{"id":20881,"date":"2026-06-24T09:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/?p=20881"},"modified":"2026-06-24T09:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:13:13","slug":"african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/","title":{"rendered":"African Cinema, Memory, and the Work of Preservation"},"content":{"rendered":"

For\u00a0Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo,<\/a>\u00a0cinema is an archive of humanity that shapes how people, cultures, and nations understand themselves.<\/p>\n

His research interests include African and Afro-diasporic cinemas, documentary film theory, history and form, transnational and world cinemas, film preservation and restoration, colonial cinema, early and silent cinema, and film festival studies.<\/p>\n

Much of African cinema\u2019s history remains unknown or undocumented, and the films most often studied today are
\nthose screened at festivals, distributed internationally, or circulated beyond their countries of origin.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an immense ocean of films that never circulated and never left their own country, that were never seen beyond maybe one or two screenings. Some were never screened at all.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThat must be accounted for properly in order to be able to really have a grasp of the further longevity of African
\nfilm history, the complexity of African history, and the interrelationship between different national contexts,\u201d says
\nSanogo.<\/p>\n

Recovering and preserving this unseen history has become the driving force of Sanogo\u2019s work over the past decade.
\nThat commitment led to the\u00a0African Film Heritage Project<\/a>\u00a0(AFHP), the initiative for which he is now internationally
\nknown.<\/p>\n

He says the AFHP was created in large part for African filmmakers and the larger African film community. Sanogo says many legacy creators in African cinema are insufficiently known in Africa itself. His hope is that African
\nfilmmakers can be inspired by creative projects in their own neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words,\u201d Sanogo describes, \u201cwe have not yet succeeded in vanquishing the coloniality of film distribution
\nand exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across Africa, the preservation of cinematic heritage is undermined by a convergence of structural, financial, and political obstacles. Many countries lack dedicated film archives, stable funding for cinema, and adequate restoration facilities, placing existing collections at constant risk.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo with Martin Scorsese (The Film Foundation) and Irina Bokova (UNESCO) at the signing of the African Film Heritage Project partnership agreement in 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur projection is thus one of repatriating the African cinematic heritage in view of its reappropriation toward the creation of other African new waves, new movements, and bold cinematic and audiovisual experiments,\u201d says Sanogo.<\/p>\n

The AFHP also strives to expand the domain of cinema to include newsreels, documentaries, experimental and avant-garde works, short films, and even raw footage, so long as the material in question embodies important historical, cultural, and artistic elements.<\/p>\n

Sanogo says the AFHP grew out of his role as North American Regional Secretary of the Pan-African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI), Africa\u2019s leading filmmakers\u2019 organization that was founded in 1970.<\/p>\n

Through this, he launched the FEPACI Archival Project, an initiative devoted to the memory, preservation, and historiography of African cinema from each of the six regions of Africa: West Africa, North Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and the African diaspora.
\nRead more<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For\u00a0Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo,\u00a0cinema is an archive of humanity that shapes how people, cultures, and nations understand themselves. His research interests include African and Afro-diasporic cinemas, documentary film theory, history and form, transnational and world cinemas, film preservation and restoration, colonial cinema, early and silent cinema, and film festival studies. Much of African cinema\u2019s history remains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[80,1,277],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAfrican Cinema, Memory, and the Work of Preservation - Institute of African Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For\u00a0Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo,\u00a0cinema is an archive of humanity that shapes how people, cultures, and nations understand themselves. His research interests\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GabrielHabiyaremye\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/\",\"name\":\"African Cinema, Memory, and the Work of Preservation - Institute of African Studies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T13:09:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-24T13:13:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#\/schema\/person\/08bb0b06150c006d27b0d1d1bc77e7dc\"},\"description\":\"For\u00a0Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo,\u00a0cinema is an archive of humanity that shapes how people, cultures, and nations understand themselves. His research interests\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/category\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"African Cinema, Memory, and the Work of Preservation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/\",\"name\":\"Institute of African Studies\",\"description\":\"Carleton University\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#\/schema\/person\/08bb0b06150c006d27b0d1d1bc77e7dc\",\"name\":\"GabrielHabiyaremye\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/64807b44215bd724c2ff5e37e3507922?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/64807b44215bd724c2ff5e37e3507922?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GabrielHabiyaremye\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"African Cinema, Memory, and the Work of Preservation - Institute of African Studies","description":"For\u00a0Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo,\u00a0cinema is an archive of humanity that shapes how people, cultures, and nations understand themselves. His research interests","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GabrielHabiyaremye","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/","url":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/","name":"African Cinema, Memory, and the Work of Preservation - Institute of African Studies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-24T13:09:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-24T13:13:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#\/schema\/person\/08bb0b06150c006d27b0d1d1bc77e7dc"},"description":"For\u00a0Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo,\u00a0cinema is an archive of humanity that shapes how people, cultures, and nations understand themselves. His research interests","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/category\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"African Cinema, Memory, and the Work of Preservation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#website","url":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/","name":"Institute of African Studies","description":"Carleton University","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#\/schema\/person\/08bb0b06150c006d27b0d1d1bc77e7dc","name":"GabrielHabiyaremye","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/64807b44215bd724c2ff5e37e3507922?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/64807b44215bd724c2ff5e37e3507922?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"GabrielHabiyaremye"}}]}},"acf":{"Post Thumbnail Icon":"","Post Thumbnail":{"ID":20886,"id":20886,"title":"aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681 (1)","filename":"aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180.jpg","filesize":89412,"url":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180.jpg","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/2026\/african-cinema-memory-and-the-work-of-preservation\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1\/","alt":"","author":"55","description":"","caption":"","name":"aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":20881,"date":"2026-06-24 13:12:32","modified":"2026-06-24 13:12:32","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":800,"height":537,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180-160x107.jpg","thumbnail-width":160,"thumbnail-height":107,"medium":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180-240x161.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":161,"medium_large":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180-768x516.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":516,"large":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180-400x269.jpg","large-width":400,"large-height":269,"gallery-thumb":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180-300x230.jpg","gallery-thumb-width":300,"gallery-thumb-height":230,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":537,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":537,"banner":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180.jpg","banner-width":800,"banner-height":537,"people":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180-200x200.jpg","people-width":200,"people-height":200,"post-thumb":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180-300x230.jpg","post-thumb-width":300,"post-thumb-height":230,"rotator-image":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180.jpg","rotator-image-width":800,"rotator-image-height":537,"video-thumb":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180-360x242.jpg","video-thumb-width":360,"video-thumb-height":242,"cms-newsletter-image":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/aboubakar-signing-3-1024x681-1-e1782306779180-200x134.jpg","cms-newsletter-image-width":200,"cms-newsletter-image-height":134}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20881"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20881"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20887,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20881\/revisions\/20887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}