Launched by U. S. Ambassador Andrew Young the day after July 4th Independence Day celebrations, the Fifth Annual American Film Week, a collaborative project between the U. S. Embassy and the Institut Français in Ouagadougou, reached its climax with three back-to-back film shows on July 8, 2017. Over the course of four days, seven recent American films were shown on the big screen at the Institut Français, reaching a total of 1,350 audience members. This event demonstrates the important role cinema plays as a meeting point for French, Burkinabe, and American cultures and peoples where all gather to explore, express, and share realities, visions, hopes, and dreams. This celebration of film supports the arts as part of the economic engine for development in Burkina Faso, but also serves as a tool for peace and cultivating understanding.
