Africadoc is a network of documentary filmmakers and associations in Africa organized by Ardèche Images and since 2012 by Docmonde. It includes associations in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesSenegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. Some of the associations run workshops in documentary writing and production.

Origins

Africadoc was founded in 2002, initially expanding within French-speaking African countries. Africadoc 2005 was launched in

Saint-Louis, Senegal Saint Louis or Saint-Louis ( wo, Ndar), is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 km north of Senegal's capital city Dakar, it has a population officially ...

at the end of 2004. With support from

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, fourteen young African documentary writers and producers were given coaching and assistance in launching projects in their West and Central African countries. The project included arranging meetings with about sixty partners from European and North and South American television channels, foundations and institutions. According to Rosa Gonzalez of UNESCO, the ultimate aim of the project is "to build the fabric of a creative network of professionals involved in documentary-making, which can become financially sustainable and then cater to the needs of African television channels for local content".

Activities

To promote documentaries, Africadoc Burkina organizes ''Les Rencontres Sobaté'' in

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

and Africadoc Cameroon organizes ''Images en Live'' in Yaoundé. ''Les Rencontres Sobaté'' means "Meetings for convincing" in the

Bwamu language The principal Bwa language, Eastern Bobo Wule (''Buamu, Bwamu)'', is a Gur language of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , ...

, perhaps for convincing young people to get into directing documentaries. The meetings include screenings and discussions of documentaries, classes on aspects such as writing and debates on training, professionalism and finance. The ''Images en Live'' (Live Images) festival follows workshops and production projects, and screens a selection of new documentaries from the region. The event has been supported by the Goethe Institute, Cervantes Institute and the French Cultural Centre in Yaoundé. In April 2010 a 12-day Africadoc workshop for South African authors and filmmakers was organized by the National Film and Video Foundation in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. In November 2011 Africadoc Benin organized ''BeninDocs – International Festival of First Documentary Film'', entirely devoted to first films created by young filmmakers. BeninDocs would include screenings at three locations in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, one in

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

two in

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

. Africadoc Senegal provides an annual meeting and training programme for screenwriters from all Central and West African countries called 'Tënk'. The program includes teaching how to create a screenplay and how to find and work with an independent producer.

References

{{reflist , refs= . {{cite web , url=http://www.africadoc.org_le_reseau_international_africadoc,187.html , title=Le réseau internationale Africadoc , publisher=Ardèche Images , accessdate=2012-03-16 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724183417/http://www.lussasdoc.com/le_reseau_international_africadoc,187.html , archive-date=2011-07-24 , url-status=dead Documentary film organizations Organizations established in 2002 Mass media in Africa 2004 establishments in Senegal