Category: Documentary
Status: Research & Development
Created by: Solo Ouedraogo
A cinematic tribute to the orchestras and musicians who gave sound to the hopes, identities, and cultural ambitions of newly independent African nations.
During the years following African independence, orchestras became powerful expressions of national identity, cultural pride, and political optimism.
Across Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, and other parts of the continent, musicians combined traditional rhythms with jazz, Afro-Cuban music, funk, highlife, rumba, and other modern influences.
Some groups were supported by national governments, cultural institutions, radio stations, or the armed forces. They performed at official celebrations, public dances, festivals, clubs, and international cultural events.
Les Orchestres d’Afrique 1970 pays tribute to the musicians, singers, composers, and arrangers whose work became the soundtrack of post-independence Africa. Through archival material, music, testimonies, and encounters with surviving artists and their families, the documentary will preserve the memory of a generation that helped redefine how Africa heard and represented itself.
