Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The 2026 iKON Awards will officially take place on Saturday, August 15, with increased participation from international filmmakers across Africa. iKON Awards, the Grand Stage of African Cinema, will also return to the Serena Hotel, Kampala, and will be broadcast live across major media …
Read More »Sudan cinema flickers back to life after Bashir ouster
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Talal Afifi has worked for years to revive Sudanese cinema which has languished through decades of authoritarian rule. With the fall of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir, he sees new hope. Bashir’s Islamist-backed rule of 30 years had seen cinemas shuttered and US sanctions prevent imports of …
Read More »‘Black Panther’ continues stunning romp in movie theaters
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | “Black Panther” continued its record-setting romp this weekend, passing the half-billion-dollar mark in only its third week out in North America as it stayed on track to be one of the highest-grossing films ever, industry analysts said. The Disney/Marvel collaboration, starring Chadwick Boseman …
Read More »‘Black Panther’ again slays North American box office
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Disney’s “Black Panther” sunk its claws into the top spot once again this weekend at the North American box office, taking an estimated $108 million, industry estimates showed Sunday. Following a record-shattering opening weekend — raking in $242.2 million — the frenzy to see …
Read More »Saudi Arabia lifts decades-long ban on cinemas
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia on Monday lifted a decades-old ban on cinemas, part of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s far-reaching liberalisation drive that is shaking up the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom. The government said it would begin licensing cinemas immediately and the first movie theatres are expected …
Read More »Bollywood superstars dazzle at India film awards
East Rutherford, United States | AFP |India’s biggest Bollywood stars led a triumphant celebration of dance, music and fashion at the International Indian Film Academy awards Saturday, cheered by thousands of ecstatic fans just outside New York. The five-hour show at an American football stadium in New Jersey, where the …
Read More »Hooray for… Kumawood! Ghana’s fastest filmmakers
Kumasi, Ghana | AFP | India has its Bollywood and Nigeria, Nollywood. Even New Zealand has a Wellywood. In Ghana, films made in Kumasi and the surrounding region go by a similar shorthand — Kumawood. The cultural heart of Ghana is about five hours’ drive from the more cosmopolitan coastal …
Read More »Daughter of Sudanese film legend preserves his legacy
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | As she drove past an apartment complex on a street in Khartoum, Sara Jadallah turned silent. It was here that her late father, the legendary film-maker Jadallah Jubara, set up Sudan’s first private film studio in the 1970s. But in 2008, following an eight-year court …
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