Despite its rich history and cultural significance, African cinema continues to struggle with one persistent problem: Africans themselves rarely get to watch it. The reason isn’t indifference; it is infrastructure. From French colonial companies COMACICO and SECMA controlling every theater and distribution line in Francophone Africa, to the Laval Decree banning Africans from filming without permits until 1960, the distribution system was built to exclude African audiences and trap African filmmakers. Economic collapse in the 1980s shuttered cinema halls, and when multiplexes returned, they landed inside luxury malls, pricing out ordinary viewers. As a result, access to African films remains fragmented. Today, a Zimbabwean can more easily access a Hollywood blockbuster than a Nigerian film. While global recognition for African storytellers is growing, weak distribution networks and foreign ownership still limit visibility at home. And until this changes, African cinema’s greatest works will remain strangers on their own continent.
Culture Custodian
