Called the biggest regular cultural event on the African continent, FESPACO, the largest African film festival takes place in the capital of which country? (hint: formerly Upper Volta)
"for disabled artisans in Burkina Faso. The Popular Theatre in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, is a center of social and cultural events for the country. Ouagadougou, is a major hub of activity for those involved in African cinema, and hosts a Pan-African film festival every year called FESPACO, the Pan-African film and television Festival of Ouagadougou, which is a world-renowned affair. Culture and art are further displayed at Laongo, an area of exposed granites where artists from the entire world are invited to sculpt on the rock. Idrissa Ouedraogo, probably the most commercially successful African director, is from"
"Cinema of Burkina Faso The cinema of Burkina Faso is one of the more significant in Africa, with a history that spans several decades and includes the production of many award-winning films. The cinema of Burkina Faso is an important part of the history of the post-colonial West African and African film industry. Burkina's contribution to African cinema started with the establishment of the film festival FESPACO (Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou), which was launched as a film week in 1969 and gained government support and permanent structures in 1972. It is the largest film"
"its third edition in 1972, the festival was named FESPACO for short, keeping its full title as ""Festival pan-Africain du cinema et de la television de Ouagadougou."" FESPACO was recognized formally as an institution by governmental decree on January 7, 1972. Its award ceremony and base of operations is Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, where the annual awards ceremony is also held. In 1972 the first winner of the best film award was ""Le Wazzou Polygame"" by Oumarou Ganda of Niger. Since then, the best film award has been won by directors from Cameroon, Morocco, Mali, Nigeria, Ivory Coast,"
"little known outside of academic circles. Burkina Faso hosts the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) every two years in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. In 2005, director Gaston Kaboré, who won the top prize at FESPACO in 1997 for his film ""Buud Yam"", opened a training school for new filmmakers in Ouagadougou. The school, named Imagine, was built with millions of CFA of Kaboré's own money and opened its doors for the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou 2005. Cinema of Burkina Faso The cinema of Burkina Faso is one of the more significant in Africa, with"
"Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the festival's founding in 1969, five African nations: Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Niger and Senegal, were represented, as well as France and the Netherlands. A total of 23 films were shown. At its second edition, the participant African countries rose to nine, including for the first time Algeria, Tunisia, Guinea, Mali, and Ghana, and a total of 40 films were shown. In 1983, the festival included MICA (""le Marche International du Cinema et de la television Africaine""), a market for African film stock and video"
"who were critical of the government. In December 2008, police in Ouagadougou questioned leaders of a protest march that called for a renewed investigation into the unsolved Zongo assassination. Among the marchers was Jean-Claude Meda, the president of the Association of Journalists of Burkina Faso. Every two years, Ouagadougou hosts the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), the largest African cinema festival on the continent (February, odd years). Held every two years since 1988, the International Art and Craft Fair, Ouagadougou (SIAO), is one of Africa's most important trade shows for art and handicrafts (late October-early November, even"
"to promote development of African products and technicians in the industry. The general secretaries of FESPACO since 1972 have been Louis Tombiano, from 1972 to 1982; Alimata Salembere, from 1982 to 1984; Filippe Savadogo, from 1984 to 1996, Baba Hama, from 1996 to 2008, Michel Ouedraogo, from 2008 to 2014, and Ardiouma Soma, from 2014 to present. The most prestigious award of the festival is the """"Étalon de Yennenga"""" (Stallion of Yennenga), named after the legendary founder of the Mossi empire. The """"Étalon de Yennenga"""" is awarded to the African film that best shows ""Africa's realities"". Other special awards include"
