This special issue of ‘African Research and Documentation’ contains three papers from the seven given at the 2009 annual conference of SCOLMA (Standing Conference on Library Materials on Africa), which was held on 17 June in Cambridge. The topic addressed at the conference was ‘Africa and the moving image: the role of libraries and archives’. Guido Convents gives an overview of current issues in African moving images and their preservation. Vivian Bickford-Smith discusses African perspectives on film as evidence, film as history and film in history. Emma Hunter reflects on the path that led her to using film in teaching African and global history courses to second and third year undergraduates, and explores some of the opportunities and pitfalls. An article on film archives by David Forbes was earlier presented at the 1st International Conference on African Digital Libraries and Archives, held from 1 to 3 July 2009 in Addis Ababa. In an article especially written for this issue, Peter Davis relates his experience with filming in South Africa and discusses his collection of Africana documents. [ASC Leiden abstract]
