In the third part of his trilogy focused on women, Senegalese filmmaker Moussa Sène Absa boldly inflects contemporary melodrama with traditional storytelling modes in this potent, music-filled tale of one woman’s tragedy and transcendence.

In Colette and Justin, filmmaker Alain Kassanda interviews his grandparents about their experience of Belgian colonialism and the fight for Congolese independence.

Cordelia, an adaptation of Femi Osofisan’s novella of the same title, is a compelling drama period of human intrigues set in Nigeria in the early 1990s during the years of military rule.

A Daughter’s Tribute to Her Father is the story of a filmmaker told by his daughter. Through the testimony of his friends, family and close collaborators, this film traces the life of Souleymane Cissé from his childhood to today.

A young mute woman is raped and becomes pregnant, with disastrous consequences within her family. The film also sketches the social/economic situation in urban Mali in the 1970s, particularly in relation to the treatment of women.

Idrissa lives in the suburbs of Dakar, Senegal. He lost his job as a civil servant as a result of budget cuts ordered by the IMF. The day his redundancy money runs out, he is forced to live off his wife Viviane. He then searches by all means for a way to regain his pride as a man that he thinks he has lost…

In four short films, young South African filmmakers reflect on the seductive, and at times treacherous, illusory reality of the internet. Using humor, suspense and social criticism, this collective production sketches a society dominated by idealized projections of the dreamt self.

Amidst the landscape of a transforming city, a young boy confronts the reality of change and loss.

Money, Freedom, a Story of CFA Franc explores the history of the CFA Franc and monetary colonization in Africa.

When a Chinese merchant brings to a neighborhood of Luanda a peculiar holy plastic figure of Our Lady, a mourning mother seeks peace, a committed barber starts a new cult, and a stray kid looks for revenge for his lost friend.

A teacher newly released from prison renegotiates the confines of the physical world while forced to face his nightmare in the flesh.

79-years-old and overlooked since the 1970s, abstract painter Peter Bradley reflects on life and shares his artistic process on the cusp of his rediscovery.

Set in a timeless past, Cissè’s 1987 classic recounts the mythic tale of a power struggle between father and son.

A shorts program examining the unique and expressive ways individuals throughout the African diaspora respond to obstacles and desires.

A collection of poetic, daring, and stylistic shorts that take the viewer on a contemplative emotional journey.

Nigerian-American artist Zainab Aliyu invites thirty filmmakers working within African diasporic cinema to explore pottery as a metaphor that points towards the potential of free forms.

In honor of Faye’s recent passing, this conversation will bring together contemporary African directors and curators to reflect on Faye’s legacy and what it means for feminist African cinema today.

Acclaimed Senegalese filmmaker Moussa Sène Absa presents a Master Class probing the impact of migration on familial and community bonds, taking particular care to examine the perspectives of the mothers of migrants, who often provide the fare for passage.

NYAFF30 is pleased to welcome Souleymane Cissé to this year’s festival for retrospective screenings of Yeelen and Den Muso, and a special keynote talk about his career and legacy.