Develop archives to keep creative works - Film producer

Accra, May 29, GNA - Ms. Lydia Diakhate, Co-director of Real Life Production, a Senegalese Film Producer, on Tuesday stressed the need to develop archives to serve as a store of films and photos of African creative works. She noted that, very often producers of films and documentaries had to depend on the archives of European countries to do projects on Africa.

Ms Diakhate told a press conference in Accra that Africa was losing her history and it was high time the necessary step was taken to keep whatever the people produced out of their ingenuity.

She said theatres in most countries on the continent had collapsed, therefore documentaries had become appropriate to put together the films on Africa and other photos relevant to the cultures of the people. Ms Diakhate used the conference to announce the second edition of the annual Pan-African Documentary Film Festival slated for four venues in Accra from June 2-8 and in Kumasi, June 11-17. This followed a successful one held in 2006.

She said they intended to put up a special project this year to capture Ghana's 50th independence anniversary celebration, as well as the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

"These two anniversaries and year-long festivities planned by the government and non-governmental organizations give real life documentary film festival significant contexts within which to strengthen our objectives and show more historical films on the independence movement in the Pan-African world."

The project, which is in three sections, would have the first part focused on international list of films followed by works of students from film schools and then high school students who would display documentary photography works.

The Real life Pan-African Documentary Film Festival is part of a series of festivals proposed by the West African Documentary Forum, an organization that dwells on developing, archiving and exhibiting documentaries within West African region.