Cinéma Africain: Archiving, Resistance and Freedom, a new anthology celebrating the richness and diversity of African and diasporic storytelling in film, has been released. Edited by Nadia Denton (London) and Sandra Krampelhuber (Linz), the book launched on the occasion of the International Film Festival Cinéma Africain! in Linz, Austria (November 5–8, 2025).
The collection features seven compelling contributions, spanning essays, interviews, critical reflections and personal narratives from renowned voices in African cinema.
Lílis Soares (Brazilian Cinematographer): In “A estética é política—Aesthetics is Political,” Soares explores the creative complexities faced by the Afrodiasporic woman as a cinematographer.
Moussa Sene Absa (Senegalese Film Giant): His piece, ‘Le Cinéma et Moi—Cinema and me,” offers a deeply personal chronicle of how cinema “saved his life,” referencing key personal and cinematic moments.
Aïcha Chloé Boro (Franco-Burkinabe Writer/Director): Estrella Sendra and Laura Feal interview Boro in “In Conversation with Aïcha Chloé Boro: Crafting Freedom Through Intimate Cinema,” revealing her distinct film and gender politics.
Onyeka Igwe (London-based Artist/Researcher): In “Archiving as a Radical Act,” Igwe reflects on her time at the June Givanni Pan-African Cinema Archive and its profound impact on her own creative trajectory.
Simisolaoluwa Akande (Director): Akande contemplates the erasure of queer Africans in “Disordered/Speculative Memory,” citing the process of making their documentary film, The Archive: Queer Nigerians.
The book also includes contributions from Creative Producer Lesedi Oluko Moche, and Curator Nadia Denton detailing the Beyond Nollywood platform’s collaboration with the Surreal16Collective.
The publication was made possible with financial support from LINZimPULS | Linz Kultur and Frauenbüro der Stadt Linz. A complimentary copy is available for download online.
