FESPACO — the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou — has been held in Burkina Faso since 1969, making it the largest film festival on the African continent. Beyond the screen, Burkina Faso is a landlocked West African nation with a proud revolutionary history, vibrant mask traditions, and a name that means "land of upright (honest) people" in the Mossi and Dioula languages.
Each round presents 10 randomized multiple-choice questions drawn from a pool of 50, so every playthrough is different. You get instant feedback with explanations after each answer, plus a shareable score at the end.
You'll explore the revolutionary presidency of Thomas Sankara, the capital Ouagadougou, the Sahel's harsh geography, the Mossi kingdoms and their mask traditions, the Banfora Cascades and Sindou Peaks, major exports like cotton, gold, and shea butter, the SIAO crafts fair, recent military coups, and the jihadist insurgency that has reshaped the country since 2015.
Thomas Sankara was the revolutionary president of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987, often called "Africa's Che Guevara." He renamed the country from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, launched mass vaccination campaigns, championed women's rights, promoted self-sufficiency, and planted millions of trees to fight desertification. He was assassinated in a coup led by his former ally Blaise Compaoré on October 15, 1987.
Burkina Faso means "land of upright people" or "land of honest people." The name was coined by Thomas Sankara in 1984 when he renamed the country from its colonial name, Upper Volta (referring to the upper reaches of the Volta River). "Burkina" comes from the Mossi language meaning "upright" or "honest," while "Faso" comes from Dioula meaning "fatherland."
FESPACO (Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou) is the largest film festival in Africa, held biennially in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It was founded in 1969 and celebrates African cinema from across the continent and the diaspora. The top prize is the Étalon de Yennenga (Yennenga Stallion), named after the legendary princess who founded the Mossi kingdom.
Last updated: March 2026