Vincent Bouchard
Research Interests: various forms of cinematographic practices developed in West Africa since the 1960s, film production experienced by early filmmakers, popular reception of films, and their impact on African cinemas
Cinema in the Early Years of Independence in West Africa (1955-1981)
This project unites two main research axes: the emergence of cinematic institutions and film reception in West Africa.
The aim of this project is to better understand how a film institution, i.e. the set of rules, structures and norms, was set up in Senegal, Niger, Togo and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) during the 1960s. Secondly, this will allow us to better characterize the types of films (locally produced news and short documentaries, international fictions, films d’auteur) that were broadcasted in these countries. Finally, this project aims to propose hypotheses on the different forms of reception of cinematographic images by diverse audiences, ranging from urban elites to rural communities in these countries.
More generally, this approach is in the vein of Larkin's (2008) work on how the intersection of audio-visual artworks (such as film, radio, and music) and modern infrastructure, like electric power plants and railroads, impacted Nigerian society on both cultural and sociopolitical levels. This project is developed following a comparative logic, studying how one cultural practice, the reception of audio-visual images, evolves in different cultural areas, to reveal patterns and particularities among them. This approach allows for the comparison of how foreign and local audio-visual recordings affect African communities via new references, modes of narration, and technical media. This project will thus consider the various concrete impacts of audio-visual images on post-independence African populations.
The purpose of the research project is to advance in the collection of data and the conceptualisation of a book on the impact of audio-visual images on the emergence of postcolonial identities. While in Nantes, Prof. Bouchard will conduct extensive research at the local Centre des Archives diplomatiques du ministère des Affaires étrangères to identify traces of France’s collaboration with and influence on its former colonies in audio-visual production, distribution, and broadcasting. Additionally, this stay at the Institute for Advanced Study will facilitate the processing of the collected data and the synthesis of the repercussions of audio-visual images on West African societies and local film production.
Vincent Bouchard is Associate Professor of Francophone Studies at Indiana University – Bloomington. Following the receipt of a dual degree from the Film Studies Department at La Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III) and the Comparative Literature Department at the University of Montreal, Dr. Bouchard taught in the Francophone Studies program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He runs the Early African Cinemas Lab (Indiana University), which explores the various forms of cinematographic practices developed in West Africa since the 1960s, including the concrete means of film production experienced by early filmmakers, the popular reception of films, and their impact on African cinemas.
The Lab’s activities are based on the collection of archival data, including from the rich film and paper collections available on the Indiana University campus. His publications include the books Cinema Van, propagande et résistance en Afrique coloniale (Ottawa UP, 2023) and Pour un cinéma léger et synchrone à Montréal ! (Septentrion UP, 2012). He has also co-edited an issue of the scientific journal Intermédialités (Rendering (time), n° 33, 2019) and a close-up on Paulin Vieyra, a Postcolonial figure (Black Camera, vol. 13.2, 2022).