Maasdorp, Liani. “Enter the Micro-Budget Film: Lockdown Amplifies South African Cinema Trends”. The Conversation, August 20, 2020. https://theconversation.com/enter-the-micro-budget-film-lockdown-amplifies-south-african-cinema-trends-143377

“Cape Town-based writer-director-cinematographer Jenna Cato Bass is a pioneer in this area. At 34, she has already directed three features – urban romance drama Love the One You Love (2014), “body-swap satire” High Fantasy (2017) and “feminist western” Flatland (2019). In a recent interview she told me she wants to “make a career making films and would like to make many of them”. Her films are made by small crews on tight budgets. They don’t feel like, or compete with, slick big budget Hollywood films. Yet, they have a niche following, consistently premiere at top international festivals and she keeps getting funding to make more of them.”

[Source: Excerpt from the Article].

Kazeem, Yomi. “Marvel’s Black Panther is a Boon for Nigeria’s Homegrown Comic Superheroes”. Quartz Africa, February 23, 2018. https://qz.com/africa/1212176/marvels-black-panther/

“The euphoria around the Black Panther movie is well and truly alive in Nigeria. Across the country’s cinemas in major cities, screenings have steadily sold out since the movie’s release last week with some movie goers showing up in their best “Wakanda-like” attires. The appeal is clear: it’s a movie about a fictional African country which draws lots of inspiration from real African cultures, including Nigeria. Put another way, the audience connects with the movie. That connection could be a boon for local comic book and animation companies who have, over the past few years, focused on creating a crop of homegrown characters.”

[Source: Excerpt from the Article].

Kazeem, Yomi. “How Nigeria’s First Feature Length Animated Movie was Made”. Quartz Africa, December 9, 2020. https://qz.com/africa/1940063/nigerias-first-animated-feature-film-set-for-release/

“When released on Dec. 11, Lady Buckit and the Motley Mopsters will be Nigeria’s first feature length animated film and will mark a major milestone for a blossoming comic and animation scene which has increasingly seemed primed for the mainstream. Indeed, Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, has hosted an annual Comic Con since 2012 with creators showcasing characters and stories in front of audiences that have since grown from hundreds to thousands. In October 2019, YouNeek Studios also made a mark by releasing a 15-miute pilot for Malika: Warrior Queen—an animated film inspired by a 16th century queen in northern Nigeria—to wide acclaim. For its part, Lady Buckit and the Motley Mopsters will star some of Nollywood’s most recognized actors, including veterans Patrick Doyle, Bimbo Akintola and Kalu Ikeagwu.”

[Source: Excerpt from the Article].

Kagunyi-Levasseur Mary, and Kumah Stephanie. “Young Africans Employ Leadership Training to Transform their Communities: A Snapshot of Three Yali Alumni.” Counterpart international, October 4, 2019.

https://www.counterpart.org/stories/young-africans-employ-leadership-training-to-transform-their-communities-a-snapshot-of-three-yali-alumni/

“In Niger, a country with one of the highest fertility rates in the world, the topic of infertility is taboo. Aïcha Macky, a young Nigerien documentarian, is undeterred by taboos. Catalyzed by her own infertility, Macky produced The Fruitless Tree, a documentary weaving together the stories of Nigerien woman confronting the stigma of childlessness. The ground-breaking work was awarded the prize for best documentary at the 12th African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in Nigeria. Macky is part of a bourgeoning generation of young Nigerien leaders, undeterred by status quo and committed to mobilizing their unique skills and limited resources to transform their local communities.  As an alumna of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), Macky is part of an esteemed network of over 40 young leaders in Niger. Their stories underscore the importance of nurturing young leaders and highlighting the power of these investments to positively shape development outcomes.”

[Source: Excerpt from the Article].

Harding, Oscar. “Martin Scorsese on the African Film Heritage Project.” The Film Foundation, July 22, 2018. https://www.film-foundation.org/cinema-escapist

“Launched last spring, the African Film Heritage Project (AFHP) is a joint initiative between Scorsese’s non-profit Film Foundation, UNESCO, Cineteca di Bologna, and the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI). It aims to locate and preserve 50 classic African films, some thought lost and others beyond repair, with hopes to make them available to audiences everywhere.”

[Source: Excerpt from the article].

Brown, Ryan Lenora. “Whose Stories Get Streamed? Netflix Tells More Africans: Yours.” The Christian Science Monitor, March 5, 2019. https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2019/0305/Whose-stories-get-streamed-Netflix-tells-more-Africans-yours

“Since May of last year, Netflix has commissioned original shows and films from Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Last week, the service debuted the Sundance darling “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” a film by the Nigerian-British director Chiwetel Ejiofor set in rural Malawi and acted mostly in a local language, Chichewa. The growing interest in Africa reflects a growing market, as more people go online and earn enough disposable income to subscribe. And a handful of African productions is a relatively low-stakes investment for Netflix, which rolled out about 700 original movies and shows last year alone. But in courting African filmmakers, it’s also helping to shake up tired notions of whose stories are worth paying attention to.”

[Source: Excerpt from the article].