The cemetery of cinema
Thierno Souleymane Diallo’s latest film traces his search for what is likely the first film made by a Guinean, in the process asking: how is a film culture possible when the infrastructure and institutions are lacking?
Guinea
Guinean first ladies and big (political) business
The wives of (former) heads of state form an important part of the political elite in Guinea, considerably shaping the country’s sociopolitical and economic past and present.
Alpha Condé, undone
Fashion creates spectacle. What can we learn from the images from Guinea's recent coup d’état?
Alpha and Omega
AIAC Talk is back, and to kick off our second season we head to Guinea to discuss a crisis of state, institutions and public morality with Siba N’Zatioula Grovogui.
When Americans took a global health crisis seriously
Recalling its Ebola hysteria would help the US better confront COVID-19.
Guinea’s authoritarian afterlives
The recent election has led to violence and general pandemonium. An explosion of independent journalism offers hope.
Black Atlantic Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter protests build on a long history of anti-racist solidarity and struggle across the Atlantic.
A clear pathway out of the current crisis in Guinea
Guinea, more than ever, needs an inclusive debate not only on the function of the state, but also on the nature of our institutions and therefore the very state of the republic.
Un débat inclusif pour une sortie de crise en République de Guinée
La Guinée a plus que jamais besoin d’un débat inclusif non seulement sur le fonctionnement de l’état mais aussi sur la nature de nos institutions et donc l’état même de la république. Je vous propose quelques raisons.
The World Cup and international relations
Who gets to host future editions of the men's soccer World Cup is not just big business, but also a bargaining chip in international relations.
“Faking” for democracy
What if “fake” as a mode of operating on social media held the key to unlocking democratic debate, as the practice would suggest in Africa?
By the light of the arrivals gate
Guinea's electricity crisis is a metaphor for the country's postcolonial maladies
Mali and Manhattan
Why is the conversation in New York about what the government will do about an epidemic, while for West Africa many look instinctively to NGOs?
Elections and Ethnicity in Guinea
There is a certain deja vu about how Alpha Conde stays in power: every time there's an election he exploits ethnic divisions.
5 New Films to Watch Out For, N°30
From the director and singer-actors of the 2005 film U-Carmen eKhayelitsha comes a new “opera” film. Unogumbe/Noye’s Fludde follows the plot of Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde work but moves the action from medieval England to present-day South Africa. Nomads is a musical documentary by Mohamad Hanafi, produced by the Goethe‐Institut’s Sudan Film Factory (also check […]
What was Strauss-Kahn wearing?
Euro-American media just can't do right by Nafissatou Diallo, the Guinean hotel worker who accused a prominent French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault in a New York City hotel. Even though she effectively won the case.
Remixed Metaphors
Guinean-Swiss photographer Namsa Leuba deftly "merges" aesthetic traditions.
Independence Day in Guinea
Since we’re back to our Independence Day meme, yesterday was Guinea-Conakry’s day. (Yes, Sean’s fault again.) Looking south from where I live, it’s tempting to think of, say, DJ Oudy as being the big star. But that’s because Paris lies somewhere in between here and Guinea. And the Guinean diaspora does a good job at […]
When You Refuse, You Say No
The intersection of rape, power, and impunity in Guinea has a history that is very recent and very dark.
Music Break
I like this video for Sayon Bamba’s song ‘L’excisée’ (from her album Dougna). Born in Guinea she resides in Brussels these days. A message doesn’t come much clearer than this.