Thursday, May 1st, 7 PM: 1950s, Before African Cinemas

Guests: Claire Fouchereaux (IU), Brett Bowles (IU).

The African Lion (James Algar, 10’ clips)

Afrique 50 (René Vautier, 1950)

C’était il y a quatre ans (Vieyra, 1953)

Statues Also Die (Les statues meurent aussi, Alain Resnais, Chris Marker, 1953)

Afrique sur Seine (Vieyra, 1955)

Les Fiancés du pont Mac Donald (Agnès Varda, 1961)

The Legacy of Ousmane Sembène & Paulin S. Vieyra is a film series which celebrates the crucial role these two pioneers played in the formation of early African cinemas. In collaboration with Bloomington’s Buskirk-Chumley Theater, every Thursday in May, the public will be invited to view African films at the BCT and to participate in discussions with film critics, some of the filmmakers’ collaborators, witnesses from the period, and African Film specialists. This public-facing event series will bring together both the Indiana University and Bloomington communities to engage in discussions of film, African cultures, the French-speaking world, and postcolonial history. It will also act as a kick-off event for the Collections of Sembène and Vieyra Archival Workshop which will bring an international cohort of scholars to the Indiana University campus in Summer 2025.

This series is organized by the Early African Cinemas Lab and sponsored by the Public Arts and Humanities Project, IU Department of French and Italian & the African Studies Program.

Series:
Thurs, 5/1 7pm 1950s, Before African Cinemas
Thurs, 5/8 7pm Independence & Birth of African Cinemas
Please see this event page for this particular night for the list of films that will be screened.
Thurs, 5/15 7pm First African Fictions
Please see this event page for this particular night for the list of films that will be screened.
Thurs, 5/22 7pm Sembène's First Feature-Length Film
Please see this event page for this particular night for the list of films that will be screened.

Content Warning:

The first screening on May 1st will include 10 minutes of clips from a film that depict the racist tropes of Africans that Vieyra & Sembène set out to counteract through their own works. While the remaining films engage in critiques of colonialism and racism, the films themselves are appropriate for those 12 and older.

There will be a short Q&A after the film.

E-tickets and Will-call

All tickets purchased online will be sent as e-tickets to the email address associated with your account. The e-tickets will be listed within your confirmation email.

If you would like your tickets to be in will-call please call or visit the box office during regular business hours. We can sell you a printed ticket over the phone and in person.

If you completed your purchase and received an e-ticket but need a physical ticket please contact the box office before the day of the event and we can print them and have them ready.

You can reach us at (812) 323-3020 ext 1.