Arab and African Filmmaking

An overview of the major developments in the art and industry of cinema in the Arab World and Africa, ranging from its earliest days to the most recent works of the digital era. Arab and African filmmakers, especially since the Sixties, have developed dynamic national cinemas that have sought to tell their own stories in their own ways—even when those accounts often reveal problems and contradictions in their societies. The interaction of Arab and African filmmakers with international movements such as neorealism, modernism, cinema vérité, and postmodernism will be addressed. Among the filmmakers to be studied are Youssef Chahine, Elia Suleiman, Ousmane Sembene and Abderrahmane Sissako.  A visit will be planned to Paris's Institut du Monde Arabe, and several classes will feature visits by Arab and African filmmakers as well as critics and scholars of Arab and African cinema.