Fanon at 100: reflecting on a revolutionary legacy

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This season of Spotlight on Africa concludes ahead of the summer break with a focus on Frantz Fanon in the year of his centenary. It also highlights a groundbreaking new report by UNESCO on the state of the publishing industry across the continent.

This week, we begin in Harlem, New York City, USA, with Rico Speight, a film and theatre director.

His film, Rediscovering Fanon, was screened in Paris on 5 July in partnership with the Frantz-Fanon Foundation, as this year marks the centenary of one of the inspirational figures of the anti-colonial movement. The film will also be screened acorss France and in Martinque later in the year.

According to Speight, Frantz Omar Fanon (1925–1961), whose ideas have stirred the hearts of progressives since the 1950s, continues to inspire even decades after his death.

With Speight's latest documentary, the filmmaker said he "aims to reveal the man behind the legend and analyse the relevance of his prolific theories in a globalised, post-racial millennium."

Biopic explores the life and legacy of Frantz Fanon, a century after his birth

We also head to Unesco in Paris, where Spotlight on Africa spoke to Caroline Munier about the UN agency's new report on the state of the publishing industry on the African continent. 

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
9 Jul 2025 English South Africa News

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