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African Cinemas by Region

CineMap, Languages, Festivals, Industries, Diasporas and Circulation

This course studies African cinemas through regional maps without reducing films to fixed borders. Learners explore West Africa and the Sahel, North Africa and Egypt, Central Africa and the Great Lakes, East Africa, Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean, diasporas, platforms, archives and final regional programming. The course is designed to connect directly with CineMap, Shot Atlas, CineUbuntu and Unga Festival practice.

Duration

18 hours

Modules

6

Lessons

18

Curator

Unga Curatorial Desk

Format

6 modules · 3 lessons each · 18 hours total

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Course objectives

What you will build through this learning path

Learning objectives

  • Map African cinemas by region without freezing them inside national borders.
  • Understand how languages, festivals, industries and institutions shape regional film cultures.
  • Connect West Africa, North Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean and diasporas.
  • Use CineMap, Shot Atlas and CineUbuntu to build regional film notes.
  • Create a final regional map, corpus, program or presentation.

Skills acquired

  • Regional mapping
  • CineMap documentation
  • Festival and platform analysis
  • Comparative regional research
  • Shot and location-based interpretation
  • Programming rationale

Audience

Who this course is for

Learners who want to map African cinema beyond one-country or one-continent summaries.
CineMap contributors documenting regional contexts, locations and circulation routes.
Curators and festival teams building regional programs.
Researchers, filmmakers and guild members connecting films to languages, institutions and audiences.

Module outline

Follow the course pathway module by module

Use this page to understand the sequence, checkpoints and learning rhythm before opening a specific module.

Module 1

Mapping African Cinemas

This opening module explains why regional study matters and how to avoid simplistic maps. It introduces CineMap as a critical tool for reading African screen circulation.

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Duration

3 hours

Lessons

3

Completed

0/3

Module progress0%
0160 min

Lesson 1

Why Study African Cinemas by Region?

Goal: Understand regions as analytical tools for reading production, circulation, language and audience.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0260 min

Lesson 2

Regions, Languages, Festivals, Industries and Institutions

Goal: Connect regional cinema to languages, festivals, industries, schools, archives and institutions.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0360 min

Lesson 3

CineMap: Building a Critical Map of Circulation

Goal: Use CineMap to document how films move through places, festivals, platforms and audiences.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
View module Build a method for mapping African films through regions, languages, festivals, industries, institutions and circulation.

Module 2

West Africa and the Sahel

This module studies Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, diasporas and platforms as a plural West African cinema region.

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Duration

3 hours

Lessons

3

Completed

0/3

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0160 min

Lesson 1

Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso: Auteurs, FESPACO, Languages and the Sahel

Goal: Map Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso through auteurs, languages, Sahelian contexts and FESPACO.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0260 min

Lesson 2

Nigeria, Ghana and Popular Industries: Nollywood, Kannywood, Video Film

Goal: Understand Nigeria and Ghana through popular industries, video film, genre systems and audience circulation.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0360 min

Lesson 3

West African Circulations: Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Diasporas and Platforms

Goal: Study West African circulation beyond the most visible countries and include diasporic and platform routes.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
View module Map West African cinemas through auteurs, FESPACO, Sahelian contexts, popular industries, diasporas and platforms.

Module 3

North Africa, the Maghreb and Egypt

This module treats North Africa as an essential part of African cinema, while also recognizing its links to the Arab world, Mediterranean histories, Amazigh identity, migration and national industries.

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Duration

3 hours

Lessons

3

Completed

0/3

Module progress0%
0160 min

Lesson 1

Why North Africa Belongs to African Cinemas

Goal: Explain why North Africa must be included in African cinema maps without erasing its Arab, Mediterranean and Amazigh dimensions.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0260 min

Lesson 2

Egypt and Algeria: Industry, Auteur Cinema, Independence War and National Memory

Goal: Compare Egypt and Algeria through industry, auteur cinema, anticolonial memory and national narratives.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
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0360 min

Lesson 3

Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania and Libya: Gender, Youth, Migration, Amazigh Identity and Diasporas

Goal: Map Maghrebi and neighboring cinemas through gender, youth, migration, Amazigh identity, festivals and diasporas.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
View module Integrate North Africa into African cinema through Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Libya, Amazigh identity, migration and Carthage.

Module 4

Central Africa and the Great Lakes

This module maps Central Africa and the Great Lakes through family, dowry, war, silence, dignity, Kinshasa, music, documentary, coproductions and underrepresented archives.

Not started

Duration

3 hours

Lessons

3

Completed

0/3

Module progress0%
0160 min

Lesson 1

Cameroon and Chad: Family, Dowry, War, Silence and Dignity

Goal: Map Cameroon and Chad through social structure, family, war memory, silence, dignity and gender.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0260 min

Lesson 2

Congo and DRC: Kinshasa, Music, City, Documentary and Coproductions

Goal: Study Congo and DRC through Kinshasa, music, urban cinema, documentary and coproduction systems.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0360 min

Lesson 3

Great Lakes and Underrepresented Spaces: Rwanda, Burundi, Gabon, Central African Republic, Archives

Goal: Identify underrepresented spaces and archive questions in Central Africa and the Great Lakes.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
View module Integrate Central Africa and the Great Lakes through Cameroon, Chad, Congo, DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Gabon, Central African Republic and archive gaps.

Module 5

East Africa, Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean

This module studies Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Sudan, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, Seychelles, Reunion and Mayotte.

Not started

Duration

3 hours

Lessons

3

Completed

0/3

Module progress0%
0160 min

Lesson 1

East Africa: Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Sudan

Goal: Map East Africa through production hubs, languages, censorship, festival routes, youth cinema and regional gaps.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0260 min

Lesson 2

Southern Africa: Apartheid, Post-Apartheid, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique

Goal: Study Southern African cinemas through apartheid memory, post-apartheid narratives, liberation histories and regional production.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0360 min

Lesson 3

Indian Ocean: Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, Seychelles, Reunion, Mayotte

Goal: Include Indian Ocean film cultures in African cinema maps through island geographies, languages, diasporas and archives.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
View module Map East Africa, Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean through language, memory, censorship, apartheid, islands and underrepresented circuits.

Module 6

Diasporas, Platforms and Final Regional Project

The final module treats African diasporas as a region without fixed borders and studies platforms, coproductions, archives, economies and final regional presentation.

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Duration

3 hours

Lessons

3

Completed

0/3

Module progress0%
0160 min

Lesson 1

African Diasporas: A Region Without Fixed Borders

Goal: Map African diasporas as cinematic regions built through memory, migration, return, funding and audiences.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0260 min

Lesson 2

Platforms, Coproductions, Archives and Regional Economies

Goal: Analyze how platforms, coproductions, archives and economic structures reshape regional visibility.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
0360 min

Lesson 3

Final Regional Project: Map, Corpus, Program and Presentation

Goal: Complete a final regional project that can become a CineMap, corpus, program or public presentation.

2 reading sections2 quiz questions1 resources
Not startedOpen lesson
View module Understand diasporas, platforms, coproductions, archives and regional economies, then complete a final regional project.