Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Outdoor Movies at an Open Air Film Festival in Burkina Faso

Every other year since 1969, some 5,000 film enthusiasts from across the world have gathered in Ouagadougou — the capital of Burkina Faso — for FESPACO, a biennial pan-African film festival. The city’s heat and dust are offset by desert skies that are ideal for outdoor cinema. At the 2001 edition, the Stallion of Yennenga award (the festival’s top prize) went to Ali Zaoua, a Moroccan film about street children.

The festival has not been without tension. In 2001, two directors attempted to screen out-of-competition films about the 1998 murder of journalist Norbert Zongo — killed alongside three others when their car was burned while he was investigating the death of President Compaoré's chauffeur — only to have their posters torn down and screenings cancelled without explanation. The United Nations had meanwhile identified President Compaoré as a key figure in the arms-for-diamonds trade fueling conflict in Sierra Leone and Angola. The international film community continued attending each edition regardless.