (Tcheuyap, 2004a and 2004b), from the adaptation of literary works to the participation of writers in the construction of cinematographies (González García, 2023; Santana, 2010). But it is also necessary to extend the problem to the presence of the adaptation of literary texts in national film policies, or in those involving several countries, such as co-productions or subsidies from transnational organizations. These latter issues have begun to be studied – Tcheuyap (2004b), Overhoff Ferreira (2011) – but more research is needed.
The relationship between cinema and the oral tradition is already beginning to have a relatively large bibliography, especially for the countries that were French colonies.
-To give just two examples, Sangaré (2023), or Ebanda, (2013), but the subject of orality has usually been studied in relation to tradition or the remains of tradition transmitted orally with special attention paid to the word, forgetting other essential components of that tradition such as corporeality, for example dance -which has an increasing presence, for example in recent works by authors from Guinea Bissau or Mozambique-, or music: On this, a brief introduction in Leal (2011), or the general study on nation and music, which includes the relations of the latter with cinema in Moorman, (2008). In the sense in which Moorman studies music and orality, i.e. as a contemporary manifestation that includes the word, it would be necessary to work on a subject that has not been researched much, such as that of non-traditional popular orality, often mediatized, in African countries and its expression in the cinema.
Dramaturgy, traditional or contemporary, and its relation to cinematography, is another topic proposed by this panel. As examples, the importance of Yoruba theater in the popularization of pre-Nollywood Nigerian cinema, the participation of the members of the Mutumbela Gogo group in Mozambican cinema, or the intersection between poetry, theater and cinema in the artistic work of Sarah Maldoror (Piçarra, 2020), or the current production of “vernacular” cinema by amateur theater companies in Guinea Bissau (Laranjeiro, 2023).
Another important line that deserves development is the one advanced by Marie Pierre-Bouthier (2017), when she analyzed the relations between Moroccan and Tunisian cinemas with the art system, these favoring the circulation of themes and authors in national and transnational spheres. It could also be studied, from a different but complementary perspective, to what extent the attention to national artists has helped the growth of documentary cinema in some countries, and even the survival of private production companies.
The artistic and cultural production of the 21st century in Africa has also been transformed by the process of digitalization of tools and platforms. This process of democratization of the means of production and circulation has allowed various artists to develop international careers in different ways, consolidating trajectories and gaining access to international funding. Cinema has benefited significantly from these new media and tools, leading to the emergence of a new type of cultural artifact, as explained by Ukadike (2000), Ezepue (2020) or Oguamanam (2020).
