A visionary curator, author, and developer of African cinema will be honored with Bafta’s prestigious award for outstanding contribution to British cinema.
June Givanni created a London collection with over 10,000 pieces, such as films, documents, audio recordings, photographs, and posters, that chronicle the history of Pan-African cinema for four decades.
The archive, managed by volunteers, is a crucial compilation that preserves the visual media of Africa and its diaspora. It contains valuable items that may have otherwise been lost.
The June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive (JGPACA) collection has been used for public exhibitions, such as the recent one at Raven Row in east London.
Givanni, 73, told the Guardian the award “gives us an opportunity to tell people what we’re trying to do, because people’s ideas about archives are so varied … Our long-term goal is to enrich knowledge and understanding of Pan-African cinema’s place within the cultural sector, it’s creative impact and legacy internationally.”
She was born in what was formerly known as British Guiana and relocated to the United Kingdom at the age of seven. She started her professional journey by organizing the inaugural Festival of Third World Cinema for Third Eye London, and later worked as a film programmer for the ethnic minorities unit at the Greater London Council.
She proceeded to lead the BFI’s division for African-Caribbean content and created the initial all-inclusive list of black and Asian films in the United Kingdom. She also worked as co-editor for the BFI’s Black Film Bulletin, which recently rebranded in 2021 as a joint effort with Sight and Sound magazine, releasing quarterly editions.
She has curated films on five different continents and has written books such as “Remote Control: Challenges of Black Representation in British Film and TV” and “Symbolic Narratives/African Cinema: Viewers, Theory, and the Moving Image.”
The CEO of Bafta, Jane Millichip, praised Givanni for being a leading figure in the conservation, examination, and commemoration of African and African diaspora film as well as Black British cultural legacy.
Givanni will be the recipient of the prestigious award at the upcoming Baftas event in the following month. Past honorees have included Derek Jarman, Ken Loach, Elizabeth Karlsen, Tessa Ross, Ridley Scott, and Curzon Cinemas.
Givanni stressed the significance of archives, stating that they are not only educational, but also culturally enriching.
According to her, many young individuals are impressed by our collection. Their upbringing in the digital era has led them to believe that all information they seek can be found online. However, upon visiting our physical archive, they are astounded by the vast amount of knowledge that they were previously unaware of.
“It is important to broaden our understanding of information, its sources, and how it connects to current events. This aligns with the Ghanaian principle of Sankofa, which encourages reflection on the past in order to gain insight for the future.”
Givanni stated that she views Pan-African cinema as a form of resistance. This means that it acknowledges the significance and impact of African culture on the world.
“When I immigrated to the UK from Guyana in the 1950s as a young child, I was taken aback by the lack of understanding about my identity,” she recalled. “I had grown up in a society where people were driven and supportive, but I was placed in a class with students two years younger than me because there was a belief that I came from a country where literacy was not valued.”
“Often, individuals do not recognize one’s potential contributions. The concept of Pan-Africanism emphasizes the importance of understanding one’s history and recognizing its significance in any location around the globe. This is a task that all of us should undertake.”
Source: theguardian.com
