The Alphabet of Film a Card Game by Jean-Pierre Bekolo
$35
PRE-ORDER
$35
Card Game with Guidebook
Bilingual [EN / FR]
Players: 4+
All ages
78 cards
Rigid box, matte laminated
Jeu de Cartes avec Livret
Bilingue [FR/ EN]
Joueurs: 4+
Tout âge
78 cartes
Boîte rigide, pelliculage mat
ISBN 978-1-7383796-6-8
Concept, Symbols, and Writing by Jean-Pierre Bekolo
Edited by Afi Venessa Appiah
Layout by Daniel H.
Fonts by Maxitype
Photo Documentation by Afi Venessa Appiah
Published & Produced with:
Concept, Symbols, and Writing by Jean-Pierre Bekolo
Edited by Afi Venessa Appiah
Layout by Daniel H.
Fonts by Maxitype
Photo Documentation by Afi Venessa Appiah
Published & Produced with:
“ Cinema must be able, through its universal symbols, to signify the world it reveals.”
- Jean-Pierre Bekolo
Created by legacy Cameroonian filmmaker Jean-Pierre Bekolo, this first-of-its-kind card game gives cinema its own signs. Now, the 7th art form writes itself on its own terms. Players take on the roles of protagonist, antagonist, hero's ally, and adversary, building a story card by card across three acts: Exposition, Confrontation, Resolution. Through collaborative discussion, watch your next screenplay’s plot evolve.
The world a film reveals, Bekolo writes, is "woven with marks to decipher."
Part card game, part screenwriting workshop, part cinematic manifesto; these signifiers are now in your hands.
How to Play
The first card played is THE INITIAL SITUATION.
From there, the two sides take turns; the hero and their ally, then the villain and theirs, laying cards in a line from left to right across the table: the timeline of a story being written in real time.
Act 1 - Exposition
Establish the story. Describe the characters and their universe.
[i.e.: Place the hero in a tree.]
Act 2 - Confrontation
The stakes rise. The hero faces obstacles, makes difficult decisions, and learns valuable lessons.
[i.e.: The character finds themselves pelted with stones.]
Act 3 - Resolution
The conflict reaches its peak. The character applies their lessons.
[i.e.: It is essential, now, to bring the hero down from the tree.]
The first card played is THE INITIAL SITUATION.
From there, the two sides take turns; the hero and their ally, then the villain and theirs, laying cards in a line from left to right across the table: the timeline of a story being written in real time.
Act 1 - Exposition
Establish the story. Describe the characters and their universe.
[i.e.: Place the hero in a tree.]
Act 2 - Confrontation
The stakes rise. The hero faces obstacles, makes difficult decisions, and learns valuable lessons.
[i.e.: The character finds themselves pelted with stones.]
Act 3 - Resolution
The conflict reaches its peak. The character applies their lessons.
[i.e.: It is essential, now, to bring the hero down from the tree.]
Jean-Pierre Bekolo has spent thirty years asking what cinema could be if it wrote itself on its own terms. Born in Cameroon and trained in Paris, he studied film semiotics under Christian Metz at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales; an encounter that would shape everything that followed. His debut feature Quartier Mozart (1992) brought him international recognition at 25, premiering at Cannes and winning awards at Locarno, Montréal, and Ouagadougou. Aristotle's Plot (1995) was commissioned by the British Film Institute as part of its centenary series, placing Bekolo alongside Godard, Scorsese, and Bertolucci. Les Saignantes (2005); widely recognized as Africa's first science fiction film, appears in MoMA's canon of the genre and won the Silver Stallion at FESPACO.
Classified as an Afrofuturist filmmaker, Bekolo's work spans science fiction, political satire, experimental documentary, and installation: always in pursuit of a cinema that refuses easy categorization. His satirical Le Président (2013) was banned in Cameroon. Miraculous Weapons (2019) won the Ousmane Sembène Prize at FESPACO. His installations and films have been exhibited at Documenta 14, Museo Reina Sofía, Savvy Contemporary, and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
A recipient of the Prince Claus Award, Bekolo has taught Film Semiotics at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech, and Hochschule Darmstadt. He is a Harvard University McMillan-Stewart Fellow in Distinguished Filmmaking, Founding Member and President of the World Cinema Alliance, and the creator of Quartier Mozart; a cultural space and workshop hub in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
The Alphabet of Film is the culmination of a lifelong inquiry into cinematic language.