The ton of helpful digital distribution, as well as commercially viable means of filmmaking, have been the best things to have happened to African cinema in the last decade.
Crowdfunding, iPhones and Netflix have become synonymous with this phase of African cinema.
Historically underfunded and underestimated industries mean that Africans have had to settle for meager quality on the screen. Every now and then, something as good as Tsotsi (2005) comes along to universal applause.
What is clearly a problem of money has come across looking like a problem of creativity.
Apart from that point, there has always been the problem of what may be considered “An African film”.
Wilfred Okiche of Africanarguments.com puts this problem better:
“For a film to be truly African, does it need to be made by Africans? Does it need to be funded from Africa? Does it need to be aimed at an African audience and screened primarily on the continent? Or is a film African simply by virtue of reflecting on African experiences?”
Notwithstanding the challenges of finance and identity, some African filmmakers have prevailed, producing exceptional cinematic projects that recompense those who have kept faith with the continent.
These filmmakers have touched on diverse subject-matters and drawn inspiration from fulfilling a duty to tell the stories of their people.
For what it’s worth, the following five directors are the amazing future African cinema promises.
