The richness and color of African cinema have been neglected for too long and its many talented film-makers deserve full recognition. This new and unique book gives detailed information on over 300 major African and Arab film-makers from the main film-producing countries: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Zaire. It also includes important film directors from Southern African states—Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and others—as well as from other African republics.

Each entry gives details of the film-maker's career and a complete list of films made. Two extensive indexes arrange film-makers by country and list some 5,000 film titles, in both the original language and English. An important addition is the chronology of African cinema, giving a bold summary of its growth over the last thirty years.