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In this year’s conference, the overarching theme that participants will engage with is African(Cinema): The Connecting Rod of Disciplines in the 21st Century. The critical scholarships of new and recent writings in the field have demonstrated the significance of African Cinema to studies in global cinema. Considering the upsurge in theoretical advancements and sufficiently detailed film analyses, drawing specifically on cultural studies, including reception studies, the future of the growing scholarship of African Cinema will continue to appear bright. With the overarching theme, which essentially centres on the concept of “the connecting rod of disciplines,” we expect and anticipate radical and rigorous participation, as we call for abstracts that will not only articulate the relationship that exists between African cinema and other disciplines that operate beyond or, outside the humanities or the social sciences, but also scholarly abstracts that demonstrate a high preference for: (i) the relationship between African cinema and environmental issues and bio-diversity, medicine and public health, (ii) the transformation that filmmaking has undergone since the turn of the millennium, and (iii) studies that go beyond auteur filmmaking in the traditional sense of militancy, but gesture towards accounting for the noticeable shifts; in new critical approaches to African cinema.

Participants are encouraged to address issues that have been neglected, or have not enjoyed the desired scholarly debates for a long time. Scholars are also free to address new areas that are emerging and touch on the contributions of African cinema to world cinema discourses. For instance, participants are free to render abstracts that may answer the following questions:

§ What is new about Anglophone (Nollywood, Ghanaian Cinema), Francophone, Lusophone and Maghreb Cinemas today?

§ Apart from the studies of conventional genres, which have permeated our scholarly efforts for decades, are there instances of fresh genres emerging?

§ What are documentary films exploring in the 21st century?

§ How do we approach the discourse around African Short Films?

§ What is new about African Diasporic cinema?

§ Is the dichotomy between the “art cinema” and “popular cinema” collapsing due largely to technological developments?

§ What innovations are female filmmakers creating in African filmmaking?

§ What is new about mobile filmmaking, mobile streaming of African contents, and online platforms such as Iroko TV, Ibaka TV, Show Max, Natural TV, Sodere, and Netflix? (How are they changing the viewing culture and experiences of the audiences, and how are they responding to these opportunities?)

§ What is the difference between African Cinema and African Screen Media?

§ How do we theorize and discuss marginalized cinema like “faith based films” in Africa and the diaspora?

§ How are African cinema scholars decolonizing African film criticism today?

We expect that participants respond to the myriad questions through the following sub-themes, which are by no means exhaustive:

· Theoretical and methodological Issues on the Study of African Cinema

· Conceptual Issues on African Cinema

· Philosophical Approaches to Understanding African Cinema

· African Cinema: Sound, Word and Visuals

· African Cinema: Dismantling the Status Quo of Scholarship

· African Cinema: Charting New Paths in the 21st Century

· African Cinema: Professional Endeavors in the 21st Century

· African Cinema: Propagating Scientific Discoveries

· African Cinema: An Institution for Promoting Regulations and Societal Values

· African Cinema in the Services of Social Harmony

· African Cinema: Current (new) Discourses in Gender Studies – feminism and masculinity

· African Cinema: Promoting Popular Culture

· Documenting History through African Cinema

· African Cinema and Artificial Intelligence

· Using African Cinema in the Promotion of Godly Principles

· Language of African Cinema

· African Cinema: The Good, the Bad and the Unintended

· African Cinema, Language and Literature

· African Cinema, Sciences and Social Sciences

· Promoting Religions and Leadership through African Cinema

· Resolving Current African Societal Issues through the Cinema

· Curatorial Practices, Film Festivals and the Discourse of African Cinema

· Piracy and African Cinema

· Projection of Religious Doctrines in African Cinema

· Submission of Abstracts (maximum of 250 words): Latest 25thMarch 2020

· Submission of all completed conference papers – maximum of 12 points Times New Roman Font, Double line spacing, and in not more than 15 pages: Latest April 21, 2020.

· All submissions to:aufoa2020conference@gmail.com and copy adegbite.tobalase@adelekeuniversity.edu.ng

· Registration deadline: April 21, 2020

· Account details: Unity Bank 0027310214: Account Name: Faculty of Arts, Adeleke University

· Participants will be responsible for their own transportation and accommodation, but we will provide information concerning hotel options close to the conference venue.

1. Early Birds – #20,000

2. Undergraduate Students – #5,000.00

3. Post Graduate Students – #15,000.00 (must show current Identification)

4. All other Participants – #25,000.00

Note: Conference fees cover conference materials, tea break and lunch.

Participants who want their papers to be published in Ijinle, the faculty journal, will be required to submit the corrected paper by May 15, 2020.

They shall also be required to pay a review and publication fee of #15, 000 only.

Mr. Femi Odugbemi

Prof. Hyginus Ekwuazi

Emeka Emelobe,

Prof. Serifat O. Labo-Popoola

Prof. Ekundayo S. Alao

Dr. Adegbite Tobalase