[…] Films are targeted at an international audience, which is already saddled with its own preconceptions of Africa [...] Why tie the film so explicitly to a cause that “needs immediate attention,” if not to profit on the outdated idea of that there is a foreign land that needs saving? Art can certainly dramatize real-life events, but it can’t be the earnest volunteer on the street with a Greenpeace clipboard.

Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa says the much-anticipated film Mandela's Gun will be released in the first quarter of 2016. Mthethwa is busy drumming up support for Africa Day next year, where he signed agreements with counterparts in the fields of film cooperation, oral history and cultural exchange programs. He says they will be using cultural diplomacy to forge people-to-people relations.

I've been in the Peace Corps since October 2014, stationed in Ghana's Northern Region. On Thursday, I'll spend the day in northern Ghana with three [Peace Corps] friends […] Living in a village without running water or electricity for the last year has made me realize the vast privileges so many of us take for granted […] And I've also learned that even when you don't have a lot, you can still share what little you have.

Nairobi — Pope Francis Thursday morning held an inter-faith dialogue with religious leaders where he advocated for peaceful co-existence among Kenyans and good governance to reduce radicalization among the youth.

The South African documentary, Miners Shot Down, on Monday night walked away with the International Emmy award for best documentary. The film covers the 2012 Marikana massacre when mineworkers in one of South Africa's biggest platinum mines began a wildcat strike for better wages. Six days later, the police used live ammunition to brutally suppress the strike, killing 34 and injuring many more.

After a bomb blast Tuesday evening in Yola, Nigeria, took the lives of at least 31 people, Facebook announced the activation of its Safety Check feature, a button that enables people in disaster areas to let their friends and family know they’re out of harm’s way. Zuckerberg made the announcement on his Facebook page. “... we made the decision to use Safety Check for more tragic events like this going forward..."

African countries must not overstate the extent of Chinese investment on the continent as China is investing very little [...] At the recently-held African Media Leaders Forum in South Africa last week, UN Economic Commission for Africa Executive Secretary Carlos Lopez said African leaders had to confront the reality that Chinese investment in Africa was not enough for the “mineral sacrifices” it was warranting.

Selma director Ava DuVernay is brining new cinema to our shores. This month, her distribution company, ARRAY, is releasing the South African coming-of-age drama Ayanda in theaters in Los Angeles and New York. Ayanda—starring Terry Pheto, star of the Oscar-winning South African indie Tsotsi—tells the story of a young woman who is willing to do anything to keep her father's legacy alive.