"Manthia Diawara is quite simply the best critic (in any language)currently writing on African cinema." -- RobertStam

"Diawara has produced a useful history, a cogentanalysis, and, in his arguments on how African cinema should develop, an undoubtedlycontroversial book." -- Studies in Popular Culture

"Thisis a good, solid and reliable history of filmmaking on the African continent, beginning with colonial production and moving on to independent filmmaking... animportant and welcome reference source." -- ClassicImages

"Diawara's work is comprehensive, based on rigorousresearch and sound analyses... it aptly illustrates the intricate correlationsbetween politics, economics and culture." -- Black FilmReview

"In a relatively new field of historical 'filmtheory', African Cinema: Politics and Culture will become indispensable." --The Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory, Vol. 1-3, 1996

Drawing on political science, economics, history, andcultural studies, Diawara provides an insider's account of the development andcurrent status of African cinema. He discusses such issues as film production anddistribution, and film aesthetics from the colonial period to the present.