Cinema of Eritrea

The history of cinema in Eritrea dates back to the country's colonial rule under the Kingdom of Italy.[1][2]

History

A small theater, Cinema Dante, set up shop in Asmara in 1910, making it one of the first "movie theaters" in Africa.[3]

The Italian missionary film was first introduced in a 1922 work produced in the country by Capuchin monks collaborating with the colonial government.[4] In connection with the growth of Italian cinema in the 1930s, so too did the rise of cinema occur in Asmara, Eritrea.[1] In 1937, Asmara's Opera was converted into a dual-use theatre and cinema. By the following year, Asmara had a total of nine movie theatres, all Art Deco.[1][5]

Cinema Roma was for whites-only until 1941 when the Italians were ousted. After 1941, the theater mainly played Indian movies.[5] Many Eritrean actors moved to Italy, contributing to Italy’s post-war "Movie Boom for Negro Actors".[6]

Atfer cable TV and movie streaming was deployed, the interest to view foreign movies lowered. Many cinemas reconverted in showing domestic productions only, and European soccer games.[5]

Despite the country's independence, film screenings in Eritrea are mostly still confined to English and Italian language movies.[2]

During the armed conflicts of the 1990s, a community of amateur movie makers was created around the socio-drama the events. The first Eritrean movie subtitled in English was Minister (written by Efrem Kahsay), but Barud 77 (1996, dir. Bereket Yohannes) is considered Eritrea's first feature film.[7]

Production

Films like Eva Nera were produced in Eritrea and shown the culture and differences between the Eritrean people. Directed by Giuliano Tomei, it was told through a viewpoint of Domenico Meccoli.[8][9]

European influence continues to this day, such as "European Film Weeks", which have been held annually for the last 15 years.[10] Almost 100% of the films produced in Eritrea fall under the "Fiction" category.[11]

The National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students owns three cinemas, including The Impero cinema,[5] but there is no film school per say in the country. The government gets involved in financing film projects, but only those that demonstrate a moral stance.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Plastow, Jane (29 June 2016). "Teatro Asmara: understanding Eritrean drama through a study of the national theatre". Journal of African Cultural Studies. 29 (3): 311–330. doi:10.1080/13696815.2016.1201759. S2CID 163365452.
  2. ^ a b Indira, Mannar; Lakshmi, P. Vijaya (2012). "Global Television and Eritrean Society". Indian Journal of Media Studies. 6 (1&2). Tirupati: Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam. ISSN 0972-9348. Retrieved 24 November 2019 – via Researchgate.net.
  3. ^ Fairclough, Paul (2 June 2011). "Africa's rich cinema heritage". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  4. ^ Piredda, Maria Francesca (2013). "Cinema and Popular Preaching: the Italian Missionary Film and Fiamme". In Bayman, Louis; Rigoletto, Sergio (eds.). Popular Italian Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 214–215. ISBN 978-0-230-30016-3.
  5. ^ a b c d Smith, David (24 December 2015). "Eritrea's grand Italian cinemas shudder to the sound of English football". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  6. ^ By (24 February 2026). "Blaxploitation, Italian style". africasacountry.com. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Eritrean Film Production: Its Challenges and Prospects Part I". www.shaebia.org. Archived from the original on 12 January 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  8. ^ Baratieri, Daniela (2010). Memories and Silences Haunted by Fascism: Italian Colonialism, MCMXXX-MCMLX. Peter Lang. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-3-03911-802-1. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  9. ^ Chiti, Roberto; Poppi, Roberto (1991). Dizionario del cinema italiano: Dal 1945 al 1959 (in Italian). Gremese Editore. ISBN 978-88-7605-548-5.
  10. ^ "15th European Film Week 2019 in Eritrea". EEAS – European Commission (in Indonesian). Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Eritrea". uis.unesco.org. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  12. ^ ""In Eritrea, Cinema Theaters are very crowded for local films"". Africultures (in French). 24 June 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2026.

Further reading

  • Darley, Gillian (19 November 2019). "The modernist marvels of Eritrea". Apollo Magazine. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  • Plastow, Jane (15 January 2009). "Theatre of Conflict in the Eritrean Independence Struggle". New Theatre Quarterly. 13 (50). Cambridge University Press: 144–154. doi:10.1017/S0266464X00011003.
  • Sherman, Richard (1980). "The Rise Of Eritrean Nationalism". Northeast African Studies. 2/3 (3/1): 121–129. ISSN 0740-9133. JSTOR 43660060.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.