It’s time Africans tell their own stories – filmmaker

The continent has a well-developed film industry but lacks opportunities for global circulation and distribution, Mehret Mandefro has said

More Africans should have the opportunity to tell Africa’s story to the world through cinema, Mehret Mandefro has told RT.

Mandefro is an Emmy-nominated producer and screenwriter and managing director of the Realness Institute, a Cape Town-based non-profit supporting filmmakers from the Global South.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ‘Inventing the Future: Plots and Stories’ forum at the National Center Russia on Saturday, she said Africa, rich in culture and myth, has a vast and well-developed cinema industry but has long lacked opportunities for distribution beyond the continent.

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“A very famous director, Djibril Diop Mambety, once said it’s really great for the future of cinema that Africa exists. And that’s because it’s had very strong storytelling traditions for millennia,” she noted. “And I think one of the biggest challenges has been circulation and distribution, not the telling.”

Mandefro said that as the world becomes more connected through the internet and social media, Africa now has a chance “to be heard” and “tell her story” herself.

“For a long time Africa’s stories haven’t been told by Africans,” Mandefro noted. “I think of stories as medicine… so I think the value of having a conversation where more African storytellers get to define what is known about Africa has been very healing.”

Mandefro suggested global cinema is entering a new age where everyone, including Africans, can tell their story, benefiting both domestic industries and foreign investors.

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“Africa’s huge. As a market, as an integrated market, the audience… and the diaspora, there’s more than enough to make your money back on all the levels. So I really think we need to all widen our aperture and understand there are so many lanes [for development],” she said.

Speaking on a panel about education through stories, Mandefro said cinema is crucial for making sense of complex geopolitics, science, and culture, providing clear guidance when information overload makes it hard to separate fact from fiction.

The ‘Inventing the Future: Plots and Stories’ forum is an initiative of the Russia National Center and part of the 2nd International ‘Inventing the Future’ Symposium. The 3rd symposium, which will take place in November, will focus on global cooperation in science, culture, and art.