Burkina Faso: An African cinema museum is on the way – an announcement marking the 4th edition of heritage month
Burkina Faso, a land of history and culture, celebrates its living memory. On Monday, May 11, 2026, at the premises of the Burkinabe Agency for Cinema and Audiovisual (ABCA), the Minister of Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism, Pingdwendé Gilbert Ouédraogo, officially launched the exhibition and symposium dedicated to the national cinematic heritage. These activities are part of the 4th edition of Burkinabe Heritage Month.
The objective: to preserve and promote the memory of Burkinabe cinema, as the country remains an undisputed reference for the seventh art in Africa, notably thanks to the prestigious FESPACO.
The exhibition offers a journey through time, tracing the evolution of technical equipment from the early days of national cinema to the digital era. Editing tables, film cameras, vintage projectors, film reels, and antique cameras are on display.
These tools bear witness to an artisanal know-how gradually transformed by the miniaturization of equipment and the transition to digital.
But memory is not an end in itself: it must be passed on. This is the very purpose of the symposium organized alongside the exhibition.
This exchange forum aims to bridge generations by allowing young professionals and students to benefit from the experience of their predecessors.
For Minister Pingdwendé Gilbert Ouédraogo, preserving cinematic heritage necessarily requires training, the valorization of archives, and dialogue between elders and juniors.
In a sector marked by technological acceleration, the minister stressed the need for qualifying and adapted training.
He also issued a call to African filmmakers: to tell the history of their own states through their own productions, in order to move beyond the prism of external perspectives. This is a way to affirm the continent’s cultural and narrative sovereignty.
Finally, a major announcement concluded the ceremony: the forthcoming creation of a museum dedicated to African cinema.
This project aims to preserve and promote the equipment, works, and memories of seventh-art professionals.
The public is warmly invited to visit the exhibition, accessible at the ABCA premises (formerly the Economic and Social Council). A precious appointment for lovers of cinema and Burkinabe heritage.
Olivier TOE
