ARAB & 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. Although often the victims of negative stereotyping in US and Europe mass culture, 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. The course divides into three parts: four weeks on Egypt, far and away the most developed film industry in either region; four weeks on the cinemas of other Arab nations (Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Palestine); and five on sub-Saharan African cinema. Among the filmmakers to be studied are Youssef Chahine, Elia Suleiman, Ousmane Sembene and Abderrahmane Sissako. Discussion section FILM UN 2297 is a required co-requisite.