"exhibition venue in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than half a million attendees, and takes place in odd numbered years in March. Burkina is also one of the countries producing the most feature films in Africa. Many of the nation's filmmakers are known internationally and have won international prizes. For many years the headquarters of the Federation of Panafrican Filmmakers (FEPACI) was in Ouagadougou, rescued in 1983 from a period of moribund inactivity by the enthusiastic support and funding of President Thomas Sankara In 2006 the Secretariat of FEPACI moved to South Africa but the headquarters of the organization is still"
"the City of Durban's Durban Film Office. Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It is one of the oldest (33rd edition in 2012, created in 1979, Fespaco created in 1969) and largest film festival in Southern Africa and presents over 200 screenings celebrating the best in South African, African and international cinema. Most of the screenings are either African or South African premieres. The festival also offers filmmaker workshops, industry seminars, discussion forums, and outreach activities that include screenings in township areas"
"Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It is one of the oldest (33rd edition in 2012, created in 1979, Fespaco created in 1969) and largest film festival in Southern Africa and presents over 200 screenings celebrating the best in South African, African and international cinema. Most of the screenings are either African or South African premieres. The festival also offers filmmaker workshops, industry seminars, discussion forums, and outreach activities that include screenings in township areas where cinemas are non-existent, and much more"
"supported by the revolutionary regime of Burkina headed by Captain Sankara in 1983. The third FEPACI congress was held on the ninth edition of FESPACO in 1985. The FEPACI headquarters was moved to Ouagadougou and filmmaker Gaston Kabore was appointed to the post of Secretary General and remained there until 1997. Gaston Kabore restored the Film Federation. While support came from Burkina Faso and a more substantial one comes from the European Union, which financed a plan to revive the African Cinema and the production of African films. FEPACI’s ensuing collaboration with Latin American filmmakers during Gaston’s custodianship allowed filmmakers"
"the 21st Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) by AMAA CEO Peace Anyiam-Osigwe. Approximately 403 entries from 54 African countries participated in the bid for an award. With a total of twelve nominations, the Kenyan film ""From a Whisper"" led the nomination count, while Uganda's ""Battle of the Souls"" and South Africa's ""Gugu and Andile"" followed with ten nominations each. Nigeria's ""Arugba"" received nine nominations, Egypt's ""Seventh Heaven"" received eight nominations, followed closely by Ghana's ""Agony of the Christ"" with seven nominations. ""From a Whisper"" won five awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Wanuri Kahiu) and Best"
"years). Also every two years, the Symposium de sculpture sur granit de Laongo takes place on a site located about from Ouagadougou, in the province of Oubritenga. The National Culture Week of Burkina Faso, better known by its French name La Semaine Nationale de la culture (SNC), is one of the most important cultural activities of Burkina Faso. It is a biennial event which takes place every two years in Bobo Dioulasso, the second-largest city in the country. The Festival International des Masques et des Arts (FESTIMA), celebrating traditional masks, is held every two years in Dédougou. Burkina Faso is"
"fermented palm sap; and Zoom-kom, or ""grain water"" purportedly the national drink of Burkina Faso. Zoom-kom is milky-looking and whitish, having a water and cereal base, best drunk with ice cubes. In the more rural regions, in the outskirts of Burkina, you would find Dolo, which is drink made from fermented millet. The cinema of Burkina Faso is an important part of West African and African film industry. Burkina's contribution to African cinema started with the establishment of the film festival FESPACO (Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou), which was launched as a film week in"
"are members of various Protestant denominations. Culture of Burkina Faso The culture of Burkina Faso in West Africa is also called the Burkinabé culture. Two key elements of culture in Burkina Faso (a country once known as Upper Volta) are its indigenous masks and dancing. The masks used in this region of the western Sahel are made for rites of sacrifice to gods and animal spirits in the villages. Native dance, on the other hand, is employed to demonstrate the villagers' desire for blessings by the spirits. Literature in Burkina Faso is based on the oral tradition, which remains important."
