MOVIE THEATER

Fespaco 2023 opens in Burkina on the theme of "the culture of peace"

Fespaco opened in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on February 25, 2023. This is the 28th edition of the major meeting of African cinema.

AFP - OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT

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The 28th edition of the African film festival, Fespaco, opened on Saturday February 25 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

It must be held there until March 4.

Since its creation in 1969, Fespaco has always remained faithful to its objective: to promote the dissemination of African cinema and contribute to its growth.

At a time when jihadist violence is hitting the country, the organizers have chosen "the culture of peace" as the main theme for this edition.

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The Fespaco 2023 is launched.

On Saturday February 25,

, by Nigerian Wali Oyéjidé, opened the festival.

This film gives pride of place to the resilience of this country in the face of terrorism.

“The culture of peace” is also the theme of this 28th edition of Fespaco.

It will be the subject of a symposium as part of the meeting, during which the centenary of the birth of

must also be celebrated .

Fifteen films are taking part in the

and are in the running for the Yennenga Gold Stallion, a trophy with a prize worth 20 million CFA francs, the equivalent of 30,000 euros.

Several films have jihadist violence as their main subject, such as

, by Niger's Amina Abdoulaye Mamani, and

by Burkinabè Boubakar Diallo.

Mali is honored this year: this neighboring country, also led by the military, is like Burkina Faso the

.

For the organizers, Mali is a “ 

 ”, and its cinema is very deserving.

#Fespaco2023 |

Some images from the opening show.#Burkina #lwili #TL226 pic.twitter.com/KiwThOcqOG

— Fespaco_Officiel (@FESPACO3) February 25, 2023

Cameroon and Tunisia are represented with two films each in the official competition, which also marks the return of Angola.

A film from the Dominican Republic was also selected, as well as another from Mauritius, alongside films from Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenya, Morocco and Algeria, among others.

A special competition is dedicated to Burkinabè films, and a total of 170 films will be screened in eleven categories, ranging from short films to television films.

The organizers have succeeded in programming world premiere works, despite the multiplication of festivals.

This is the case of the film

by the Egyptian Nadine Khan.

Even more than in previous editions, Fespaco 2023 will make it possible to report on new African talents in the field of the seventh art.

Many young directors are there.

The Festival also organizes, for the second time in its history, a program of meetings between young filmmakers, allowing them to better understand their profession.

Their sponsor this year is the Nigerien documentary filmmaker Aïcha Macky.

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• Fespaco

• Movie theater

• Burkina Faso

• mali

• Niger

• Terrorism

• Culture