Burkina Faso: 27th edition of FESPACO launched

The 27th edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Fespaco) has been launched.

The opening ceremony of the festival known as the largest film festival on the continent, took place on Saturday at the Palais des Sports in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. It had in attendance Burkinabe President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.

Kabore said the staging of the festival was a show of the resilience of the Burkinabe people in the face of `"security and health constraints".

Roch Marc Christian Kabore, Burkina Faso President :

"The theme that was chosen, which aims to understand the difficulties, constraints, prospects of African cinema, is a theme that is important. And it will be necessary that all the actors of this world look at it so that we can remove all the barriers that prevent African cinema from thriving."

For the organizers, preparations in terms of security and health have been well made. "We are aware of the situation and all arrangements have been made" for a smooth running of Fespaco, which is expected to receive a thousand festival-goers, delegate-general Alex Moussa Sawadogo told AFP.

Dancers of  Burkinabe choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly also took to the stage.

Until the announcement of the winners on October 23, the film screenings will take place in various theaters in Ouagadougou, including the 1,066-seat Neerwaya cinema. But screenings will also take place in "ten open-air spaces", including one set up at the Place de la Nation, one of the largest in the city, Sadawogo said.

The general delegate announced that after the official festival, a "mini Fespaco" will be held in the north of Burkina Faso most affected by the jihadist attacks which, in six years, have killed about 2,000 people and displaced 1.4 million.