In and Out of Africa

 
This extraordinary documentary is one of the most intelligent, perceptive, and engaging films ever made on African culture and art. It explores with irony and humor issues of authenticity, taste, and racial politics in the transnational trade in African art. Interweaving stories of Western collectors, Muslim traders, African artists and intellectuals, and the filmmakers themselves, the film focuses on a remarkable art dealer from Niger. It shows how (through occasionally hilarious and frequently fantastic tales about the art objects) he adds economic value and changes the "meaning" of what he sells by interpreting and mediating between the cultural values of African producers and Western consumers. Produced by Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Taylor; featuring Gabai Baare; based on original research by Christopher Steiner.

 

The film's thematic unity, perceptive subtitling, and reflexive irony make it a groundbreaking masterwork.... Advances the art of ethnographic filmmaking to new heights. -- Prof. Bennetta Jules-Rosette, Dir., African and African American Studies Project, UC San Diego

A first-rate addition to the curriculum of all courses and educational programs on African art and culture. -- Enid Schildkrout, Anthropology Curator, American Museum of Natural History

A superbly thick description of the trade in African art. Nothing is taken for granted, least of all the very idea of art itself, as we follow the trade that transforms bois into $2,000 objets d'art. The trade between use value and exchange value, the expectations that such art must fill in the minds of dealers and collectors to earn the title authentic, and the gradual ascension of this art to museum status while the makers and intermediaries fade in a nebulous haze of mystified origins: these are but a few of the themes pursued in this intriguing documentary. -- Bill Nichols, Prof. of Theater Arts, UC Santa Cruz


Royal Anthropological Institute Commendation
Society for Visual Anthropology honoree
African Studies Assn. honoree
Natl. Educational Film Festival Award
American Film Festival Award
Margaret Mead Film Festival honoree