In African Film: Re-imagining a Continent, Josef Gugler provides anintroduction to African cinema through an analysis of 15 films made by Africanfilmmakers. These directors set out to re-image Africa; their films offer Westernviewers the opportunity to re-imagine the continent and its people. As a point ofcomparison, two additional films on Africa -- one from Hollywood, the other fromapartheid South Africa -- serve to highlight African directors' altogether differentperspectives.

Gugler's interpretation considers the financial andtechnical difficulties of African film production, the intended audiences in Africaand the West, the constraints on distribution, and the critical reception of thefilms.