The first two short documentaries in Al Jazeera English’s Africa Direct series have garnered over 135,000 views, just 1 week after airing. The 2 short documentaries are part of a new series of African stories by African filmmakers.
One of the documentaries, On the White Nile, by filmmaker Akuol de Mabior (South Sudan), takes viewers into the world of Rebecca Lith Chol a fishing boat captain. This has given viewers a story of women empowerment in Sudan. The other film, The Bookmaker by filmmaker Girum Berehanetsehay, looks at the ancient art of bookmaking in Ethiopia.
Africa Direct has added another documentary, from Ivory Coast, to this series. Scrapyard Anoumabo by Joël Akafou features Konate Massioudou, an businessman who has built a successful electronic waste scapyard business in Anoumabo, Abidjan. Here he repairs, rebuilds and sells some of the thousands of discarded household items dumped every day from Europe. Akafou’s film transports us into the thick of Konate’s life. He fixes stoves, hustles for customers, negotiates deals and chats with his assistant, all in sign language.
For this series Al Jazeera partnered with Big World Cinema, with the team that includes Executive Producer Steven Markovitz (SA), Series Producers Angèle Diabang (Senegal) and Brian Tilley (SA).
Commenting on the documentaries, Ingrid Falck, head of documentaries at Al Jazeera English noted, “We’ve received overwhelmingly warm and positive responses from our global viewers to these short documentaries, which tell authentic African stories, made by great African filmmaking talent. It’s very gratifying to see feedback that appreciates these multi-dimensional insights into a range of African experiences, which go beyond the usual coverage of the continent.”
The English documentaries listed below can be viewed on Al Jazeera English, the Al Jazeera website and YouTube Channel.
- Episode 1: On the White Nile (South Sudan) and The Bookmaker (Ethiopia)
- Episode 2: In The Aluminium Village (Benin), Throttle Queens (Kenya) & The Cave (Algeria) (Flighted 7 and now on Al Jazeera English, website or YouTube Channel)
- Episode 3: Beïrey-Hou: Desert Libraries (Mali), The Young Cyclist (Rwanda) and Happiness (Cameroon)
- Episode 4: Diggers and Merchants (DRC) & Settling (Rwanda)
- Episode 5: The Man Who Plants Baobabs (Burkina Faso) & Kalanda: A Wrestler’s Dream (Senegal)
- Episode 6: Colours Are Alive Here (Kenya) & Scrapyard Anoumabo (Ivory Coast)