Explore Archives at IU, in the US, in Europe, and in Senegal
We will lead the exploration of the IU collections on Early African Cinemas (mainly Ousmane Sembène’s archives, held at the Lilly Library, and the Paulin S. Vieyra archives, held at the Black Film Center & Archive [BFCA, open for consultation in Spring 2025]). We will pursue similar data collection at governmental/corporate/private archives (Senegal, France, Russia, USA), where records on film co-production are available to scholars in order to stress updated perspectives on African Film studies.
Experiment with AVAnnotate (IU Libraries Moving Image Archive, Summer 2024)
AVAnnotate is a platform for sharing annotations on audio-visual artifacts (created by Dr. Tanya Clement of the University of Texas Austin): the tool allows researchers to add annotations that link directly to certain moments in film or audio files. During the summer of 2024, we are planning to work on Early African Films, such as C’était il y a quatre ans (Vieyra, 1953), Afrique sur Seine (Vieyra, 1955), Une nation est née (Vieyra, 1961), Niaye (Sembène, 1964), Borom Sarret (Sembène, 1962), or La noire de… (Sembène, 1966), within the framework of this project, and we will use this innovative tool to articulate specific notions on Early African Cinemas developed by the PI in an interactive, accessible way.Organize an Archival Collections Workshop: The Collections of Sembène & Vieyra (May-June 2025)
This 10-day workshop will offer researchers from around the globe the opportunity to explore the Indiana University’s collections on Early African Cinemas. This academic gathering will consist of archival research in Bloomington conducted by specialists of Early African Cinemas and junior scholars. Days will be dedicated to exploring IU’s rich archives. In the evenings, researchers will present and discuss their discoveries, and we will screen and hold conversations about African films on campus. This workshop will also be an occasion to engage IU undergraduate and graduate students in primary and highly specialized academic research.
Future Projects
We are also seeking to begin additional, related projects in collaboration with scholars interested in becoming lab affiliates.
Publish a Collective Volume
The collective, archival research work during the workshop will result in a Collective Volume published by a major university press, provisionally titled Histories from the New Archives. Collaborating with Prof. Rachel Gabara (U. of Georgia) & Prof. Amadou Ouédraogo (U.L. Lafayette), we will publish a volume of chapters based around discoveries from these archives, with the goal of fostering a more accurate understanding of the history of African cinemas at their early stage (1950s-1970s).
Edit Two Critical Editions of Vieyra's Two Books on African Cinema
With special authorization from Stéphane Vieyra, the author’s son and legal heir, we will work with experts in the field to edit a critical edition of Sembène Ousmane Cinéaste, first published in 1972, and Le cinéma africain des origines à 1973, first published in 1975, using recent discoveries on Early African Cinemas and untapped documents from the Vieyra archives.
Book Project
PI Professor Vincent Bouchard has started a new book project under the working title Cinema in the Early Years of Independence in West Africa: Impact of Audio-Visual Images on the Emergence and Spread of Postcolonial Ideologies (1955-1981), partially based on archives held in France. The project’s objective is to identify (1) the relationship between postcolonial ideals and actual film aesthetics during a time of underfunded institutions; (2) the struggle between the need for nations and filmmakers to detach themselves from former colonial powers and the reliance on European nations for cinematic resources; and (3) the different forms of reception of the diverse films created and by diverse audiences, including urban and western-educated elites, general urban populations, and rural communities.
This book will, in turn, benefit from the breadth of research gathered through this cluster of projects, i.e. the detailed exploration of IU’s archives, the analyses in the other deliverables, and collaboration with other specialists of the field. It is also topical and will provide accurate data for current political discussions in civil societies in Africa, in Europe, and in North America.
English-Language Volume Publication
Provisionally titled Paulin Soumanou Vieyra: African Filmmaker, Critic, Historian, this volume will cover some of the first English translations of Vieyra’s key texts, framed by commentaries that introduce this pioneer of Early African Cinemas to a wider audience. By making available the central and most engaging portions of the filmmaker’s writings, the book will bring Vieyra to his rightful prominence on a global scale, beyond France and West Africa and beyond academic publication venues, accessible to students and to a growing general public interested in the foundational intellectual figures of the post-colonial era.