Film Production and Cultural Identities Among Young Creators: The Issue of Cultural Rooting Volume 64- Issue 2

Sory Kourouma*

• PHD Student at Ujkz (Leshco/Ladipa), Lecturer at The Higher Institute of Mory Kanté Arts in Dubréka (Isamk/D), Department of Cinema and Audiovisual, Republic of Guinea

Received: December 16, 2025; Published: December 22, 2025

*Corresponding author: Sory Kourouma, PHD Student at Ujkz (Leshco/Ladipa), Lecturer at The Higher Institute of Mory Kanté Arts in Dubréka (Isamk/D), Department of Cinema and Audiovisual, Republic of Guinea

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2025.64.010028

Abstract PDF

Cinema is both an art and an industry. It is a way to explore man, his environment, his history and his culture. It is more than any other means of communication and expression, because of the grandiose hold that the image has on the human being, the most powerful vector for establishing and consolidating cultural identities. This powerful media medium, recognized worldwide, has proven over time to be a means of transmitting information on the way of life, ideologies, practices and cultures of the peoples of the world that young creators must appropriate to inform, educate and mobilize towards a common goal: progress. In 1960, with the accession of African states to independence, Africans moved on to the realization. The pioneers of black African cinema such as: Paulin Soumanou VIEYRA, Ousmane SEMBENE, Oumarou GANDA, Djim Kola, Gaston Jean Marie KABORE, to name but a few and many other filmmakers of the continent have been bearers of a type of cinema that has contributed to shaping the vision of the new generations of African filmmakers and the perception of the role and importance of the image in Africa.

Keywords: Production; Cultural Identities; Cultural Anchoring; Young Creators; Communication; Development

African film production experienced a certain stability in the 60s. It then grew in terms of percentage of investment by television channels and in the construction of cinemas, in particular. The prospects for film production unfortunately appear less satisfactory today in the continent and in some African regions or countries like ours. Thus, the general question of the financing of film production is one of the major concerns of technical service providers with regard to this market, which may reflect the relocation of the type of service considered and the competitive world. In this respect, the problem varies greatly depending on the techniques used. We will distinguish three segments: shooting; laboratories and “classic” post-production; and finally, special effects, which are increasingly different from “classic” post-production and must be considered today as an autonomous segment.

In a globalized world where the film industry tends to favor universal products, cultural anchoring becomes a challenge for young filmmakers who aspire to make their voices heard while remaining true to their roots. The question of cultural anchoring among young cinema creators is a crucial issue in the evolution of the seventh art. These filmmakers, often from diverse backgrounds and cultures, seek to translate their personal and collective experiences through filmic narratives that can reflect, question, or redefine the codes and traditions of their cultural heritage. However, this search for identity can come up against tensions between modernity and tradition, between the desire for internationalization and the desire to preserve a local specificity. As Jean-Luc Godard says: “Cinema is an art of invention. It is not an art of reproduction”. This quote from Godard underlines the creative and identity dimension of cinema. Young filmmakers are not content to reproduce existing models, they seek to invent, to offer a unique perspective that finds its source in a particular culture while projecting themselves on the international scene.

Young creators must navigate between several spaces: that of the dominant culture, often Western, and that of local culture that can sometimes seem marginalized or underrepresented in the major distribution platforms. Agnès Varda also points out: “Cinema is a universal language, but each creator must be able to speak with his or her own voice.” Varda expresses here the idea that cultural anchoring in cinema should not be a barrier but a means of expressing one’s own individuality, through a language that each person adapts to his or her culture and history. This issue becomes particularly relevant when we analyze the relationships between auteur cinema, popular cinema and the way in which these young directors build their identity through their works. For the realization of this communication work, we have adopted the following framework.

It is within the framework of the 29th edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), which was held from February 22 to March 1, 2025 in Burkina Faso that we took part in the symposium organized on the sidelines of the said festival. The theme of this edition was “AFRICAN CINEMAS AND CULTURAL IDENTITIES” from which we were inspired to address this reflection. Just like the 27th and 28th editions, this 29th edition took place in a context of resilience assumed in an extraordinary way by the actors in charge of this festival and the international conference. Indeed, this article is inspired by the main theme of this festival, which takes place in a context of multifaceted challenges and security tension at the national and international levels. Questions of identity, sovereignty and self-determination are more than ever at the heart of the tensions that are tearing the world apart. They lead to socio-economic and political changes that are refracted by artistic practices. This is why, beyond the film programme, the film market, professional meetings... the conference is a privileged place to think and rethink the being and the future of cinemas in Africa and its diaspora. For several decades, cinematographic meetings have always focused on a theme for celebration. Thus, the socio-cultural approach is often the most discussed subject, especially in African cinema and its questions of cultural identities. This theme is a questioning of the cultural anchoring of African cinema. In other words, what Africanity does African cinema carry that marks its specificity and constitutes its part in the concert of the world? A real challenge that puts at the heart of the African cinematographic fact issues related to the formation, sovereignty and universality of their creations. How do African cinemas take charge of themselves in order to maintain their originality and remain open to the world?

