KISDtalk by Ezinne Ezepue

African Folklore Reimagined: Commercialisation, Preservation, and Social Change

The peoples and cultures of Africa have diverse folklore, ranging from folktale to proverbs, myths, legends, among others. Because folklore are generally transmitted orally, they are gradually disappearing due to discontinued or reduced transmission from generation to generation. Some contributing factors to this disappearance include technology, urbanization, socio-economic/religious reasons, among others. But with growing global interest in African narratives and the rise of film/creative industries across the continent, opportunities are arising for repurposing African folklore. This research interrogates these opportunities, especially in film, exploring ways Africans can maximally benefit from the situation. It investigates ways to creatively and goal-orientedly reimagine and adapt African folklore into contemporary film narratives. The goal of the study is to develop for emerging African scriptwriters a toolkit for adapting folklore into purposefully written film scripts for a global audience.

The talk can be joined in room 11 and on zoom. 

https://tinyurl.com/2p93nume

Meeting-ID: 673 9485 2764

Kenncode: KISD

Ezinne Ezepue, a lecturer of film studies at the University of Nigeria, is currently a postdoctoral researcher of African storytelling at the Internationale Filmschule (ifs), Köln. Her research, funded by the Alexander von Humboldt, is focused on African folktale adaptation. Ezepue hopes to develop a toolkit for adapting folktales into contemporary narratives which will address social problems, unseat stereotypes about Africa and promote positive identity. She holds a BA Theatre & Film from the University of Nigeria, a MA Film & TV from University of Birmingham and a PhD in Media Studies from Birmingham City University, United Kingdom. Before her research interest expanded to African cinema and storytelling, Ezepue researched on the Nigerian film industry, Nollywood, on which she is published in both books and journals.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ezinne-Ezepue/research