Black . African . & Diasporic . Cinema
Monangambee (formerly Is That Jazz) is a nomadic panafrican microcinema in Lagos, primarily based at the Jazzhole bookstore in Ikoyi, but also screening in a variety of other locations. Our screenings engage Black continental and diasporic filmmakers, as well as Third Cinema, and cinematic movements stemming from the Global South in general. We try as much as possible to have the filmmakers present, in person or virtually, as the screenings are followed by discussions.
Our name was decided as an homage to late Sarah Maldoror’s debut film, Monangambee (1969), in conversation with her daughter, Annouchka de Andrade. Set in Angola but shot in Algeria, Monangambee speaks to the fundamental misrecognition(s) between colonized and colonizers in a Fanonian vein, while also centering the possibilities of revolutionary care work. Quite fittingly, the name of the film is taken from a war cry colonized Angolans employed to warn of the approach of Portuguese slave traders.
If you like what we do, you should also check these other initiatives: No Parking Lagos, No Evil Eye Cinema, Culture Art Society (CAS) and SUNU Journal.
Monangambee is primarily volunteer-based, we finance our initiatives via grants as much as possible, but welcome support, if you are able to. You can send us donations via Wise, indicating “Monangambee” in the reference.
Curators
Muna Moto (1975) Jean-Pierre Dikongué Pipa, Cameroon
Alicia Abieyuwa Bergamelli (she/they) works in film production, curation and is a mixed media poet, currently based in Amsterdam. Their work is focused on anti-colonial African cinema, filmmaking and the work of visual artists across the Black diaspora.
Chrystel Oloukoï / Olukoyi (they) is a film critic, curator, moving image artist and researcher in Black studies, currently based in Richmond, VA.
Dara Omotoso (he) is a Lagos-based cultural worker. He is currently experimenting with various non-fiction formats.
Esé Emmanuel (they/she) is a Nigerian writer, curator, etc. They work at the intersection of West African cultural history and Black poetics. She currently lives between Lagos and Iowa City.
Tobi Akinde (he) is an Ibadan-based filmmaker, curator and independent researcher working with non fiction, experimental cinema and video installations.