It is with a view to answering all these questions that we want to make our dispatch on “FILM PRODUCTION AND CULTURAL IDEAS AMONG YOUNG CREATORS: THE PROBLEM OF CULTURAL ANCHORING”. Thus, says François Truffaut, “Cinema is an art that must be both popular and personal. He emphasizes the duality that inhabits young designers: anchoring themselves in a tradition while freeing themselves from the expectations of the market to impose a singular artistic approach. The analysis of the context of film production shows that a cultural project in the African context must fulfil several missions that only those organised in the West should fulfil. A cinematographic project in this context cannot be limited to the communicative devices that are film screenings and shows. In Africa, a cultural project must be able to :

a) To compensate for the lack of infrastructure for presentation, training, information and promotion;
b) T find strategies and techniques for communication and promotion of culture and film production;
c) Improving the continent’s brand image;
d) Reconciling art with the population;
e) Promote the emergence of a market.

It is therefore essential to train film professionals and public relations specialists. The implementation of these skills could make it possible to generate a local audience, to retain them and to make them an active audience attentive to the quality of creations. Cultural identity, environment, current events, space and time must be sources of inspiration for young creators to show in cinematographic works what resembles us and brings us together.

Cinematographic creation and production in Africa, especially among young creators, must obey principles and basics. The fundamental principle of this creation must be this relationship: Nature and Culture. It is a relation of the anthropological approach that gives meaning, significance and essence based on rituals and social codes. Unfortunately, with the disengagement of politicians in the financing of film production, the continent’s creators are forced to produce what does not resemble them because of the grip of external funding. Nowadays they produce uncultivated and culturalized tastes. Works without value, nor local social dimension but aesthetic. Hence the problem of cultural anchoring.

Cinema is for a people, a society, a mirror where we can see its cultural, social and societal values expressed in a wide dimension. We must ensure that our cinematographic works reflect or reconstruct our claims in terms of identity and authenticity. This cultural and natural taste also allows us to feel the realities of the moment to inform, educate and mobilize society. In Guinea, like many countries on the continent, cinema is rising from the ashes. We can’t say that it is doing well in view of the productions on a dropped-in basis. Now, we are in the process of exhuming everything that has been buried to find out what things can be reused for a new dynamic in one’s cinema. We have young people with a strong ambition to make films, even if the means are not sufficient, but there is hope. It must be said that the first generation of African filmmakers made films for Africa. In 1968, Guinea set up a cinematographic development laboratory, which is proof that it was avant-garde in what was to be its cinema, also in the sub-region and on the African continent. In a broad sense, African cinema needs a funding policy to deal with the problems of attachment to local culture in the film productions of young creators.

The objective is to achieve efficient and successful film production despite the difficulties encountered by the technical film and audiovisual industries, either by their size or by the accelerated and profound evolution of digital technology. This is why we have set ourselves the main objective of this communication to consider our cultural values and identity in young creators in their film productions. From this objective derive the specific objectives:
1. To set up professional support for young filmmakers in terms of:
a. Vocational training;
b. Adequate equipment;
c. A policy of financing cinematographic and audiovisual creation;
2. The establishment of a network of young creators (by country, regional and continental).

The main question is how to consider our cultural values and identity in film productions by young creators? The secondary questions are formulated as follows:
1. How to set up professional support for young filmmakers in terms of:
a) Vocational training?
b) Adequate equipment?
c) A policy of financing cinematographic and audiovisual creation? 2. Which network of young creators should be set up by country, regional and continental?

Our hypothesis is formulated as follows: Our cultural and identity values in film productions among young creators are considered. The secondary hypotheses are then formulated:
1. Professional support for young filmmakers is set up in terms of:
a. Vocational training;
b. Adequate equipment;
c. A policy of financing cinematographic and audiovisual creation;
2. The network of young creators is set up by country, regional and continental.

1) “The Politics of Cinema” by Pierre Bourdieu. Bourdieu explores the complex relationship between the film industry and dominant cultures. Her analysis of cultural production offers a deep reflection on how creators can be influenced by external constraints while seeking to maintain their artistic autonomy and cultural anchoring [1].

2) “Cinema and its Double” by Georges Bataille. This book examines the relationship between cinema and culture, focusing on the mechanisms that condition film production. Bataille asks an essential question: how can cinema maintain its artistic dimension while being integrated into a globalized cultural economy [2].

3) “Cinema, cinema” by Jean-Claude Carrière. In this book, Carrière, screenwriter and writer, offers a reflection on cinematographic creation, addressing the question of culture and identity through the different eras of cinema. It addresses how young filmmakers seek to inscribe their work in a heritage while reinventing themselves [3].

