New York African Film Festival 2012
Presented under the banner theme 21st Century: The Homecoming, this year’s New York African Film Festival will screen contemporary and classic African films that explore the notion of home and homeland, from the legacy of music legend Miriam Makeba (subject of our Opening Night film, Mama Africa) to disaporic visions like the New York-set Restless City, which comes direct from its acclaimed premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In addition, to mark the 100th anniversary of the African National Congress (ANC), NYAFF will pay homage through performances by artists working in music, dance and film. Don’t miss this eclectic sampling of some of the most popular dramas, documentaries and experimental works currently unfolding on screens across the African continent. Series programmed by Richard Peña for the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Mahen Bonetti of African Film Festival, Inc.
Lineup
Mama Africa
Opening night!In person: Bass player Bill Salter (April 11) and interview subject Kathleen Cleaver (April 13).
The remarkable half-century career of music legend Miriam Makeba is the subject of this expansive documentary portrait, tracing her life from her South African roots though her international stardom and ceaseless campaigning on behalf of the world’s oppressed people. Co-presented by Okayafrica.
Relentless
Centerpiece Selection! Filmmaker in person! Plus a live dance performance by Khaleah London.
A former peace-keeping soldier in Sierra Leone battles the scars of war upon his return to the throbbing megacity of Lagos in this haunting story about loneliness, love and self-discovery
Black Africa White Marble
Filmmaker in person!
A plan to transfer the remains of the 19th-century explorer Pietro di Brazza to a multimillion-dollar mausoleum in Congo’s impoverished capital belies an insidious hidden agenda in this gripping documentary thriller about Central Africa’s colonial past and troubled present.
The Creators
Filmmaker in person!
An intimate, refreshing and deeply revealing journey through the lives of several contemporary South African artists who are using their individual disciplines--graffiti, hip hop, spoken word, opera--to recraft history and the legacy of apartheid. Co-presented by Margaret Mead Film Festival.
Screening with Stocktown X: South Africa (Teddy Goitom and Benjamin Taft, 2011)
The Education of Auma Obama
Filmmaker in person!
A captivating and intimate portrait of Barack Obama’s older half-sister, who embodies a post-colonial, feminist identity in her native Kenya.
Elza
Filmmaker in person!
Bernadette, a single mother in Paris, is thrilled when her eldest, Elza, is the first in the family to graduate from college. But Elza breaks her mother's heart by running away to their native Guadeloupe in search of a distant childhood memory: the father she barely remembers.
Fire In Babylon
A remarkable documentary about how the West Indies triumphed over its colonial masters through the achievements of one of the most gifted cricket teams in sporting history. Co-presented by Cinema Tropical.
How to Steal 2 Million
Filmmaker in person!
After serving five years for robbery, newly paroled Jack tries to go straight, but soon finds himself drawn back into his old ways when his best friend Twala proposes stealing the titular sum from Twala’s father. A dark and stylish modern-day film noir with an explosive finale.
In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema & Apartheid, Pt I & II
Using a wealth of archival footage and commentary by noted filmmakers and actors, this two-part film examines the role of cinema in both supporting and attacking Apartheid, from the depiction of South Africa in Hollywood films, to the emergence of an indigenous film industry.
Maami
Filmmaker in person!
Maami, and her young son Kashimawo are desperately poor. She is the center of her son’s world, yet he longs for the father he has never known, a man with a terrible secret. A deeply moving film about love, perseverance and fate.
Monica Wangu Wamwere: The Unbroken Spirit
Filmmaker in person!
The mother of Kenyan human rights activist and political prisoner Koigi wa Wamwere is the subject of this rousing and deeply moving documentary focused on her indefatigable efforts to affect political change.
Outside the Law
Filmmaker in person!
From acclaimed writer-director Rachid Bouchareb (Indigenes) comes this epic story--a 2011 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film--of three brothers who fight for Algeria’s independence from France following World War II. Co-presented by 3rd I New York.
Playing Warriors
Actresses Tendai Musoniu and Kudzai Sevenzo in person!
In this delightful Zimbabwean spin on Sex and the City, twenty-something advertising executive Nyarai is sent into a husband-seeking frenzy when she finds out that her best friend Nonto is getting married.
Restless City
Filmmaker in person!
Direct from its acclaimed premiere at Sundance, director Andrew Dosunmu’s kinetic debut feature tells the story of an Africa immigrant surviving on the fringes of New York City where music is his passion, life is a hustle, and falling in love is his greatest risk. Co-presented by Okayafrica.
Sderot, Last Exit
Sderot film school co-founder Avner Raingulernt in person!
Located 2 km from the Gaza border, the film school of Sderot in the south of Israel is a microcosm of the geo-political landscape, where the issue of training is not only artistic, but clearly political and ideological. Screening with: Farewell Exile/Salam Ghourba (Lamia Alami, 2011) and Up Your Black Arse (Aurélien Bodineaux, 2011). Co-presented by the Human Rights Watch Film Festival.
Treasures From the Russian State Archives
Don’t miss this extraordinary selection of newsreels and other rare documentary material discovered in the vault’s of Russia’s national film archives. Presented by Russian filmmaker Alexander Markov.
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New York African Film Festival 2019
From the archival to the experimental, classic fictional narrative to documentary, the festival, now in its 26th year, selects treasured stories of the past to contextualize the present and all of its possible futures. Read More
New York African Film Festival 2018
The 25th edition of the festival will feature new and classic African cinema, with a special focus on intergenerational discourse, featuring works by women and younger generations of African and diaspora artists. Read More
New York African Film Festival 2017
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New York African Film Festival 2016
The New York African Film Festival returns to the Film Society of Lincoln Center for its 23rd edition, bringing another thrilling and multifaceted selection of African films from the continent and the Diaspora to New York audiences. Read More
New York African Film Festival 2015
The New York African Film Festival returns to the Film Society for its 22nd edition, offering a selection of over 25 titles from more than 15 countries that reflects on the ways African men and women have broken through borders with films and narratives that form part of the global imagination. Read More
New York African Film Festival 2014
The core of the 21st New York African Film Festival is the experience of revolution and liberation in and from Africa in the 21st century. The festival presents a unique selection of contemporary and classic African films, running the gamut from features, shorts, and documentaries to animation and experimental films. In celebration of the centenary of Nigerian unification, look for a couple of films from Nollywood, Africa’s largest movie industry. Read More
New York African Film Festival 2013
The landmark 20th edition of the festival will pay homage to Ousmane Sembène and the first generation of African filmmakers, while passing the baton to a new generation of African visual storytellers who continue to transform our understanding of and vision for the Continent. Read More
