DISCOVERING A PIONEER:
THE CINEMA OF OLA BALOGUN
This publication aims to initiate a rediscovery of the filmic work of Nigerian film director Ola Balogun, who between 1972 and 1982 wrote, produced and directed ten feature films that can be considered one of the lasting achievements of African and particularly Nigerian cinema.
"Let's face it: Without Ola Balogun, the audiovisual culture of Nigeria (at least that of the nation's southern regions) would most probably look different. How? – who knows. Maybe not even fundamentally so, for one of the most important things Balogun did was to simply tap the sources, work with art forms already very much alive, most importantly the Yoruba traveling theater culture. And more. There's always an "and" and a "but" often followed by an "also" when it comes to describing, defining the vast and aesthetically widely varying œuvre of Balogun, an auteur who worked in several languages (Balogun made films in English, Yoruba and Igbo) and also used a variety of artistic approaches..." (Olaf Möller, extract from the essay to be published in the book)
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