4) “Cinema, an art of the people” by Michel Chion. This book focuses on the popular aspect of cinema and on the way in which each filmmaker can, through his or her own eyes, rewrite the history of his or her people. An essential reference for understanding how cultural anchoring manifests itself in the cinema of young creators [4].

5) The Reflection of Cinema” by André Bazin, Bazin is one of the major theorists of cinema and his reflection on cinematographic realism offers an interesting avenue for understanding how young creators approach the question of identity and cultural ties through their art. His work provides a theoretical framework for analyzing how aesthetic choices can be nourished by a rootedness in a specific cultural territory [5].

The issue of cultural anchoring in film production, particularly among young creators, relates to the way in which they identify with their own culture while navigating a globalized world. Cultural anchoring is the ability of these creators to place their works in a specific cultural context, while influencing and being influenced by global dynamics. This raises several fundamental questions :

Cultural Identity and Cinematographic Creation

Young filmmakers often face multiple pressures between the desire to represent their culture of origin and the commercial or artistic imperatives of a global market. This tension creates dilemmas:

• How do you maintain cultural authenticity in a context where international influences dominate?

• What is the place of tradition and cultural heritage in the way stories are told that speak to a wide and diverse audience? Young creators are sometimes torn between respect for their culture of origin and the desire to project themselves into more universal narratives that meet global expectations, especially of a globalized film industry. This leads them to look for hybrid forms or mixed narratives, where cultural roots mix with external influences.

The Question of Cultural Representation

The representation of culture in cinema raises essential issues for young creators. They may find themselves having to represent stereotypes or imposed visions of their culture, sometimes very far from their personal experience. The challenge is to offer authentic and nuanced stories that escape clichés and allow a more faithful representation of their culture and their daily realities.

The Role of Technology and Digital Platforms

With the rise of digital technologies and streaming platforms, young creators have unprecedented access to production and distribution tools. This has helped to dismantle some geographical and economic barriers, facilitating the emergence of new voices. However, this phenomenon also generates tensions: openness to external influences and international formats can sometimes dilute local cultural specificities. As a result, cultural anchoring is once again a major challenge. Also, young creators must put particular emphasis on the different phases of Marketing (Research Marketing, Strategic Marketing and Operational Marketing) because today the design of the product or service to be sold at the prices of choice of the distribution channels requires the development of a communication strategy that is essential in the marketing of the local film industry. How do you stay true to your heritage while enjoying the benefits of global visibility? To answer this question, young creators must know how to combine business with pleasure. Otherwise, to highlight our cultural potential and reliable projects with internal funding. Today, the eternal problem in the field is that of financing under own funds. In addition, we have created our own communication strategy. This lack changes the nature of our projects and the content of the creation as well as the characteristics of the production: Space-Time-Characters, in short, the nature of the subject.

The Impact of Migration and Diasporas

The cultural anchoring of young filmmakers can also be seen through the prism of migration and diasporas. Many creators from diasporic communities are confronted with the question of their dual belonging. They have to juggle between their country of origin and the host country, trying to translate this complexity of identity on screen. Their cinema then becomes a way to express this fusion and cultural divide, by telling the stories of the experiences shared by migrant communities or the tensions between the two worlds to which they belong.

The Quest for New Cinematographic Languages

The problem of cultural anchoring also manifests itself in the search for new cinematographic languages. Young creators are often looking for new forms that allow them to combine their local cultural influences with innovative narrative techniques, adapted to the tastes of contemporary audiences. This can include the use of new formats (such as experimental cinema, interactive documentary, or participatory cinema), or the combination of genres (fiction, documentary, animation, etc.) that enrich cultural discourse.

Development, only development, is a quantitative, qualitative and sustainable improvement of an economy and its proper functioning to achieve it requires certain conditions. The development of the Arts and Culture sector such as the Cinema does not escape this rule for its development. The cinema produced by young contemporary creators is permeated by questions of place and representation of cultural identity, in a globalized world that also requires a certain openness to the international scene. Cultural anchoring, although essential for the construction of the identity of creators, is a shifting ground, where tradition and modernity meet, confront and recompose each other. These young creators, often at the intersections of different cultures, are thus opening new perspectives for a truly global cinema, while remaining deeply connected to their cultural roots [6-15].

Culture: Social Cohesion, Creativity, Innovation and Development Issues: Hence the need to consider aspects of :

The affirmation of a national and/or pan-African identity;

a) Essential means and condition for societal change;

b) Driving the processes of knowledge acquisition, conceptualization and sustainable development;

c) Cultural issues related to the preservation of diversity; d) Economic stakes / conquest.

Let us sum up that cultural anchoring in the work of young cinematographers is not simply a question of representation. It is a complex dynamic that combines influence, resistance and reinvention. Through their films, these filmmakers question their cultural heritage while reaffirming their place in the globalized world, thus offering a renewed vision of identity and history. The challenge of this anchoring is that of preserving a singularity in a constantly changing cinematographic universe.

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