The programme includes some of the major successes from the first 20 years of Fespaco with films from the more established film-producing countries in Francophone West Africa, as well as newer entrants including Ethiopia and Tunisia.

It's difficult to get people to go see an African film because you always have to begin by contextualising

Festival organiser Keith Shiri

Africa at the Pictures, which is also being described as "Fespaco in London", has been assisted by the organisers of Fespaco in a unique cultural tour aimed at maximising the exposure for the best of African film.

Challenges

Keith Shiri, one of the festival organisers, explains some of the challenges involved in programming such a festival. He points out that it's not easy to get British cinema audiences to come to see subtitled films.

Many people in the United Kingdom are not aware of the diversity of the continent, or of African cultures or politics.

"It's difficult to get people to go see an African film because you always have to begin by contextualising", he says.

Getting an African film into a British cinema is very rare, outside the context of a festival.

Distinctive African film makers started to make their mark in the late 1960s. But the first UK showcase of African cinema was not presented until 1990, at the National Film Theatre in London.

Festival Diary

ICA: 25 February - 2 March Barbican Screen: 4 - 12 March Cin� Lumi�re: 15 - 20 March

Conference: African Women Takin' Care of Business

ICA: 26 - 28 February

Ousmane Sembene Annual Lecture

SOAS: 9 March

Keith Shiri says he spent much of last year looking for funds for Africa at the Pictures. The costs involved in bringing films and film-makers from Africa are unlikely to be covered by box office returns. So he sought funding from the European Commission, the Ford Foundation and the UK Government's Visiting Arts agency.

The festival starts with screenings at the London's Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) on Friday. Fespaco's Grand Prize winning films will be shown at the Barbican centre from 3 March.

The films will then visit various UK universities starting at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, and going on to Leeds, Sheffield, and provisionally, Belfast.

"We are going to try to select a few of the most popular films and are going to try to persuade some other venues outside academic circles and other theatres to screen some of the films", Shiri explains. The university screenings will be open to the public.

Highlights

Highlights of the festival include the award-winning La Vie Sur Terre (Life on Earth) by the talented Mauritanian director Abderahmane Sissako, who was commissioned to make a film about the year 2000.

As the world celebrates the millennium, Sissako returns to visit his father in a small Malian village, a place which has not yet reached the 20th century.

Also showing are the classic 1987 film Yeleen by the Malian film maker Souleymane Cisse, and the striking Sarraounia, made by Med Hondo of Burkino Faso.

In this highly innovative film, the warrior queen of the Azna tribe exercises her magical skills in the defeat of a neighbouring tribe.

The festival will invite filmmakers to introduce and lead discussions about their work. They will include Abderrahmane Sissako, Souleymane Cisse, Kwah Ansah, Fanta Nacro and Julie Dash.

The screening programme is complemented by a conference exploring film making by women.

African Women Takin' Care of Business will invite women from Africa and the diaspora working in film and television to meet European-based producers and industry professionals.

Booking details and the festival timetable are at www.africaatthepictures.co.uk.