Dynamic Africa

As a child, Award-winning South African photographer Neo Ntsoma was only exposed to negative images of black people and as a result, Ntsoma dreamed of taking more positive and holistic images of black people and black life, something the Apartheid regime barred by maintaining a firm grip over the country’s media.

Transitioning from a systematically racially oppressive country to a nation with new possibilities for change, Ntsoma retraces the 20-something year journey of some of her closest friends, colleagues and peers as a way of celebrating the progress of black South Africans in popular culture.

FILM: Madame Brouette* (2002) - Dir. Moussa Sene Absa

Focusing on the plight of poor Senegalese women, Madame Brouette follows the story of one such woman who has decided to take matters into her own hands on multiple occasions.

Single mother Mati (Rokhaya Niang) toils daily by selling various goods at a nearby market, which she transports there via a large wheelbarrow — prompting local residents to dub her “Madame Brouette.”

Having sworn off men since divorcing her abusive husband, Mati’s example persuades her best friend Ndaxte (Kadiatou Sy) to also leave her thuggish husband. Mati’s vow toward men gets temporarily put on hold once she meets slick-talking policeman Naago (Aboubacar Sadikh Ba) and the pair begin a wild fling. Mati grows increasingly aware of Naago’s corruption — as well as his penchant for womanizing — just about the same time she realizes she’s pregnant with his child.

As Naago and Mati’s relationship turns sour, Mati is forced to take matters into her own hands once again, but Naago’s criminal activities increasingly put Mati and her family’s lives in danger — forcing the determined woman to take drastic measures to save her family. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

*unfortunately this uploaded version is missing the ending of the film. For the full, you can head to the Africa Film Library.

Al Jazeera’s series follows Kenyan fashion photographer Barbara Minishi as she documents the campaign of presidential candidate Martha Karua for her project on Kenyan women. The project’s main objective is to represent a diverse group of women all wearing the same red dress as a symbol of unity and national identity.

Minishi also talks about the particular obstacles she’s come against about being a woman photographer, and more specifically a black woman photographer.