The Rise of “International” Film Festivals in Africa

As I write these words, in London, myriad festivals are underway: a traveling version of the Irish music celebration known as The Other Voices Festival is taking place at Wiltons Music Hall; the Spill Festival of Performance—a celebration of “radical live work” in experimental theatre and art—is on in east, south, and central London; the London Latin Music Festival La Linea claims to have brought the “who’s who” of contemporary Latin musicians to the city; the Underbelly Festival is advertising circus and cabaret entertainment in a rather unusual venue—an “upside-down purple cow”; and the Argentinian Film Festival is offering a fix of films about football, wine, and other aspects of Argentine culture. If I start to look further afield, I find more festivals beyond London, such as the 46th annual Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering, a celebration of Northumbrian music, food, history, language, and crafts. In fact, I find myself surrounded by advertisements for festivals wherever I go: the Rose Festival in Morocco; the Dubai Shopping Festival; a cherry-picking festival in Lebanon; Las Fallas Festival of the Torches in Valencia, Spain. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Advertising · Art · Art history · Entertainment · Film festival · Irish · Media studies · Music festival · Popular music · Sociology · Visual arts · Cinema and Media Studies · History · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts