African film directors eye digital revolution

While growing numbers of African filmmakers are switching to cheaper and easier to use digital cameras, the continent's biggest film festival still insists on the classic 35mm format.

This poses a problem for many African filmmakers who say the digital camera is a chance to boost film production on the continent as many ideas and projects now languish in limbo waiting for financing.

"A feature filmed in 35 millimetre is a lot more expensive and time consuming," Ivorian director Lancine Fadika Kramo, who won the Pan-African Film and Television Festival (FESPACO) grand prize in 1981 for his film "Djeli", told AFP.

"First you need to order film in Europe and send the rushes back to be developed to see if filming went off without problems.

"After that, you have 40 to 50 kilos of film to transport. All of that adds to the cost of 35 millimetres. With digital cameras everything can be done on the spot."

Some filmmakers calculate that it is about ten times more expensive to film on 35 millimetre than with digital cameras.

"I didn't need to turn to Western donors to finance my films. I could get the money I needed here in Burkina," thanks to the cheaper digital technology, Boubacar Diallo, whose movie "Coeur de Lion" (Lionheart) is in the race for FESPACO's Golden Stallion of Yennenga award.

"Coeur de Lion" was shot in high definition on digital cameras but transferred to 35 millimetre film so it could be entered in FESPACO, which runs until March 7.

"Digital filming is a cost-cutting device for us," said Senegalese director El Hadji Samba Sarr.

"The language of film translates just as well on digital film as it does on 35 millimetre, so the problems people see are not real."

He was unable to get money together to get a feature-length film transferred to 35 millimetre and is now only competing in the short film category which allowes digital films.

Many other films in the main competition were shot in digital format and transferred to the analogue format, including the opening film from Cameroon "Mah Saah-sah" (Bamoun Love), "Le Fauteuil" (The Chair) by Burkinabe Missa Hebie and "Les feux de Mansare" (The Lights of Mansare) by Senegalese director Mansour Sora Wade.

Despite the growing demand from directors, the FESPACO organisers are still refusing to allow films in the digital format to compete for the Golden Stallion of Yennenga.

"Every festival has rules for the competition and at FESPACO we do not reject digital cinema. It is allowed for short features and in our competition for television and video films," said Ardiouma Soma, who heads the festival's programming commission.

"It is true that digital is more practical -- you can see directly what you're filming," said Malian Ladji Diakite, who directed "Fantan Fanga".

"But on the other hand what you gain in filming you lose when you have to change it to make sure it's suitable for cinemas.

"Some digital cameras take 25 images per second which have to be cut to 24 images per second for film."

"This is an outdated vision," fumed Senegalese filmmaker Sarr. "They will allow it some day -- we are poor and film is expensive.

"African governments have no way of helping us produce expensive films. They should not be imposing these costly standards at FESPACO."

FESPACO will feature some 300 films shown in 13 screening halls dotted around Ouagadougou.