The 31st edition of the annual New York African Film Festival (NYAFF), one of the first African festivals in the U.S., is back. Founded by Mahen Bonetti out of her love for film and desire to let the public see African lives through a more comprehensive lens, the festival has now grown to be a cultural staple for film lovers everywhere. It remains the only African festival founded by a woman.
The festival will run at Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) with some screenings at Maysles Documentary Center May 8 through May 14. Over 50 films—from Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo—and 20 other nations will be presented. As in past years, this festival, whose theme is “Convergence of Time,” concludes at the Brooklyn Academy of Music–Film Africa. According to the release for the festival, the theme refers to an exploration of “the intersection of historical and contemporary roles played by individuals representing Africa and its diaspora in art. The festival invites audiences to delve into the convergence of archival and modern experimentalism, transcending both space and time.” For the first time, there will be a live dance performance accompanying one of the films, “Making Men,” a short examining masculinity. A panel discussion will follow the screening and performance.
One of the must-see films is the short “Jeanne,” about the relationship between 19th-century French poet Charles Baudelaire and Jeanne Duval, his girlfriend. Duval was catapulted into fame by an 1862 portrait of her by Edouard Manet, modern art icon and Baudelaire’s friend. “Jeanne” provides a fascinating look at some of the dynamics that often surface in interracial relationships between whites and Blacks. The Shorts program will also feature “Love Taps,” directed by Derrick Woodyard and executive produced by Spike Lee, which offers another comment on masculinity.
Beginning May 9, a digital art exhibit by Zainab Aliyu, “A litany for past suns labeled rituals / A star lit any and all possible futures,” will run in the Amphitheater at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center approximately half an hour before the first festival screening each day. The exhibit is inspired by Nikki Giovanni’s “A Litany for Peppe” (1970) and Audre Lorde’s “A Litany for Survival” (1978), two thematically similar poems by African American women writers. As the title suggests, the piece is structured as a litany, a repetitive and rhythmic form often used in ceremonial settings.
Opening Night features the North American premiere of “Over the Bridge” by acclaimed Nigerian director Tolu Ajayi. Per the press release, the suspense drama film is centered around “corruption in Lagos where Folarin, a successful investment banker whose company is contracted by the government to oversee a high-profile project, searches for answers when the project goes awry, which leads him to a remote fishing village to put the pieces of the mystery together.”
Other North American premieres screening in this year’s festival include Matthew Leutwyler’s “Fight Like a Girl,” depicting the true story of a young Congolese woman (Ama Qamata from the hit Netflix series “Blood and Water”) who finds liberation after joining an all-women’s boxing club in Goma, led by an ex-child-soldier coach; and Oyiza Adaba’s biographical documentary “DELA: The Making of El Anatsui,” which delves into the life of El Anatsui, the world-renowned Ghanaian sculptor, and triumphantly acknowledges the importance of Africa’s rich artistic and cultural heritage.
U.S. premieres include Clive Will’s taut drama “Time Spent with Cats Is Never Wasted,” and Perivi Katjavivi’s crime thriller “Under the Hanging Tree,” set in present-day Namibia with reference to its history of genocide. There is also Yajaira De La Espada’s documentary “Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense” about Tanzania’s first president, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, and the recent presidency of Dr. John Pombe Magufuli.
Damien Hauser’s coming-of-age heart tugger “After The Long Rains” and four other films will see their New York premieres. They include Uche Aguh’s musical romance “Dynamite,” “This Is Lagos,” a dark comedy by Kenneth Gyang, “The Rhythm and the Blues,” the true-life story of legendary bluesman Eddie Taylor starring actor and musician Leon, and the highly anticipated documentary by Osvalde Lewat, “MK: Mandela’s Secret Army.” which will screen for the 30th anniversary of South African Freedom Day.
The Closing Night film is “Dilli Dark” by Indian director Dibakar Das Roy who makes his feature film debut with this dark satire that centers around a Nigerian business student transplant to New Delhi. The film, which references the history of African presence in India dating back to the 13th century, stars Samuel Abiola Robinson, a Black Nigerian actor known as much for his Malayalam films as those from Nollywood. According to statements by the film’s director, the film’s theme is acceptance.
Tickets are on sale now. Ticket prices are $17 for the general public; $14 for students, seniors, and persons with disabilities; and $12 for FLC Members. See more and save with a 3+ Film Package ($15 for general public; $12 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $10 for FLC Members), the $99 All-Access Pass, or the $79 Student All-Access Pass. Contact info@africanfilmny.org for information about attending the Opening Night Party, and visit africanfilmny.org for more info.