Stories from the fireplace
Subtitle: theological meditations on Haile Gerima's cinema
By: Tekletsadik Belachew
Publisher: Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group
Published: 2022
Place of publication: Bamenda, Cameroon
Language: eng
Number of pages: 361
ISBN-13: 9789956552757
Subjects: Christianity and culture
Description: "This book is an interdisciplinary theological exploration of Haile Gerima's cinema, an Ethiopian filmmaker and storyteller who successfully translated African folkloric orality and wove other indigenous art forms into the language of cinema. Gerima's five decades legacy of Pan-African cinema embodies 'symbolic resistance' against Afro-pessimistic and stereotypical mis/disrepresentations, both manifestations of neo-colonialism. In response, he uses "camera as a weapon" to resist exotic otherness and alienation invented by conventional cinema. Through an alternative moving pictures, he depicted dignified images of Africa towards decolonising cinema and liberating the mind. His memory-films achieves archiving the stories of the people of African descent. Gerima, who stands in par with great African film griots such as Ousmane Sembène - 'the father of African cinema' and Med Hondo, deserves further interdisciplinary reflections. Gerima's 'Triangular cinema' and 'imperfect cinema' are inspired from indigenous values and cultural products such as holy icons and fireplace stories. His works foster asserting identity of the self, maintaining the right to difference and embracing ubuntu-like human personhood. They are essential acts in the 21st century. Like theology, cinema alters a way of life - human experiences, imaginations, and narrative identity. This book engages with the works and thoughts of Gerima towards re-imaging Africa through cinematic narratives in being and becoming an African." --
Notes: Includes bibliographic references (pages 251-324) and index (pages 355-361).
Table of contents: title: General information; title: Haile Gerima: an African cinematic griot; title: Theology of icon and iconic cinema; title: African cinema as memory-history; title: Folklores, African cinematic storytelling and theologizing; title: Being as communion and person as Ubuntu