It was initially announced that the guest country of honour was Togo,[2] but during the installation ceremony of the members of the National Organizing Committee, Fidèle Tamini, the secretary general of the Ministry of Culture, announced that “in view of challenges of the moment, there is no better partner than Mali to be the guest country of honour."[3]
A total of 170 films were selected from about 1200 submissions to compete in 11 categories.[4]
Progress
Preparation
The general delegate Alex Moussa Sawadogo, unveiled the official selection during a press conference in Ouagadougou on 13 January 2023. He announced that the estimated budget for the 2023 edition was approximately 2 billion CFA francs.[5]
The selection committee was made up of African cinema professionals including:
The Yennenga Workshops aiming to support fims in the post-production phase and to promote the immersion of aspiring cinema professional swas launched. The Yennenga Post-production jury was chaired by South African director and producer Tiny Mungwe.[6]
As part of the Yennenga workshops, FESPACO launched the first edition of the French-speaking Africa Coproduction Market called “Yennenga Coproduction”, dedicated to feature-length fiction film projects seeking partners, particularly financial ones, with fifteen directors or producers established in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa. 17 feature film fiction projects were selected.[7] The 2023 edition of the Yennenga Academy was supported by Nigerien filmmaker, Aïcha Macky.[8]
On 15 September, the United States Embassy donated computers, screens and printers to FESPACO worth more than 16 million CFA francs.[9]
On 15 February, 2023, the Burkinabè National Lottery (LONAB) offered 50 million to FESPACO for the organization of the 28th edition.[10]
Context
Preparations for the 28th FESPACO were marred by security concerns. The organizing committee however assured the attending public that security measures were put in place to ensure a "secure FESPACO".[4] The announcement to maintain the 28th edition on the planned date was made on December 1, 2022, a decision taken by the President of the Transition “who notes significant progress in the preparations”.[4]
The Official Poster
This poster designed by El Marto represents the legendary figure of Sarraounia to illustrate the theme “African Cinema and Culture of Peace”. Sarraounia means queen in Hausa. This name was given to an Amazon, political and religious leader of the village of Lougou in Niger, who opposed the Voulet-Chanoine mission. She is the subject of the 1986 film Sarraounia based on the novel of the same name by Nigerien writer Abdoulaye Mamani.[11] The film won the Etalon de Yennenga in 1987.
According to the FESPACO communication, the poster is “a symbol of African pride, resistance, and resilience” which “emphasizes a fighter with her warrior attributes at a time when we must highlight the Forces of Defense and Security and the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland, to salute their sacrifice, their courage and their patriotic commitment”.[12]
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony took place on Saturday February 25 at the Palais des Sports de Ouaga 2000 with the show I have a dream by choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly. The Burkinabe prime minister, Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla and the Malian prime minister, Choguel Kokalla Maïga jointly gave the traditional opening clap.[13]
During the professional opening in the evening, the film Bravo, Burkina! by Nigerian director and designer Walé Oyéjidé, which reminds us how interconnected the world was screened. [14][15]
Highlights
Two new statues were inaugurated on avenue Monseigneur Thévenoud from the filmmakers' square in front of the central town hall depicting the Malian filmmaker Cheick Oumar Sissoko and the Nigerien filmmaker Oumarou Ganda.[16]
A bust of Ousmane Sembène was unveiled in front of the FESPACO headquarters on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of his birth. His bust joins that of another Senegalese director, Paulin Soumanou Vieyra which was installed in 2017.[17]
A week before the festival, free open-air sessions were organized for those displaced by terrorism in the town of Kaya, as well as during FESPACO in the districts of Bassinko, Pissy, Dassasgho and on the Place de la Nation in the city center. After FESPACO, the traditional mini-FESPACO was held in Bobo-Dioulasso.[18] This was followed by another edition from March 15 to 25 in Banfora with the theme of the role of internally displaced persons in the management of the security crisis.[19]
Juries
The juries were composed of African cinema personalities thus:
South African producer Steven Markovitz chaired the Feature Documentary jury, made up of Dieudo Hamadi, Christophe Konkobo, Hicham Falah, N'Goné Fall, Jessica and Kidi Aïcha Macky.
Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan chairs the Perspectives jury, made up of Rabih El-Khoury, Wendy Bashi, Karim Aïtouna and Issiaka Konaté.
Former FESPACO general delegate Ardjouma Soma chaired the jury of the Burkina section, made up of Dr Dorothée Dognon, Pocas Pascoal, Fargass Assandé and Aboubacar Demba Cissokho.
Cameroonian director Françoise Ellong-Gomez chaired the FESPACO shorts jury, made up of Boureima Salouka, Souleymane Kebe, Hirst Shebat and Glasgow-Maeda Neigeme.
Ivorian-Guadeloupean producer Gnama Baddy Dega chaired the TV series/animation jury, made up of Toumani Sangaré, Daniel Atchali, Séraphine Angoula and Kandy Guira.
Cape Verdean producer Pedro Soulé chaired the film school film jury, made up of Raymond M. Tiendrebeogo, Jacqueline Murekeyisoni, Sitou Ayité and Andrey Diarra.
A doll's house in memory of men and their dreams of ashes buried under the gaze of midnight while the gentle bars of the animal maze open the true master of the cage and the lies of the fold
Andriaminosoa Hary Joël Rakotovelo
Madagascar
20
Agwe
Samuel Suffren
Haiti
17
Astel
Ramata-Toulaye Sy
Senegal
24
Double I
Lauren Providencia Sanou
Burkina Faso
16
On the way
Leslie To
Burkina Faso
09
Mundele game / Game of chance
Khadafi Mbuyamba
Democratic Republic of Congo
30
Spring days
Imad Badi
Morocco
18
Khadiga
Morad Mostafa
Egypt
20
The Messenger of God
Amina Abdoulaye Mamani
Niger
23
Sunday Morning ( Manhã de Domingo )
Bruno Ribeiro
Brazil
25
Mulika
Maisha Maene
Democratic Republic of Congo
14
Patriots
Laurentine Bayala
Burkina Faso
15
Weave of Tenderness
Ouijdane Khallid
Morocco
24
Mother Earth (Terra Mater)
Kantarama Gahigiri
Rwanda
10
Tsutsu
Amartei Armar
Ghana
15
Twin Lakes Haven
Philbert Aimé Mbabazi Sharangabo
Rwanda
24
Uje
Jean-Luc Mitana
Rwanda
19
Will My Parents Come to See Me? ( Are my parents going to come see me? )
Endowed and sponsored by the International Organization of La Francophonie.
Price
Winner
Country
Golden foal (5 M CFA francs)
Will My Parents Come to See Me by Mo Harawe
Somalia
Silver foal (3 M CFA francs)
A Doll House in the Memory of the Men and Their Dreams of Ash Buried Under the Sight of Midnight for the Sweet Rods of the Sweet Rods of the Warren Farm Cover the True Lord of the Cage and the Lullabies by Andriaminosoa Hary and Joël Rakotovelo
Madagascar
Bronze foal (2 M FCFA)
Tsutsue by Armatei Armar
Ghana
Special mention
The Messenger of God by Amina Abdoulaye Mamani
Niger
Special mention
Mother Earth by Kantarama Gahigiri
Rwanda
Documentary short films (Fespaco shorts 2)
Prize
Winner
Country
Golden foal (5 M CFA francs)
Blind spot by Lotfi Achour
Tunisia
Silver foal (3 M CFA francs)
Katanga Nation by Beza Hailu Lemma
Ethiopia
Bronze foal (2 M FCFA)
Kelasi by Fransix Tenda Lomba
Democratic Republic of Congo
Perspectives Section
Prize
Winner
Country
Oumarou Ganda Prize for best first work or second work of feature-length fiction film (2 M CFA francs)
Soula by Salah Isaad
Algeria
Paul Robeson Prize for best first work or second work of feature-length documentary film (2 M CFA francs)
^Diallo, Tma (27 February 2023). "Cérémonie de libation : une tradition respectée, deux statues dévoilée". Fespaco news n°02. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
