February 5th, 2025
Tsitsi says that writing is nothing more than talking to oneself.
On February 5, at the CCCB, I had the privilege of engaging in a conversation with Tsitsi Dangarembga as part of a seminar on feminism and representation in cultural production from contemporary Africa. Recognized as one of the greatest African writers of her generation, Dangarembga is the author of Nervous Conditions (1988) and Black and Female (2022), where she captures the diverse social realities of the African continent and reflects on the marks of colonialism in personal experience and writing. In cinema, she has directed landmark films such as Neria (1993) and Everyone’s Child (1996), which are milestones in Zimbabwean film history. She is also the founder of the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF) and leads the Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa Trust (ICAPA).
In conversation with Maria Iñigo and myself, Dangarembga spoke about the psychological, political, and cultural layers of colonialism that continue to resonate in contemporary cultural production and the representation of women.
Beyond her work, meeting Tsitsi has been a deeply impactful experience. She is a woman who embodies, through her life, what others merely theorize—feminism, sisterhood, decoloniality. Where many talk, analyze, and speculate, she simply lives these concepts, making them tangible beyond words.
Her cinematic work, on a personal level, transported me back to moments of childhood, when Ndowe tales, with their unique narrative rhythms, sparked curiosity, laughter, fear, or uncertainty. Tsitsi has made me feel many things—emotions that, through her storytelling, bring us closer to narratives that are, today, more necessary than ever.
