Thérèse Sita-Bella

She was born into the Beti tribe in southern Cameroon, and received her education from Catholic missionaries. In the 1950s, after obtaining her baccalaureate from a school in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé, she went to Paris in order to continue her studies. It was in France that her interest in journalism and in film developed.^{[citation needed]}

In 1955, Sita-Bella started her career as a journalist.^[1] Later on, in 1963, Sita-Bella became the first woman filmmaker in Cameroon and all of Africa.^[2] From 1964 to 1965, Sita-Bella worked in France at the French newspaper La Vie Africane, which she co-created. After returning to Cameroon in 1967, she joined the Ministry of Information and became the Deputy Chief of Information.^[1]

In 1963, Sita-Bella directed the documentary Tam-Tam à Paris, which followed a troupe from the Cameroonian National Ensemble during a tour of Paris.^[2] Tam Tam à Paris is frequently cited as being the first film by a woman from sub-Saharan Africa.^[3] In 1969, Tam Tam à Paris featured at the first Week of African Cinema, a festival that was later to become known as FESPACO.^[4]

Sita-Bella was considered to be a trailblazer and one of the rare women working in the film industry that was being dominated by men.^[5] She spoke about the film industry in the 1970s by saying:

"Camerawomen in the 1970s? At that time we were very few. There were few West Indians, a woman from Senegal called Safi Faye and I. But you know cinema is not a woman's business".^[5]

On 27 February 2006, Sita-Bella died at a hospital in Yaoundé from colon cancer.^[6] Sita-Bella was buried at the Mvolye cemetery in Yaoundé.^[5]

The Sita Bella film hall at the Cameroon Cultural Centre was named after her.^[7]