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In January 2009, the last three movie theaters in Cameroon closed their doors one after the other. Although the government had tried since 1973 to support its motion picture industry by creating a development fund, the lack of any resolute policy held back the development of a viable industry. It is against this backdrop that the author reviews the history of Cameroon’s motion picture industry, which has been trapped between the production sector’s economic dependence on wealthy countries and the stranglehold of foreign companies’ distribution and screening networks. Over and above a small number of exemplary but rare international co-productions, however, a new generation is now using digital filmmaking equipment to gain genuine economic independence.