The 2026 Traveling Series features films selected from the 2025 New York African Film Festival, which was presented under the theme Fluid Horizons: A hopeful lens of a shifting world. This lineup honors the resilience of African youth and the forbearers that paved the way.

“Working with New York African Film Festival has been a remarkable experience for me.  When we first wanted to start a festival, I remember fondly taking my class to NYAFF so as a programmer it was great to have our first year here at WashU and in Saint Louis (2006) curated for us.  Mahen and the entire staff are knowledgeable, responsive and passionate about African film and filmmakers. The work they pour into the organization is infectious.  Not only does NYAFF suggest films, but they have been able to connect our festival with visiting filmmakers.  This has done wonders in Saint Louis, a smaller venue, but a venue with a hunger global cinema and for meeting artists telling African stories.”
– Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo,  Washington University in St. Louis 

If you would like to program the films in this series or for more information, please contact us: devin@africanfilmny.org

FEATURE FILMS

SO LONG A LETTER
Angèle Diabang • Adaptation, Drama • Senegal • 2025 • 105 min
Wolof and French with English subtitles

Ramatoulaye, a 50-year-old teacher, has been married to lawyer Modou Fall for 25 years. The couple is very close and happy with their four children. When her husband takes a second wife, his daughter’s best friend, the disillusionment is terrible. A struggle between tradition and modernity begins. The film recounts her descent into hell and bears witness to her reconstruction.

THE MAN DIED
Awam Amkpa • Adaptation, Drama • Nigeria • 2024 • 105 min
English with English or French subtitles

When an idealistic writer is jailed by the military after his mediation to stop a civil war is misconstrued as support for the rebels, his ideals are put to the ultimate test as he battles for his sanity and his life.

NDAR SAGA WAALO
Ousmane-William Mbaye • Documentary • Senegal • 2024 • 91 min
Wolof and French with English subtitles

Ndar, the original name of Saint Louis, an island on the Senegal River, was the port of colonial penetration into West Africa four centuries ago. An economic, cultural and political crossroads, it served as a laboratory for the “civilizing mission.” Commerce, town planning, education and mixed heritage were the instruments used to assimilate populations, establish themselves in the country and exploit its wealth.

FREEDOM WAY
Afolabi Olalekan • Drama • Nigeria • 2024 • 88 min
Yoruba and English with English subtitles

Faced with unfavorable laws and incessant police harassment, three young co-founders struggle to keep their startup alive. A motorcyclist faces dark times with his family after losing his livelihood. A doctor struggles with his conscience on the job while battling outdated government policies. A police pair find themselves on different sides of the law with a difficult choice to make.

SHORT FILMS

LE GRAND CALAO
Zoé Cauwet • Comedy • Burkina Faso, France • 2025 • 27 min
Mooré and French with English subtitles

It’s a hot day, as it often is in Ouagadougou. It’s also a very special day for this group of women. A long-awaited getaway, a moment of discovery and a break from the hustle and bustle of the world and their lives.

BACK TO THE THEATER VOX
Amina Awa Niang • Drama, Coming-of-age • Senegal • 2024 • 22 min
Wolof and French with English subtitles

Mamadou and Junior would have everything it takes to be the best friends in the world if only their two grandfathers, a famous photographer and a novelist who used to be good friends, got along again. But because of an unfinished film they wanted to make together, they broke off their relationship, and their two families hold a bitter grudge. Junior has an idea: what if he and Mamadou found their film and finished it themselves…

RACHID
Rachida El Garani • Comedy • Belgium, Morocco • 2023 • 18 min
French with English subtitles

Rachid, a 21-year-old keen young man of Moroccan descent, has one goal: to find a job. He confidently applies for a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant, which to him seems like a job anyone can do. But it soon turns out that it’s not as simple as he imagined.

THE PASSAGE
Ntokozo Mlaba • Drama, Thriller • South Africa • 2024 • 12 min
South African Vernacular with English subtitles

Set against the backdrop of a township brimming with both potential and peril, The Passage tells the story of Bafana, a bright and ambitious 17-year-old whose dreams of becoming a lawyer are overshadowed by his toxic loyalty to his best friend, Mrembula. When Mrembula, a street-smart manipulator with a dark agenda, rapes Bafana’s girlfriend, Dakalo, the plot takes a chilling turn. Mrembula blackmails Bafana into fabricating an alibi, forcing him to choose between his conscience and the oppressive code of brotherhood.