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African Cinema Set to Shine at Berlin Film Festival, but Continent’s Moviemakers Insist ‘There’s Always Room for More’
With three films in competition and a jury headed by Lupita Nyong'o, African cinema is front and center in Berlin, but there's still room to grow.
This year marks an auspicious Berlinale for filmmakers from the continent, with veteran Mauritanian-Malian auteur Abderrahmane Sissako’s “Black Tea” and French-Senegalese director Mati Diop’s “Dahomey” both bowing in the main competition, alongside Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias’s “Pepe,” a co-production between the Dominican Republic, Namibia and Germany. The jury, meanwhile, is headed by actor Lupita Nyong’o, who was raised in Kenya and whose ascent to A-list status in Hollywood is a source of pride and inspiration for many up-and-coming African talents. “In order to tell our story properly, three-dimensional, with an impact…we need to be in power positions at every step of the process,” said Tyron Ricketts, one of Germany’s most successful Black actors, who produced the series “Sam — a Saxon” for Disney Plus through his Panthertainment label.
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