The Berlin International Film Festival landed in Africa with the Berlinale Spotlight, a special event with a main dish of film screenings that took place in Accra, Ghana, from November 13 to 17.
The event marked the festival’s first foray onto the African continent, with a curated selection of films programmed by Berlinale selection committee member Jacqueline Nsiah.
The lineup included eight critically acclaimed films, including Golden Bear winner Dahomey by Mati Diop, Who Do I Belong To by Meryam Joobeur, Disco Afrika: A Malagasy Story by Luck Razanajaona, Black Tea by Abderrahmane Sissako, The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder by Inadelso Cossa, Letter from My Village by Safi Faye, and Certain Winds from the South by Eric Gyamfi.
Timbuktu and Bamako, both directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, were also presented.
According to the Berlinale’s instagram post announcing the development, the aim of the Berlinale Spotlight in Accra “is to provide Ghanaians with the opportunity to watch films that usually do not get a run in their local cinemas, despite being some of the finest examples of contemporary African cinema”. Three panel discussions exploring themes reflected in the films were also hosted at the programme, which was held in partnership with GIZ, Goethe-Institute, UniMac-IFT, and GAFTA.
Admissions were free of charge for the entire programme.
Established in 1951, the Berlin International Film Festival, commonly known as the Berlinale, is an annual film event held in Berlin, Germany. It is one of Europe’s “Big Three” film festivals, alongside the showpiece film events in Venice and Cannes.
The Berlinale showcases about 400 films across multiple venues in Berlin annually. About 20 of those films compete for the festival’s top awards, the most prestigious of which are the Golden Bear and the Silver Bear.
