Roger Jamar and the Palavers of Mboloko

Directed by Jean-Michel Kibuski

A short documentary about Roger Jamar, the pioneer of African animated film, made by renowned Congolese animator Jean-Michel Kibushi who also oversaw the restoration of Jamar's original 16mm prints. The Palavers of Mboloko is a series of seven short 16mm color “animated cartoons for Africans” produced in the Belgian Congo by the priest Father Roger Jamar during the 1950s. They have been called the first ‘African’ films, despite being made by Europeans, because they incorporated elements of African folklore and music.