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]

* Africa portal
* Film portal
* Lists portal

* Culture of Benin
* List of African films

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 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.
2. ^ 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
3. ^ Pascal Abikanlou, Africine, retrieved 7 December 2019
4. ^ a b Richard de Medeiros, Africine, retrieved 7 December 2019
5. ^ Le Nouveau Venu, Africine, retrieved 7 December 2019
6. ^ a b François Okioh, Africine, retrieved 7 December 2019
7. ^ IMDb - Benin, 6 December 2019
8. ^ Various (2000) Les cinémas d'Afrique: Dictionnaire, Editions Karthala, p. 18

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[edit]

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