Paper short abstract:

This study is inspired by the unexplored capabilities of African narratives, especially films. It envisions the future of Africa and questions the contributions which folktales could make towards re-imagining and re-shaping this future. This is a scholar meets practitioner discussion session.

Paper long abstract:

African storytelling is experiencing global interest, thus presenting African creatives great opportunities to create, define, envision, re-imagine just about anything possible for Africa – past, present and future. Technologies available for storytelling, especially through the film medium, offer an opportunity for a renaissance – the rebirth of great narratives – oral and written, from Africa’s past. Folk narratives help communities maximize their strength, learn morals and teach life skills. Through these tales, weaknesses become strength, threats become opportunities and dreams come to life. According to Mphasa (2017), through folktales, cultural heritage is gained which contributes to determining a people’s thoughts, desires and attitude. With such established efficiency, one becomes curious about the potentials of adapting folktales to address contemporary problems, weaknesses and threats in the society. This study engages established African filmmakers in a discussion to query how folktales can shape African future, and the social responsibilities of the filmmaker as an entertainment educator. The scholar-meets-practitioner discussion session intends to discover how folktales can be used to reimagine African history, development, as well as address her social problems. This is a part of an ongoing research on African storytelling, which interrogates the problems currently hindering the Nigerian society from sustainably evolving and progressing. It intends to discover how adapting folk narratives into contemporary film narratives can promote growth and development as well as inspire and motivate audience into problem solving mode and to envision and aspire towards a new Nigeria.