Newsflash

Two immediate results of the Black and White in Colour Conference held at the ICA in November

Stella Orakwue of SOI Film & TV (071 267-4373) is co-ordinating a series of meetings to prepare a submission to the BBC and the Heritage Secretary concerning the renewal of the BBC's Charter. The submission will focus on specific issues and areas of concern for Black independent film-makers and communities.

The Conference also passed a resolution, to be forwarded to the BBC, demanding it call a meeting to discuss the decision to merge the African-Caribbean unit and the Asian unit based at the BBC Pebble Mill in order to establish a multicultural department. The meeting condemned the decision, which was taken without adequate consultation with black programme-makers inside or outside the BBC, or due regard to the needs of Black audiences and the community. Further, no assurances have been given that the quality and quantity of African-Caribbean and Asian programmes will not be diminished Guzmán.

Don’t miss on Channel 4: Africa on Africa

February 21st (for 13 weeks)

New season of some of the best, most recent African cinema including three films shown at the Cannes Film Festival in summer 1992 and eight shown at the LFF over the last two years.

From Guinea Bissau, Flora Gomes’ the Blue Eyes of Yonta, is a deliberately charming story of unrequited love. The second feature film from Senegal’s renoned director of the classic Touki Bouki (shown by Channel 4 in 1988) Djibril Diop Mambéty’s epic Hyenas is based on a short story by the Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt (of Derek Malcolm review).

The Tunisian director, Nouri Bouzid, has had his three previous films shown on Channel 4 (Man of Ashes, Golden Horseshoes, and Scheherazade, part of After the Gulf). His new feature, Bezness, explores the contradictions of a young Tunisian who lives off sex tourism with visiting holiday makerse while demanding that his family and fiancée behave according to strict Islamic propriety.

Ousmane Sembene, veteran Senegalese film maker, has produced a biting critique of African politics, democracy, and religious adherence in Guelwaar.

Don’t miss at the NFT: Africa at the Pictures

April 2-30:

The Africa Centre has organised a second major programme under this title. Films to be shown include Safi Faye’s new film Mossane; Den Muso, which is one of Souleymane Cissé’s most important works; Saddik Balewa’s Kasarmu Ce (Nigeria); Ama (UK and Ghana) and films from Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Angola, Guinea, Cameroon, Mali, Haiti, Morocco, Algeria, Kenya, South Africa, Somalia, Congo, Tunisia, Egypt, Guinea, Benin and Mauritania.

An international Conference on Women’s Film and TV in Africa is scheduled on Saturday 17 April.

Coming soon…

Our next issue will include a look at the traffic of images between North and South. How does the North see the South? Who produces the images? How does the South see the North? Who controls these images, and why are they so afraid of other people’s images of us and of themselves? Also part two of Hugh Brody and the interview with Stuart Hood. Vertigo is interested in developing a dialogue with its readers. Letters and offers for articles should be sent to:

Editorial Coordinator
Vertigo 7-9 Earlham St
London WC2H 9LL