Manthia Diawara is the editor-in-chief of Black Renaissance / Renaissance Noire, a journal of arts, culture and politics, as well as an author and filmmaker whose areas of specialization include Africa, the United States, and the Black Diaspora in Europe.

He has written more than fifty articles on Black film and culture and is the author of several highly acclaimed books. His published works include We Won't Budge: An African Exile in the World (2003), In Search of Africa (1998), Black American Cinema (1993), and African Cinema: Politics and Culture (1992).

His film credits include Bamako Sigi Kan (2002), Diaspora Conversation (2000), In Search of Africa (1999), Rouch in Reverse (1995), and Sembene Ousmane: The Making of African Cinema (1993, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Co-Director).