"As a writer, I’m always fascinated by small stories told with a giant heart...My aim is to give voice to ”voiceless” and ”invisible" people that never get acknowledged or appreciated for their contributions by the societies because they seem to have less or because they’re not ”worth it”. So, for me, it was really important to help this small family in Djibouti have their voice heard by the world, so that many people in many different parts of the world can connect with them or relate and go « Ah, yes, so we’re not the only ones »"
Portal:African cinema/Selected_quotes/5"We all know what Nollywood is supposed to represent — it’s the VHS films that were made back in the day. So, to still be called Nollywood, for me, is a no. We need to use terms like African filmmakers or Nigerian filmmakers"
"Africa has always been the home of storytellers. The large number of film festivals is testament to the continuing culture of film on the continent. But it is not enough…Lack of investment in studios, cinemas and talent means that, despite recent successes, the majority of Africans struggle to find stories that resonate or represent us, and this is a loss to the global community. Africa has a wealth of beautiful stories that deserve to find a wider audience, but this can only happen if film-makers get funding to make good quality films, supported with adequate marketing, and access to distribution and outlets."
Juliet Asante, Ghanaian actress, producer and director
“Many actors around the world are talking about the same thing and when you love an industry, you want to see it expand and develop. Gender equality and equal pay would make the industry better so I don’t see courage in addressing that, I just see responsibility over an industry I like and the job that I chose.”
“As women, we have to be more vocal and defend ourselves more and promote ourselves better as actresses but also as screenwriters, and producers. They exist, but there aren’t enough.”
Hend Sabry, Tunisian-Egyptian actress and producer
“Sometimes when you don't know where you're heading, you have to return to where you came from in order to think things over before continuing your journey. Today, with all the things happening to her, Africa has trouble finding which direction to take—modernity, tradition, or some other road. We are not really capable of digesting all these things. We don't know who we are, and we don't know where we are going. We are between two things. Between our traditions and our modernity.”
"Growing up, you hear a lot about American heroes, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and Winnie Mandela. You’re asking yourself, ‘Where are the Nigerian heroes?’ We must begin to tell those stories. A lot of our children do not have that historical perspective. They don’t get these stories because we’re not producing enough of them."
“With an actor carrying our frustrations, fears, desires and hopes, we can let go of the fight—at least for a little while. The role of an actor in society should not be underestimated… Although it’s easy to get caught up in celebrity and fame, the timeless function of the actor is to take on communal pain and provide emotional and spiritual purification for every person in the audience. I truly believe that an actor is essential to the psychic health of our world.”
"Lack of investment in studios, cinemas and talent means that, despite recent successes, the majority of Africans struggle to find stories that resonate or represent us, and this is a loss to the global community. Africa has a wealth of beautiful stories that deserve to find a wider audience, but this can only happen if film-makers get funding to make good quality films, supported with adequate marketing, and access to distribution and outlets."
Juliet Asante, actress, producer, director, and CEO of the National Film Authority of Ghana
“Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools for changing perception of Africa and allowing a complex, rich self exploration of its history and unique culture. Its boundless possibilities to give Africa it’s own voice is what brought me to writing and acting."
Danai Gurira, Actress, Playwright, Activist, and Artistic Director of Almasi Collaborative Arts
In Europe, people only see the terrorists, but they never tell stories about those who resisted terrorism, and there are many, many people like that in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Algeria… Wherever Daesh and Al Qaeda are, there are also people resisting. But their stories remain untold. My cinema highlights these untold stories to open the eyes of Western people who are full of prejudice about Africa and the Arab world.
Hind Meddeb, French-Tunisian-Moroccan filmmaker and journalist
"Unlike in the West, cinema is very young [on the continent]. In Africa, we tend to think that there are more pressing matters to deal with than cinema. To the contrary, I think that culture, and in particular cinema, can help to fully resolve societal problems. Cinema is a mirror to the world, a universal language. It’s true that each culture has its own particularities, but this helps to provoke change."
“My sense of purpose is to do that [tell African stories]. I am, first and foremost, an artist, and my African identity is my inspiration.”
Lupita Nyong'o, Kenyan-Mexican-American actress and producer
"I am not interested only in telling a story, but I want to tell it my way. I don't want my accent, my temperament, my narrative style to be compromised to fit into a mold of the Hollywood type."
Alfred Hitchcock film director of the films Downhill (1927), Easy Virtue (1928) and The Pleasure Garden (1925)
Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, Director of The Gravedigger’s Wife
Mo Abudu, Owner of Ebonylife TV
Juliet Asante, Ghanaian actress, producer and director
Hend Sabry, Tunisian-Egyptian actress and producer
Dani Kouyaté - Director of Keïta! l'Héritage du griot
Danai Gurira, Actress, Playwright, Activist, and Artistic Director of Almasi Collaborative Arts
