Celebrated Cameroonian filmmaker Jean-Marie Teno will address the challenges of filmmaking in Africa as a follow-up to African Film Festival.
Teno will speak at 6 p.m. Monday, April 14, in Lab Sciences 300 on “Filmmaking in Africa: An Ongoing Struggle.” Teno will place the filmmaking industry in Africa in a global context, examining both issues of production and style.
The presentation will be an informal retrospective of his films with clips. Teno will address the challenges in filmmaking by over- viewing the industry as a whole and by documenting his personal struggles over the past 20 years. According to Teno, “In my country, if a journalist writes an article that is critical of the government, it can mean six months in prison. I thought that being a filmmaker and dealing in images, I could get around that.”
“It is such an honor to host Jean-Marie Teno, whose films have been a unique contribution to the film industry and to African studies,” said Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo, Ph.D, assistant dean and senior lecturer in African & African American Studies in Arts & Sciences.
Teno’s lecture is a followup to the third annual African Film Festival, held on campus March 27-30. His talk kicks off Africa Week 2008, “Africa: A Living Work of Art,” sponsored by the African Student Association. Teno was not available during the film festival but wanted to come to reflect on the films screened and on the filmmaking industry in general.
This year’s festival and Teno lecture is made possible by a grant from the Missouri Arts Council.
Campus sponsors include Film and Media Studies and African & African American Studies, both in Arts & Sciences, and the African Students Association. Additional support is provided by a grant from the Women’s Society of Washington University.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, e-mail wtoliver@artsci.wustl.edu or call 935-7879.