Nabil condemned Burkina Faso officials

Speaking from Paris, Nabil told the BBC World Service's Artbeat programme that Fespaco was "disorganised" and "lacks respect for the film makers."

Nabil, who scooped Fespaco's top prize in 2001, added that he had become disillusioned with the event.

"People from the ministry are taking care of this festival and they don't know about cinema and they don't have the respect," he said.

"If they don't respect me I don't see why I should respect them."

Spoilt

Nabil said he was angry with the treatment given to directors by the organisers.

The European people go there and see this mess and they say: 'Oh it's no problem, it's just Africa' Nabil Ayouch

"When you arrive and you see that your film is showing three hours late, they change the venue at the last minute without telling anyone, there is no one to present the film and no one to present you."

Nabil is now refusing to enter his latest film, entitled A Minute Less Sunshine, into the race for a prize this year.

He explained how in his view the festival has been spoilt by bureaucracy.

Absence

Attracting thousands of visitors, Fespaco, the Pan-African film and television festival, is the biggest regular cultural event on the continent.

In 2001 Ayouch Nabil was noticeable by his absence from the event when he failed to collect the coveted Yennenga Stallion award for his film Ali Zaoua.

Nabil won Fespaco in 2001 with Ali Zaoua

Explaining his absence, Nabil said he had not received an airline ticket making it impossible for him to attend.

"I sent the film and I waited for the tickets to arrive but the organisers never sent me the tickets," he said.

When Nabil's portrayal of the camaraderie among Moroccan street children won the prestigious prize, the festival organisers searched in vain for him.

The organisers "gave the tickets to the ministry men," Nabil claimed, adding, "I said thank you for the prize but you should take into account that you are the shop window of the continent and you should take responsibility."

Such apparent disorganisation, Nabil said, will eventually dent the pride of the people of Ougadougou and is, in his view, further proof of the lack of "respect" he believes to be evident at the festival.

"The European people go there and see this mess and they say: 'Oh it's no problem, it's just Africa'," he said.