Cinema of the Gambia

"Beyond - An African Surf Documentary" follows locals along the coast of Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia into their homes, visits their home surf spots and takes a look into their surfing lives.[1] [2] [3]It takes us to the coasts of Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia.[4]This documentary features the history, culture and lifestyle of the residents as well as the European travellers along the African coast. Despite the great differences, there is one significant uniting link – Surfing.[5]The team captures beautiful landscapes, perfect waves and the people they meet.[6]

Take Me To Learn My Roots takes us on a journey to Gambia and the culture and life that these people live.[8] This is a film about friends lost and friends found. A single mothers mission to teach her mixed-race sons about their West African roots.[9][10] A story 30 years in the making, spanning 3 generations, 4,000 miles from home, and brought back to life by a very special song.[11]

“The Hand of Fate” which was voted as “Best Indigenous Film” at the Nollywood and African Film Critics’ Awards (African Oscars) held in Washington D.C. on 14 September, 2013, and which was also screened in Ethiopia as part of the African Union’s 50th Anniversary celebration. [14]

Meanwhile, “The Hand of Fate” film Director Ibrahim Ceesay has been nominated for Best Director and John Charles Njie, nominated for Best Actor, for the Nollywood and Africa People’s Choice Awards.[15]

"The Hand of Fate explores the theme of early marriage and its negative effects on the development of young girls. It poses questions in an attempt to find some answers to this cultural phenomenon.[16]

Jaha’s Promise is an inspiring film following Jaha – an incredible activist who, at 26, was recognized in 2016 as one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” – as she travels around the world acting as a powerful agent of change.[17] and about having the courage to confront her father, the politicians and the community that surrounds her. A strong film about an even stronger woman.[18]Full of the raw drama of personal, family, religious and political conflict, “Jaha’s Promise” is an extraordinary narrative of individual and social change.[19]

The story reflects the life of a Gambian youth, narrating his struggle to acquire university education. [20] “Jangi Jollof” chronicles the life story of Momodou Sabally, who was one of the pioneering students that started university education in The Gambia.  It has been hailed by many as a great source of inspiration  for thousands of young Gambians needing the self-confidence and determination to stay at home[21] The movie can be a great source of inspiration and guidance for youths.[22] with soundtracks that exude the beauty and depth of Gambia’s cultural heritage.[23] Their key players lined up for the Special Movie Awards (SMA) 2018 award night  held at Djembe Beach.[24] Monica Davies won the award for Best Female Actor for her role in Jangi Jollof, while the Best Screenplay award went to the author of the book “Jangi Jollof” that inspired the script that became the movie of the same title.[25]

Welcome to the Smiling Coast is a feature-length documentary that offers a rare insight into the daily lives of fifteen youngsters who are struggling to make ends meet in the margins of the Gambian tourism industry.[26] Although the smallest country on the African mainland, the Gambia has become a popular tourist destination due to its warm climate, abundant wildlife and cheap intimacy.[27]

• The Mirror Boy is a mystical journey through Africa, seen through the eyes of a 12 year old boy, Tijan. After a London street fight, in which a local boy is hurt, Tijan's mother decides to take him back to their roots, to Gambia. On their arrival in Banjul, Tijan encounters a strange apparition, a boy smiling at him in a mirror and vanishing. Seeing the same boy in a crowded street market the next day sets in motion a chain of events, with Tijan finding himself lost. While Tijan's panic-stricken mother struggles to find her son, Tijan is left alone in the company of the enigmatic Mirror Boy, seemingly only visible to him. After a bruising spiritual rite of passage, The Mirror Boy takes Tijan on a mystical journey, but not all is what it seems.[28]

Nobody wanted to see Roots. That was the verdict of America’s ABC network in 1977. They had paid $6.6 million (unheard of at the time) to produce a miniseries based on Alex Haley’s best-seller chronicling his African ancestors journey from their homeland, via slave ships, to the American plantations.[32] " The drama, based on the book by Alex Haley, traced several generations of a slave family, beginning with Kunta Kinte, a young West African man kidnapped by slave traders and shipped to America.[33]

Mariama Khan, Gambian with Senegalese root, is a filmmaker, cultural activist, scholar and professor, currently teaching African History and African Civilizations at Lehman College in New York. Her present research focus includes The Gambia-Senegal border relations, culture, cross-border transport and trade and religious movements in Senegambia. She is founder of the Documentary Film Initiative-The Gambia and the Makane Kane Center for the Creative Arts projects, which are currently on hold. She talks about her experiences with the moving image, cinema culture in The Gambia, and her role as cultural activist and scholar.[34]Ms Khan is a young Gambian who worked at the Women’s Bureau and as Secretary General Office of The Gambian President before relocating to the United States.[35]  

The award-winning Gambian film scholar, producer and journalist, Prince Bubacarr Aminata Sankanu, made history on Monday, the 5th September 2016 by becoming the first person of Gambian descent to be democratically chosen as a candidate in German elections of 2017.[36]