"the founders in 1969 of the prestigious Pan-African Cinema Festival FESPACO, and the Carthage Film Festival. From 1975 to 1983 he was secretary general of the Pan-African Federation of Film-makers (Fédération panafricaine des cinéastes FEPACI). From 1983 to 1985 he was Director of the ""Société nationale de production cinématographique du Sénégal"" (SNPC). In all these offices he played a prominent role in the relations between African states and filmmakers. One academic quotes him saying that there was not a single film made in Senegal during the 1970s that did not receive some form of state support from organs of government"
"Culture of Burkina Faso The culture of Burkina Faso in West Africa is also called the Burkinabé culture. Two key elements of culture in Burkina Faso (a country once known as Upper Volta) are its indigenous masks and dancing. The masks used in this region of the western Sahel are made for rites of sacrifice to gods and animal spirits in the villages. Native dance, on the other hand, is employed to demonstrate the villagers' desire for blessings by the spirits. Literature in Burkina Faso is based on the oral tradition, which remains important. In 1934, during French occupation, Dim-Dolobsom"
"LDS Temple in Abidjan was announced. Each year film festivals are organised in Abidjan: The Clap-Ivoire Festival, the Spanish Film Festival, the Côte d'Ivoire National Film Festial (FESNACI) – the first of which was organised in 2007, the short film festival (FIMA), which has been organised since 1998 by Hanni Tchelley, the Abidjan Israeli Film Festival; the fourth one took place in 2006 in the Goethe Institute. Several films depict or are devoted to the city: Abidjan is a turntable for West African music, and a major producer of musical art in Africa. The city attracts the majority of musicians"
"possible, the festival is held not only in the capital of Kigali, but the films, especially ones made by Rwandan film-makers, are also shown on large inflatable screens in rural areas throughout the country. More recently, Kabera has stated that the festival will make a move away from focusing only on the issue of the genocide; rather ""other social issues"" of modern Rwanda will be explored. The Silverback Awards were launched after the Silverback Sponsorship from London firm Hard Media with the Rwanda Film Festival. Rwanda Film Festival The Rwanda Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July"
"languages) was established in 1994. International schools include: Ouagadougou's inhabitants play a wide array of sports, including association football, basketball, and volleyball. There are tournaments and activities organized by the local authorities. There are a number of cultural and art venues, such as the Maison du Peuple and Salle des Banquets, in addition to performances of many genres of music, including traditional folk music, modern music, and rap. Several international festivals and activities are organized within the municipality, such as FESPACO (Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou), which is Africa's largest festival of this type, SIAO (International Art and"
"West Africa, was established on 1 March 1919. It became the Republic of Upper Volta in 1958, and gained independence from France in 1960. During colonial times, there was no real emergence of a national theatre, with Burkinabè troupes mingling with those of the rest of Francophone West Africa. In the 1930s and 1940s, Burkinabè students studied at the William Ponty Normal School in Dakar, Senegal, and were greatly influenced by contemporary Western theatre. In the 1950s, following the appointment of Bernard Cornut-Gentil as High Commissioner of French West Africa, it was decided to develop cultural centres in the major"
"Held annually in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, the film festival was organized by the Somali Film Agency, the nation's film regulatory body. The International Film Festival of Marrakech (FIFM) is an international film festival held annually in Marrakech, Morocco. Since its inaugural year in 2000, the FIFM has been one of the biggest events devoted to Moroccan cinema. It is also the site of the principal photography of many international productions. The festival's jury gathers international writers, actors and personalities, and endeavors to reward the best Moroccan and foreign feature and short films. The FIFM is chaired by Prince"
"and order and by stimulating trade. They also tended to regard Muslims as culturally and educationally more advanced than non-Muslim Africans, and appointed Muslim chiefs and clerks as administrators in non-Muslim areas. In Upper Volta at the end of the 19th century there were only some 30,000 Muslims, but by 1959 there were 800,000, approximately 20 percent of the population. In 1984, Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso. After a succession of military coups, a constitutional republic was established in 1991. In Burkina Faso the Arabist and Islamist movement is viewed a counter-culture to the European style of modernity, and"
"on 21 May 2006 and in Manhattan by New Yorker Films on 14 February 2007 and was the recipient of the first Film Award of the Council of Europe given at the Istanbul International Film Festival in April 2007. Bamako Bamako is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a population of 2,009,109. In 2006, it was estimated to be the fastest-growing city in Africa and sixth-fastest in the world. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamako is the nation's"
