25 Years of the New York African Film Festival

25 years ago, African Film Festival joined forces with Film Society of  Lincoln Center (FSLC) to honor African cinema and give a voice to artists, activists, and filmmakers from Africa and the diaspora, through the creation of the flagship New York African Film Festival (NYAFF). To celebrate our landmark 25th edition, the New York African Film Festival returns to the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAMcinématek and Maysles Cinema with a fascinating selection of more than 70 narrative and documentary features and shorts from 25 countries.

We pay homage to the early generations of filmmakers, whose long-lasting influence continues to challenge creative thinkers around the world to use cinema to deepen our understanding of the rich cultures and world views of peoples of African descent. As digital media has come into its own, new languages, styles, genres, and narratives that blend together vernacular traditions with pop culture from diverse international sources have emerged, showing our interconnectedness and situating Africa as a powerful actor on the world stage.

We honor visionary filmmakers, including Safi Faye, the first Sub-Saharan woman to direct a commercially distributed feature film, Nigerien writer and director, Rahmatou Keïta, a daughter of the Sahel whose first feature recounted the lives of African cinema pioneers, and Burkinabe director, Apolline Traore, whose poignant film, Borders, will open the festival. We also pay tribute to two late pioneers: internationally awarded Burkinabe filmmaker, Idrissa Ouédraogo, and Tahar Cheriaa, Tunisian film critic, theorist and founder of the first ever African Film Festival, the Carthage Film Festival. Another notable figure, Paulin Vieyra, who mentored Ousmane Sembène and Djibril Diop Mambéty, will be honored with a program featuring his short films. These artists and activists envisioned a new world and have inspired younger generations to grab the baton and continue telling their own singular stories and asserting their presence worldwide.

To commemorate Nelson Mandela’s centennial, we are bringing a stunning selection of the newest South African films, ranging from contemporary Western, to comedy, and melodrama. These films display the country’s explosion of imagination and the dynamism of its film industry. In this year’s festival, youth, as the agents of change, are recognized by the significant number of works by filmmakers under the age of 35. The films of the 25^th NYAFF come together to spotlight an intergenerational discourse in the world of film surrounding Africa and her diaspora.

The 25^th New York African Film Festival is organized by Mahen Bonetti, Founder and Executive Director, African Film Festival, Inc. with Dara Ojugbele, Francoise Bouffault, Rumbi Petrozzello, Dora King, Jacki Fischer, and Beatriz Leal-Riesco; Dennis Lim, Director of Programming, Rufus de Rham, Programmer at Film Society of Lincoln Center, Ashley Clark, Senior Programmer at BAMcinématek and Jessica Green, Cinema Director, Maysles Cinema.

Thanks are due to the AFF Board of Directors, Joan Baffour, Luca Bonetti, Gabriele Donati, Belynda Hardin,  Ulli Maier, Karen McMullen, Julie Mehretu, Ekwa Msangi,  Mohammed Sillah, Alonzo Speight, Malika Lee Whitney, Cheryl Duncan & Company Inc. Public Relations, Precision Plus Communications, Kojo Associates and AFF’s volunteer team.