This twenty-eighth edition once again brings the colours of the kaleidoscopic zebra which for the third time guides us to discover the modernity of the three continents. Thanks to the 3.0 revolution, an era of great changes is starting which also brings dynamism to the cultural and artistic production. In Africa we can even talk of high tech liberation, if we think of the strong drive thanks to the recent arrival of high speed Internet has given.
With the new format AfricaTalks, which will be an annual appointment, we want, together with the Fondazione Edu,to look at the changes in the continent in further depth. This year the round table, which has the title of our claim, WWW! What a Wonderful World. How the new technologies are changing Africa aims to make a further contribution to tear down the curtains of the clichés where Africa is always a primitive and backward continent. We want to think that this is a real turning point for the future. The curators of Palazzo Litta Cultura, with whom we have collaborated on producing the exhibition AfricaAfrica – Exploring the NOW of African design and photography, are on the same frequency and went to look for artists who, with an original approach, return the image of a dynamic and innovative reality.
The exhibitions and the round table complete the heart of the festival which remains cinema-oriented and always focusing on the new talents that come from the cinemas of the three continents.
In the films, current affairs, questions of identity and space, migrations and conflicts are again the main source of inspiration for our directors. However, it is the language that is changing. In our selection, more than 50 films chosen out of the 600 films received, we are giving a voice to young directors who have surprised us thanks to the expression of an independent cinema which does not give in to compromises and interferences, but is expressed with freedom and imagination. Their original voices, the acute visions of reality, the sincere and passionate approaches by the authors on their countries, are the best ingredient to overturn the clichés of mass-produced images.
A selection of a very high level, with the regret of having had to leave out many good films due to problems of space and budget.
Lastly, we could not fail to dedicate a tribute to Idrissa Ouédraogo, whose untimely death last February leaves an enormous void not only in African cinema but in world cinema as well. He was the first to bring to Europe non-stereotyped images of a deeply loved Africa which he related passing through all the genres of the cinema with the desire to experiment and with the skill of a universal language.
We would like to dedicate this 28th edition to him, grateful for the stories and images that he offered us.
Annamaria Gallone and Alessandra Speciale
Artistic Directors
