Black Film Center/Archive

"What they must see…

Women filmmakers of Africa and the African Diaspora are challenging old cinematic prescriptions and are using their art to erect new visions of their people and the world. Beginning with Tressie Saunders' A Woman's Error (1922), Black women directors have had a long, slow path to the director's chair. Yet their evocative work manages to satisfy and challenge all at once.

Today, more and more Africana women are getting into the field of filmmaking and there are now even a few, such as Cheryl Dunye, that have emerged on the Hollywood scene. While it yet remains only a handful of women of color that have broken through the racial barriers in Hollywood, many from Africa and here in the United States have been able to carve out successful careers in filmmaking.

...sustains us all."

The BFC/A salutes the women and the continuing tradition:

Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe)

Tsitsi Dangarembga was born in the town of Mutoko, Zimbabwe in 1959. She received her education in England at Cambridge University, studying medicine. After college she went back to Zimbabwe where she became a member of the theater group, "Zambuko." Dangarembga made her debut as a writer in the play, "She no Longer Weeps" when she was 28 years old. She is also the author of Nervous Conditions, which was the first novel to be published by a black Zimbabwean woman in English.

Filmography:
Everyone's Child (1996)

For more on Tsitsi Dangarembga:
Biography: Postcolonial Studies at Emory University.
Pegasos biography

Julie Dash (United States)

Julie Dash is originally from New York City and has been making films since 1973. She became well known through her feature film, Daughters of the Dust (1991), which won the Best Cinematography Award at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival. Within the past year Julie Dash has completed a Grammy-nominated video and a segment for HBO. She is a former member of the American Film institute, and is the first African American woman to have a full-length general theatrical release.

Filmography:
Working Models of Success (1973)
Diary of an African Nun (1977)
Four Women (1977)
Illusions (1982)
Daughters of the Dust (1991)
Praise House (1991)
Breaths (1994) [Sweet Honey in the Rock music video]
Give Me One Reason (1996) [Tracy Chapman music video]
Sax Cantor Riff from SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground (1997)
Funny Valentines (1999)
Incognito (1999)
Love Song (2000)
The Rosa Parks Story (2002)

For more on Julie Dash:
Geechee Girls Multimedia
African American Literature Book Club

Cheryl Dunye (Liberia)

Born in 1966, Cheryl Dunye is a native of Liberia. She received her BA from Temple University, and her MFA from Rutgers University's Mason Gross school of the Arts. Dunye created the first African American lesbian feature film, The Watermelon Woman (1996). Currently she teaches in the department of film and media arts at Temple University.

Filmography:
Wild Thing: A Poem by Sapphire (1989)
Janine (1990)
She Don't Fade (1991)
Vanilla Sex (1992)
Untitled Portrait (1993)
The Potluck and the Passion (1993)
Greetings from Africa (1994)
The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Stranger Inside (2001)
My Baby's Daddy (2004)

For more on Cheryl Dunye:
CherylDunye.com
BlackCulturalStudies.org

Safi Faye (Senegal)

Born in 1943 in Fad Jal, Senegal, Safi Faye was the first sub-Saharan African woman to direct a feature film, Kaddu Beykat. She was educated in Senegal, where she received her teacher's certificate at Rufisque normal school. Faye's ethnographic films brought her international acclaim and earned her several awards at the Berlin International Film Festivals in 1976 and 1979 for Kaddu Beykat and Fad'jal, respectively. Safi Faye currently lives in Paris.

Filmography:
La Passante (1972)
Kaddu Beykat (aka Letter from My Village, 1975)
Fad'jal (aka Come and Work, 1979)
Goob Na Nu (aka The Harvest Is In, 1979)
Many Say Yay (aka I, Your Mother, 1980)
Les ames au soleil (aka Souls Under the Sun, 1981)
Selbe et tant d'autres (aka One and So Many Others, 1982)
Ambassades nourriciers (aka Cultural Embassies, 1984)
Mossane (1996)

For more on Safi Faye:
Biographical information in the Comtemporary Africa Database
Biography on bookrags.com

Salem Mekuria (Ethiopia)

Salem Mekuria was born in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia and later moved to the United States for her college education in Minnesota. She is an independent documentary filmmaker focusing on her native Ethiopia and African and African American women. Currently, Mekuria lives in Boston and is an associate professor at Wellesley College.

Filmography:
Our Place in the Sun (1988)
As I Remember It: A Portrait of Dorothy West (1991)
Sidet: Forced Exile (1991)
Ye Wonz Maibel (1995)

For more on Salem Mekuria:
Wellesley College
Biographical and film information by Women Make Movies

Soraya Mire (Somalia)

Soraya Mire was born in 1961 in Somalia. Her film, Fire Eyes (1994), based on female genital mutilation takes her own personal experience along with others to voice the truth about this practice. She also created this film in hopes of educating others about the practice, and protecting young children.

Filmography:
Fire Eyes (1994)

For more on Soraya Mire:
Biographical information in the Contemporary African Database
Review of Fire Eyes

Fanta Régina Nacro (Burkina Faso)

A native of Burkina Faso, Fanta Régina Nacro is a graduate of INAFEC (African Institute for Cinematographic Studies) with a degree in audiovisual science and techniques. She became the first Burkinabe woman to direct a dramatic film, Un certain matin, in 1991. Nacro currently resides in Paris where she is furthering her studies in the art of filmmaking.

Filmography:
Un certain matin (1991)
Puk Nini (1996)
Le Truc de Konaté (1998)
Bintou (2001) [released in USA as A Close-Up on Bintou on Mama Africa (2002)]
Iron Will (2001) [from Scenarios from the Sahel]
Relou (2000) [released as segment of Pas d'histoires! (2001)]
A Ring on her Finger (2001) [from Scenarios from the Sahel]
The Voice of Reason (2001) [from Scenarios from the Sahel]

For more on Fanta Régina Nacro:
Interview - "A condom tree in Burkina Faso"
Biographical information in the Contemporary African Database

Zulfah Otto-Sallies (South Africa)

South African writer, author, playwright, and poet Zulfah Otto-Sallies has only recently begun her career in filmmaking with her popular film Raya (2001). Among her literary accomplishments are her first short story "A Better Life for Moms," which was published in 1995, and her 1997 book, Diekie Vannie Bo-Kaap.

Filmography:
Do you want to build a house? (1999)
Framed (1999)
From Zambian Soil (1999)
Skills Revolution for the Nation (1999)
Whispers from the Cape Flats (1999)
Raya (2001) [released in USA as a segment of Mama Africa (2002)]

For more on Zulfah Otto-Sallies::
Biographical information in the Contemporary African Database

Euzhan Palcy (Martinique)

Born on the French Caribbean island Martinique in 1958, Euzhan Palcy brought with her a perspective unique to Hollywood. Her films have been acclaimed for their focus on often overlooked social and cultural issues. In 1989, she became the first black woman to direct a mainstream Hollywood film, A Dry White Season.

Filmography:
The Messenger (1975)
The Devil's Workshop (1982)
Sugar Cane Alley (1983)
A Dry White Season (1989)
"Hassane" from How Are the Kids? (1990)
Siméon (1992)
Aimé Césaire: A Voice for History (1994)
Ruby Bridges (1998)
The Killing Yard (2001)

For more on Euzhan Palcy:
Official Website of Euzhan Palcy
Profile on Martinique.org

Michelle Parkerson (United States)

Michelle Parkerson is from Washington, D.C. and is currently an assistant professor at Temple University in the department of film and media arts. Parkerson's pioneering work as a writer, filmmaker, performance artist, and scholar has been widely acclaimed. Her films have appeared on PBS, BET, and the Learning Channel and have been shown at festivals around the world.

Filmography:
Sojourn (1973)
But Then She's Betty Carter (1980)
Storme: Lady of the Jewel Box (1991)
A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde (1995)
14th Street Freestyle: "68-2-98" (1998) [producer]

For more on Michelle Parkerson:
Biography on FemmeNoir
Video of speech at University of Maryland

Monique Mbeka Phoba (Congo)

Monique Mbeka Phoba was born in Congo and currently lives in France. Monique has a degree in economic and international studies from Hec Saint Louis in Belgium and has worked as a journalist for radio and newspapers. The areas she specializes in include cultural, social, and historical issues concerning Africa.

Filmography:
Revue en Vrac (1991)
Rentrer? (1993)
Deux petits tours et puis s'en vont... (1997)
Un rêve d'indépendance (1998)
Anna from Benin (2000)
A Bewitched Life! (2004)

For more on Monique Mbeka Phoba:
Biographical information in the Contemporary African Database
Biographical and film information by Women Make Movies

More Feature Presentations:

• William Greaves (January/February 2003)
• Oscar Micheaux (March/April 2003)
• Camille Billops (Summer/Fall 2003)
• African American Oscar Winners (February 2004)
• Race Movies (Fall 2005 - Spring 2006)