Kick-off iAfrica Film Festival 2023: Money, Freedom, a Story of the CFA Franc

The ASCL proudly presents the kick-off of the iAfrica Film Festival 2023. On Thursday 12 October the film Money, Freedom, a Story of the CFA Franc (2022), by Katy Léna Ndiaye, will be screened in Leiden.

The former French colonies in Central and West Africa have been independent since 1960, but most of these countries still use the currency of the former oppressor: the CFA Franc. It was linked to the French Franc when it was introduced. Now the currency has a fixed exchange rate with the Euro. The link with the European currency strongly influences the monetary policy of CFA countries. Thus the value of the CFA Franc is defined by political decisions taken elsewhere, rather than by the domestic economy.
The film explores the history of this monetary colonisation through interviews with key players and direct witnesses of the history of the CFA Franc, supplemented by extensive archive material. This is alternated with dreamy shots of landscapes and historical objects, accompanied by the filmmaker, in voice-over, reflecting on the symbolism of monetary sovereignty. Since 2017, discussion of the French CFA has again been revived, thanks to a new generation that’s eager to move into the next phase of decolonisation and emancipation.

Programme

18:00 Welcome by Angélique Mbundu, founder of the iAfrica Film Festival
18:10 Start film screening
19:55 Discussion 
20:30 Drinks in the African Studies Centre Library

Watch a trailer of the film Money, Freedom, a Story of the CFA Franc:

The iAfrica Film Festival 2023, powered by Yangambi, will take place on 13, 14 and 15 October in The Hague (Filmhuis Den Haag). Part of the Film Festival programme is the 'Authenticité' exhibition named Monarchy and Colonial Past: A New Generation and New Perspectives, by the renowned Belgian-Congolese artist David Katshiunga. The exhibition is on show from  6-31 October in Amare, Spuiplein 150, The Hague.