"gained the top prize at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO). The story is based on real events and real people and is set in the mid-1950s freehold township of Sophiatown, Johannesburg— one of the few areas in South Africa where blacks could own property and drink alcoholic beverages. ""Drum"" begins with the central character, sportswriter Henry Nxumalo, reporting on a boxing match with Nelson Mandela. Nxumalo leaves his wife Florence at home while going out into his community's night life and has an affair with a female singer. He works for ""Drum"" magazine, which was ""the"
"at the Second ""Festival culturel panafricain d’Alger"" (PANAF). He died on 8 March 2010 in Paris, after suffering a long term kidney illness, and was interred in the Muslim cemetery of Yoff, near Dakar. Mahama Johnson Traoré Mahama Johnson Traoré (1942–2010) was a Senegalese film director, writer, and co-founder of the Ouagadougou-based Pan-African Cinema Festival (FESPACO). Traoré was born in 1942 at Dakar. The son of a businessman, Traoré studied in Senegal, Mali and France to be an electrical engineer. In Paris he quit his studies to follow a passion for film. There he enrolled in the ""Conservatoire libre du"
"modern Western culture, itself with roots in Ancient Egypt. Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has had a thriving media and arts industry since the late 19th century, today with more than 30 satellite channels and over 100 motion pictures produced each year. Cairo in fact has long been known as the ""Hollywood of the East."" To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Egypt is"
"change until 1933. At that point, the colony of the French Upper Volta (""Haute-Volta"", modern Burkina Faso) dissolved, and the northern territory was added to French Sudan. In 1947, Upper Volta was reestablished, and the French Sudan borders became those that eventually became the borders of Mali. Kayes was the original capital city from the 1890s until 1908, when the capital moved to Bamako, where it remains. The colony supported mostly rain-fed agriculture, with limited irrigation for its first 30 years. The only cash crops were nuts gathered close to the railroad between Kayes and Bamako. However, following successful tests"
"to attain long-term self-sufficiency, an alternative energy supply is planned for the hospital in the form of a solar energy plant which is to be installed in May 2013. A football pitch has already been completed and a children's play area is to be added this year. The """" – a place of cultural encounter – at the centre of the grounds will form the heart of the project. Opera Village Africa Opera Village Africa (French: ', German: ') is an arts education project located in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. It was initiated by the German film"
"Waga Hip Hop Festival Waga Hip Hop is one of the major international hip hop festivals taking place in West Africa. Each year, around early and mid-October, Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) thus welcomes international artists and media to attend this festival of urban cultures. Created in 2000, Waga Hip Hop is the flagship event of the association Umane Culture. This association stands out as an active cultural structure, which develops multidisciplinary projects, in music, theatre, dance and tales, created in 1997 by Ali Diallo (member of the Export Bureau of African Music, BEMA). The latest realisation of Umane Culture was the"
"made a 40-minute documentary of the event entitled ""The First World Festival of Negro Arts"" (1968). Italian journalist Sergio Borelli produced ""Il Festival de Dakar (1966)"" a 50-minute documentary for RAI. In 1977, from 15 January to 12 February, the Second World Festival of Black Arts or Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture — known as FESTAC '77 — took place in Lagos, Nigeria, under the patronage of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Attended by more than 17,000 participants from over 50 countries, it was the largest cultural event ever held on the African continent. Among artists who took part"
"Opera Village Africa Opera Village Africa (French: ', German: ') is an arts education project located in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. It was initiated by the German film and theatre director, actor, and artist, Christoph Schlingensief. It is operated by as a non-proft GmbH (limited company) based in Germany. The first phase was completed in November 2011. The Opera Village's artistic projects are developed by people who are committed to the Opera Village and who develop themselves further in this process. Already during its initial phase, the Opera Village provides a space in which cultural encounters, workshops"
"and Nile Valley. Sub-Saharan Africa has several large cities. Lagos is a city in the Nigerian state of Lagos. The city, with its adjoining conurbation, is the most populous in Nigeria, and the second most populous on the African continent after Cairo, Egypt. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the world, and also one of the most populous urban agglomerations. Lagos is a major financial centre in Africa; the megacity has the highest GDP, and also houses one of the largest and busiest ports on the continent. Dar es Salaam is the former capital as well as"