Cinema of South Sudan

Cinema is a newly developing industry in South Sudan.

Cinema of South Sudan
No. of screensNone
Main distributorsNone[1]

Overview

As of 2016, South Sudan did not have a single movie theatre,[2] and most citizens relied on South Sudan Television what was locally called as SSTV.[3] According to the manager of the South Sudanese Government Agency which promotes filming and arts of creativity, Elfatih Majok Atem, "Many local filmmakers have never had any training so they could teach themselves on the job of filmmaking. Those who are experts face the challenge of accessing good equipment and tools and are affected by the lack of support and encouragement from its citizens.."[3]

Background

South Sudan first gained independence in 2011;[4] precisely six years after the conclusion of the Second Sudanese Civil War which caused the destruction of Capital Juba's only cinema. In 2011, Daniel Danis directed the first South Sudanese feature film, Jamila.[5]

Film festival

In 2016, South Sudan hosted its first film festival, the Juba Film Festival.[6][7] The festival included a film industry conference, and the second scheduled to be held in South Sudan.[7] Founded by Simon Bingo, the festival was intended to alleviate the negative image of South Sudan as a war-torn country as well as to promote South Sudanese culture and art.[8][9]

Groups

Several groups in the country seek to promote filmmaking by local filmmakers:

  • Woyee Film and Theatre Industry, a filmmaking collective.[3][5]
  • The Cinematography and Film Industry Section of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.[3]
  • Movie and TV Academy, a private school in Juba.[3]
  • Nyakuron Cultural Center, the host for the 2016 Juba Film Festival.[8]

References

  1. "Feature films - Distribution of feature films". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  2. "Juba Under the Stars Brings the Magic of Cinema to the World's Youngest Nation, South Sudan". PRNewswire. Washington. Juba Under The Stars. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  3. Chemhere, Martin (5 March 2012). "Focus on South Sudan films". Screen Africa Magazine. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  4. Tutton, Mark (12 January 2012). "All the world's a stage as Shakespeare goes to South Sudan". CNN. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  5. Copnall, James; Hegarty, Stephanie (27 December 2011). "Creating a film industry in South Sudan from scratch". BBC World Service. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  6. Xin, Zhou (8 September 2017). "South Sudan's film industry rises from conflicts". Xinhua. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  7. ""Action!" - South Sudan's Film Industry Takes Off". Internews. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  8. Gaffey, Conor (7 July 2016). "South Sudan's first-ever film festival is going down a storm". Newsweek. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  9. Quito, Anne. ""We're not all warriors": South Sudanese filmmakers are working to revamp their national image". Quartz Africa. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
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