Are there regional styles of filmmaking within the African Continent?
MR: The personality of the European colonialists and their associated cultures tends to come through in the filmmaking practices of each region. Of course the indigenous cultures tend to prevail in the aesthetic aspects of African film. But these factors and those of the colonial are all layered like an onion; you have to peel each layer away. West African francophone films tend to have narrative styles that emphasizes lyrical qualities that are found in French and American films. Then you have the anglophone African films. Since the British have a strong documentary tradition many of the early anglophone African films were rural documentaries, although this has changed and countries like Nigeria produce popular fiction films that make use of their indigenous street theater tradition. Films from the former Portuguese colonies often center on political conflict and this results from the fact that they waged a bloody war to gain their independence from Portugal. Films from Mozambique, Gu
