Alter(ing)native narratives: Agency, human rights and an ‘aesthetics of commitment’ in African films

This article challenges disability representation and discourse in current African cinematic production. The article explores the films, A Tune Away by Stanlee Ohikhuare (2021) and Petits rêves (‘Small Dreams’) by Mohamed Karrat (2020), and argues for an ‘aesthetics of commitment’, which eschews notions of victims as passive objects whose only recourse is societal pity. The article argues for ‘equity deserving’ subjects who are placed at the centre of cinematic and textual discourse and contends that these characters’ agency is founded on cinematic voice and responsibility to the story, within an African context. How stories are structured are paramount in this context, and the article examines the films’ narrative structures and visual signatures in order to determine how they create meaning and force engagement of the spectator beyond reflection and towards action.