As complex as it may be in general, the concept of national cinema is even more complicated when applied to film-producing countries in Africa. Most theories of nationhood and nationalism need rethinking in relation to the African continent, where territorial borders and the very concept of nation-states were inherited from the colonial powers. What is more, theories of national cinema need some re-adjustment if applied to film production on a continent where regional, pan-African and international ties tend to be as important as strictly national ones, and sometimes even more important.

From the birth of sub-Saharan African filmmaking in the 1960s, cinema in Africa has been wedged between the national, the transnational and the international. In the newly independent states, filmmaking was seen as a tool for building individual nation-states, but at the same time, African filmmakers aligned themselves with the anti-colonial pan-African discourse of the era and conceived of their work within the framework of an overall African solidarity. However, due to political censorship and general economic hardship in their home countries, the filmmakers soon looked for funding outside Africa, primarily in Europe, which added a strong international dimension to film production on the continent. This international dimension is also evident when it comes to the consumption of African films. As a result of the absence of a working distribution infrastructure in Africa, the main audience for these films is to be found at international film festivals and amongst art cinema aficionados in the (rather few) countries where they are imported for ordinary theatrical release. In addition, most of the filmmakers have been trained in Europe, and Europeans are usually prominent in their film crews, not least in the crucial functions of cinematographer and editor.