Cinema of Benin
The Cinema of Benin refers to the film industry of the Republic of Benin in West Africa.
History
[edit]Sources differ as to the which was the first Beninese film, with some pointing to the short Lumière des hommes (1954, director unknown),[1] with others pointing to the work of Pascal Abikanlou, who made a number of documentaries in the 1960s, followed by his first feature film Sous le signe du vaudou in 1974.[2][3] Richard De Medeiros was another noted director of the early independence years, beginning with 1970's Le roi est mort en exil, an examination of Béhanzin, the last king of Dahomey.[4] He went on to make the feature-length Le nouveau venu (1972), which explored the issue of corruption and the conflict between modernity and tradition in Benin.[5] François Okioh made a number of short documentaries in the 1980s, as well as the feature-length dramas Ironou (1985) and Enfants de... (1985).[6] Noted filmmakers of the last two decades are Jean Odoutan (Barbecue Pejo, 2000; Pim-Pim Tché, 2010), Idrissou Mora Kpai (Si-Gueriki, la reine-mère, 2002) and Sylvestre Amoussou (Africa Paradis, 2006).
List of Beninese films
[edit]This is a sortable list of films produced in Benin.[7][1][8][4][6]
| Year | Title | Director | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Lumière des hommes | ? | Short | English title: Light of Men |
| 1967 | Ganvié, mon village | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary, short | English title: Ganvié, My Village |
| 1968 | Escale au Dahomey | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary, short | English title: Stopover in Dahomey |
| 1969 | Premières offrandes | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary, short | English title: First Offerings |
| 1969 | Fête de l'igname | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary, short | English title: Yam Festival |
| 1970 | Le roi est mort en exil | Richard de Medeiros | Drama, short | English title: The King Died in Exile |
| 1971 | Opération Sonader | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary, short | English title: Operation Sonader |
| 1971 | De l'eau et de l'ombrage | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary, short | English title: Water and Shade |
| 1972 | Téké, hymne au Borgou | Richard de Medeiros | Documentary, short | English title: Téké, Hymn of Borgou |
| 1972 | Silence et feu de brousse | Richard de Medeiros | Drama, short | English title: Silence and Bushfire |
| 1974 | Sous le signe du vaudou | Pascal Abikanlou | Drama | English title: Under the Sign of Voodoo |
| 1975 | L'Afrique au Rendez-vous de l'Année Sainte | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary short | English title: Africa at the Rendezvous of the New Year |
| 1976 | Le Nouveau venu | Richard De Medeiros | Drama | English title: The Newcomer |
| 1980 | Ces Collines ne sont pas muettes | François Okioh | Documentary, short | English title: These Hills are not Silent |
| 1982 | Le Fleuve a tout emporté | François Okioh | Documentary, short | English title: The River Swept Everything |
| 1983 | Ogu | François Okioh | Documentary, short | |
| 1985 | Enfants de... | François Okioh | Drama | English title: Infants of... |
| 1985 | Ironou | François Okioh | Drama | |
| 1989 | Dan xome royaume des Huegbadjavi | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary | English title: Dan Xome, Kingdom of Huegbadjavi |
| 1991 | Debout les morts | ? | Television production | English title: Up the Dead |
| 1991 | Les Tresseurs de Corde | François Okioh | Drama | English title: The Mat Cutters |
| 1992 | Vent de l'espoir | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary | English title: Wind of Hope |
| 1993 | Ouidah 92 | Pascal Abikanlou | Documentary | |
| 1998 | Divine carcasse | Dominique Loreau | Drama | English title: Divine Carcass |
| 1999 | Génération perdue | M. Pounie | English title: Lost Generation | |
| 2000 | Barbecue-Pejo | Jean Odoutan | Drama | |
| 2000 | Le Pays Idaasha | François Okioh | Drama | English title: Dassa Country |
| 2002 | Si-Gueriki, la reine-mère | Idrissou Mora Kpai | Drama | English title: Si-Gueriki, the Queen Mother |
| 2004 | La Valse des gros derrières | Jean Odoutan | English: The Waltz of the Big Behinds | |
| 2006 | Abeni | Tunde Kelani | Drama | Benin-Nigeria co-production |
| 2006 | Africa Paradis | Sylvestre Amoussou | Drama/comedy | English title: Africa Paradise |
| 2006 | Abeni 2 | Tunde Kelani | Drama | Benin-Nigeria co-production |
| 2006 | Crânes épais... lèvres fausses | François Okioh | Documentary, short | English title: Thick Skulls... False Lips |
| 2007 | L'Amazone candidate | Sanvi Panou | Documentary | English title: The Amazon Candidate |
| 2010 | Pim-Pim Tché | Jean Odoutan | Drama | |
| 2010 | Shed No Tears | Kaitlyn Summerill | Documentary | |
| 2011 | Un pas en avant - Les dessous de la corruption | Sylvestre Amoussou | Comedy | English title: One Step Forward - The Bottom of Corruption |
| 2011 | Indochine, sur les traces d'une mère | Idrissou Mora Kpai | Documentary | English title: Indochina: Traces of a Mother |
| 2011 | Femme d'Afrique | Milja Viita | Documentary short | English title: Woman of Africa |
| 2011 | Larmes de sang | Laitan Faranpojo & Mark Koumagnon | English title: Tears of Blood | |
| 2012 | La personne de Georges Adéagbo | Matteo Fritelli | Documentary | English title: The Person of Georges Adéagbo |
| 2012 | Possessed by Voodoo | Sergey Yastrzhembskiy | Documentary | |
| 2012 | The Camp | Jean-Frédéric de Hasque | Documentary | |
| 2014 | Dreamcycles | Nelson Roubert | Documentary | |
| 2015 | Gangbé! | Arnauld Robert | Documentary | |
| 2016 | Vindicte | Ange-Régis Hounkpatin | Drama, short | English title: Retribution |
| 2016 | Bight of the Twin | Hazel Hill McCarthy III | Documentary | |
| 2016 | Dassa-Zoume | Christophe Blanpied | Documentary, short | |
| 2017 | L'orage africain: un continent sous influence | Sylvestre Amoussou | Drama | English title: The African Storm |
| 2017 | Studio Harmattan | Stefanos Pavlakis | Experimental short | |
| 2018 | In Search of Voodoo: Roots of Heaven | Djimon Hounsou | Documentary | |
| 2018 | ZanKlan | Arcade Assogba | Drama, short | |
| 2018 | When God is Among Us | Aidan Macaluso | Documentary, short |
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Houngnikpo, Mathurin C.; Decalo, Samuel (2013). Historical Dictionary of Benin (Fourth ed.). Lanham: The Scarecrow Press. pp. 164–65. ISBN 978-0-8108-7171-7.
- ^ Blaise Ahouansè (13 January 2013), Hommage à Pascal Abikanlou, le précurseur du cinéma béninois, La Nouvelle Tribune, archived from the original on 18 January 2020, retrieved 7 December 2019
- ^ Pascal Abikanlou, Africine, retrieved 7 December 2019
- ^ a b Richard de Medeiros, Africine, retrieved 7 December 2019
- ^ Le Nouveau Venu, Africine, retrieved 7 December 2019
- ^ a b François Okioh, Africine, retrieved 7 December 2019
- ^ IMDb - Benin, 6 December 2019
- ^ Various (2000) Les cinémas d'Afrique: Dictionnaire, Editions Karthala, p. 18
External links
[edit]- Benin film Archived 2005-05-04 at the Wayback Machine at the Internet Movie Database
