FESPACO 2023

FESPACO 2023 is the 28th edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou. It took place from 25 February to 4 March 2023 in Ouagadougou. The theme of the edition was “African Cinema and Culture of Peace".

It was initially announced that the guest country of honour was Togo, but during the installation ceremony of the members of the National Organizing Committee, Fidèle Tamini, the secretary general of the Ministry of Culture, announced that “in view of challenges of the moment, there is no better partner than Mali to be the guest country of honour."

A total of 170 films were selected from about 1200 submissions to compete in 11 categories.

Preparation
The general delegate Alex Moussa Sawadogo, unveiled the official selection during a press conference in Ouagadougou on 13 January 2023. He announced that the estimated budget for the 2023 edition was approximately 2 billion CFA francs.

The selection committee was made up of African cinema professionals including:


 * Pedro Pimenta - Mozambican producer
 * Lina Chabanne - Tunisian producer
 * Guy Désiré Yaméogo - Burkinabé producer
 * Laza Razanajatovo - Malagasy filmmaker
 * Claire Diao - Burkinabé film critic and distributor
 * Farah Clémentine Dramani-Issoufou - Beninois programmer and researcher
 * Enoka Julien Ayemba - Cameroonian film researcher and critic
 * Hawa Essuman - Kenyan director

The Yennenga Workshops aiming to support fims in the post-production phase and to promote the immersion of aspiring cinema professional swas launched. The Yennenga Post-production jury was chaired by South African director and producer Tiny Mungwe.

As part of the Yennenga workshops, FESPACO launched the first edition of the French-speaking Africa Coproduction Market called “Yennenga Coproduction”, dedicated to feature-length fiction film projects seeking partners, particularly financial ones, with fifteen directors or producers established in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa. 17 feature film fiction projects were selected. The 2023 edition of the Yennenga Academy was supported by Nigerien filmmaker, Aïcha Macky.

On 15 September, the United States Embassy donated computers, screens and printers to FESPACO worth more than 16 million CFA francs.

On 15 February, 2023, the Burkinabè National Lottery (LONAB) offered 50 million to FESPACO for the organization of the 28th edition.

Context
Preparations for the 28th FESPACO were marred by security concerns. The organizing committee however assured the attending public that security measures were put in place to ensure a "secure FESPACO". The announcement to maintain the 28th edition on the planned date was made on December 1, 2022, a decision taken by the President of the Transition “who notes significant progress in the preparations”.

The Official Poster
This poster designed by El Marto represents the legendary figure of Sarraounia to illustrate the theme “African Cinema and Culture of Peace”. Sarraounia means queen in Hausa. This name was given to an Amazon, political and religious leader of the village of Lougou in Niger, who opposed the Voulet-Chanoine mission. She is the subject of the 1986 film Sarraounia based on the novel of the same name by Nigerien writer Abdoulaye Mamani. The film won the Etalon de Yennenga in 1987.

According to the FESPACO communication, the poster is “a symbol of African pride, resistance, and resilience” which “emphasizes a fighter with her warrior attributes at a time when we must highlight the Forces of Defense and Security and the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland, to salute their sacrifice, their courage and their patriotic commitment”.

Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony took place on Saturday February 25 at the Palais des Sports de Ouaga 2000 with the show I have a dream by choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly. The Burkinabe prime minister, Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla and the Malian prime minister, Choguel Kokalla Maïga jointly gave the traditional opening clap.

During the professional opening in the evening, the film Bravo, Burkina! by Nigerian director and designer Walé Oyéjidé, which reminds us how interconnected the world was screened.

Highlights
Two new statues were inaugurated on avenue Monseigneur Thévenoud from the filmmakers' square in front of the central town hall depicting the Malian filmmaker Cheick Oumar Sissoko  and the Nigerien filmmaker Oumarou Ganda.

A bust of Ousmane Sembène was unveiled in front of the FESPACO headquarters on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of his birth. His bust joins that of another Senegalese director, Paulin Soumanou Vieyra which was installed in 2017.

A week before the festival, free open-air sessions were organized for those displaced by terrorism in the town of Kaya, as well as during FESPACO in the districts of Bassinko, Pissy, Dassasgho and on the Place de la Nation in the city center. After FESPACO, the traditional mini-FESPACO was held in Bobo-Dioulasso. This was followed by another edition from March 15 to 25 in Banfora with the theme of the role of internally displaced persons in the management of the security crisis.

Juries
The juries were composed of African cinema personalities thus:


 * Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha chaired the Feature Film Jury, made up of Abdoulaye Konaté, Michèle Rakotoson, Licínio Azevedo, Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, Odile Sankara and Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese.
 * South African producer Steven Markovitz chaired the Feature Documentary jury, made up of Dieudo Hamadi, Christophe Konkobo, Hicham Falah, N'Goné Fall, Jessica and Kidi Aïcha Macky.
 * Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan chairs the Perspectives jury, made up of Rabih El-Khoury, Wendy Bashi, Karim Aïtouna and Issiaka Konaté.
 * Former FESPACO general delegate Ardjouma Soma chaired the jury of the Burkina section, made up of Dr Dorothée Dognon, Pocas Pascoal, Fargass Assandé and Aboubacar Demba Cissokho.
 * Cameroonian director Françoise Ellong-Gomez chaired the FESPACO shorts jury, made up of Boureima Salouka, Souleymane Kebe, Hirst Shebat and Glasgow-Maeda Neigeme.
 * Ivorian-Guadeloupean producer Gnama Baddy Dega chaired the TV series/animation jury, made up of Toumani Sangaré, Daniel Atchali, Séraphine Angoula and Kandy Guira.
 * Cape Verdean producer Pedro Soulé chaired the film school film jury, made up of Raymond M. Tiendrebeogo, Jacqueline Murekeyisoni, Sitou Ayité and Andrey Diarra.

Masterclass, Forum debates and round tables
Masterclasses were organized with:


 * Souleymane Cissé and Gaston Kaboré for fiction
 * Jean-Marie Teno and Michel K. Zongo for documentary
 * Dora Bouchoucha and Steven Markovitz for production
 * Samantha Biffot and Fatou Kandé Senghor for TV series
 * Maurice H. Ouedraogo, Martine Somé and Pathé Ouedraogo for costume design

Every morning at the professional space, debate forums allowed the audience and festival participants to meet filmmakers and discuss their films.

Roundtable discussions covered the following themes:


 * Scriptwriting, adaptation and novelization: How to pool resources and skills to support literature, cinema, and audiovisuals in Africa?
 * The presence of the Diaspora at FESPACO: A historical and critical reflection.
 * FESPACO in the Diaspora: Connections with international festivals and proposals for an integrated future.
 * On the occasion of the centenary of Sembène Ousmane's birth, for a critical approach to his work (African Federation of Film Critics).
 * Sankofa Challenge - The Movie.
 * FEPACI on film restoration.
 * South-South and global co-productions.
 * Film markets in Africa and beyond - what opportunities for creators?

Feature fiction films
Fifteen films from thirteen countries competed for the Yennenga Gold Standard. Eight were made by women.

Official selection
The prices on the official list represent a total of 108 million CFA francs.

Fiction short films (Fespaco shorts 1)
Endowed and sponsored by the International Organization of La Francophonie.

Special prize list
The special prizes were awarded on Friday March 3, 2023, the day before closing. 106 milion CFA francs were awarded in prizes.