🎓 Summer Access Sale

Save 50% through August 31, 2026.

This Digital Educational Collection is available for $495 (regular institutional price $995). If your institution is experiencing exceptional budget limitations, please contact info@africanfilm.com to discuss additional pricing options.

Race and Identity in the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean

Designed to support teaching in Africana Studies, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Cultural Studies, Sociology, Film and Media Studies, and related disciplines, Race and Identity in the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean brings together three award-winning films that examine race, identity, and belonging across Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

The collection includes:
• Sara Gomez: An Afro-Cuban Filmmaker
• Sugar Island
• Angélica

Sara Gomez: An Afro-Cuban Filmmaker celebrates the life and work of Cuba's pioneering Afro-Cuban filmmaker, whose documentaries and fiction films explored race, gender, and social transformation while giving voice to communities rarely represented on screen.

Sugar Island follows a young Afro-Dominican woman whose coming-of-age unfolds against the backdrop of the island's sugar industry. Blending realism with elements of magical realism, the film explores labor, family, identity, and the enduring legacies of colonialism.

Angélica tells the story of a young Afro-Puerto Rican woman searching for her place in society as she confronts questions of race, belonging, family, and identity. Through her personal journey, the film examines the complexities of Afro-Latino identity in contemporary Puerto Rico.

Together, Race and Identity in the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean provides a compelling framework for understanding how race and identity have been shaped by history while continuing to influence contemporary Caribbean societies. The collection encourages critical discussion of identity, belonging, representation, colonial legacies, and the diverse experiences of Afro-descendant communities across the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

Purchase includes perpetual institutional streaming access with Public Performance Rights (PPR) to all three films.

🎓 Summer Access Sale

Save 50% through August 31, 2026.

This Digital Educational Collection is available for $495 (regular institutional price $995). If your institution is experiencing exceptional budget limitations, please contact info@africanfilm.com to discuss additional pricing options.

Haiti Through Film

Designed to support teaching in Caribbean Studies, Africana Studies, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Sociology, History, Global Studies, Film and Media Studies, and related disciplines, Haiti Through Film examines how historical legacies, global economic structures, and migration intersect in lived experience.

The collection includes:
• Looking for Life
• The Last Meal
• Ludi 

THE LAST MEAL

The Last Meal: Where the flavors of Haiti bridge a lifetime of silence.

After twenty years of silence, a dying Reynold asks his estranged daughter, Vanessa, to share his final meals. As she prepares the traditional Haitian dishes of his youth, the familiar flavors unlock painful, buried memories of his life and suffering under the Duvalier dictatorship.

Set against this backdrop of the Duvalier era, The Last Meal is a poignant tale of reconciliation, exploring the power of food, cultural memory, and confronting the past to heal fractured family bonds within the Haitian experience. A beautifully crafted film about legacy, healing, and the stories we carry in our bodies and kitchens.

Canada, 2024, 111 mins, Drama in English, Maryse Legagneur, dir. 

“In this film, humanity, dignity, and beauty stand in opposition to the worst atrocities.”
— Manon Dumais, La Presse

Awards and recognition
• Grand Prix — Quebec City Film Festival
• Marimbas Award (Top Jury Prize) — Miami Film Festival
• Best Narrative Feature — Montreal International Black Film Festival
• Best First Feature — Kingston Canadian Film Festival

BRIDES

Brides, Nadia Fall's compelling debut feature, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, offers a powerful and empathetic look into the lives of two alienated teenage girls, Doe and Muna, who leave the UK for Syria in search of purpose and belonging. The film highlights their profound sense of cultural rejection, stemming from experiences like racist bullying and overt societal hostility, encapsulated in Muna's poignant question, "Who's gonna give a sh*t about two brown girls?".

Their journey is heavily influenced by deceptive online narratives and the false promises of extremist groups, illustrating how propaganda can slowly erode personal identity.

Inspired by real-life accounts, Brides humanizes these complex stories, challenging sensationalized media portrayals and fostering critical discussion on youth vulnerability, societal alienation, and the insidious impact of digital influence.

UK, 2025, 93 mins, Drama in English, Nadia Fall, dir. 

"Bad decisions — the kind that can be, if not reversed, at least remedied — are an essential part of adolescence: lapses that teach us about our desires, our impulses, our weaknesses, our essential character, and leave us with no greater damage than a throbbing hangover or a small, smudgy tattoo. Doe and Muna, the British 15-year-olds at the center of “Brides,” either haven’t been given much slack to make the right kind of wrong choices, or haven’t permitted themselves that liberty — so when they do err, it’s in seismically reckless, potentially ruinous fashion.." ~ Guy Lodge, Variety

Village Keeper (TIFF 2024)

A Canadian Screen Award winner (including Best First Feature, 2025), Village Keeper is a powerful testament to the strength of Black motherhood and a stirring love letter to the Black women who serve as the bedrock of their communities. Jean, a widow haunted by grief and determined to protect her children, finds herself at a breaking point. When a therapist gently asks, “How will you help your children without having helped yourself first?” she begins a path toward healing. The latest jewel of Black Canadian cinema, Village Keeper is a beautifully crafted, sensitive, and unforgettable story of resilience, sacrifice, and emotional truth.

From the islands to the city, Village Keeper celebrates a mother’s unbreakable spirit, a family’s enduring love, and Black healing. 

Canada, 2024, 82 mins, drama in English, Karen Chapman, dir. 

“Village Keeper is a film that goes beyond trauma into the story of recovery and connection to joy, setting a new standard in storytelling. Writer-director Karen Chapman has taken a well-worn single mother story to a new level of relevance that is, in a word, outstanding." ~ Jeanine T. Abraham, Medium.com 

“Karen Chapman’s tender and empathetic Village Keeper... her love for the people in front of her camera evident in every frame.”
— Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“A heartfelt portrait of a family in Toronto’s underprivileged Thorncliff community deals with generational trauma and the insidiousness of grief.”
— Collider

“Village Keeper isn’t a film about Black trauma; it’s a celebration of and journey towards Black healing.”
— Kevin Bourne, SHIFTER Magazine 

“What happens when the caretaker needs the most care? Village Keeper was one of our highlights... and it did not disappoint.”
— Stacey Yvonne, Black Girl Nerds

“Chapman’s ability to balance the delicate tightrope of emotions the film walks is aided by the sensational performance by Olunike Adeliyi.”
— Courtney Small, Cinema Axis

UPCOMING SCREENINGS

Sugar Island

Set amidst the sugarcane fields of the Dominican Republic, Sugar Island follows Makenya, a young Dominican-Haitian woman facing an unwanted pregnancy while navigating a legacy of colonial violence, racial discrimination, and labor exploitation.

Through Makenya’s eyes, the film unfolds a complex story about the intersections of ethnicity, gender, immigration, and class—echoing the lived experiences of many in the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Gómez Terrero’s unique "kaleidoscopic aesthetic"—which blends documentary realism, spiritual symbolism, and theatricality—elevates this coming-of-age drama into a visually rich, emotionally layered exploration of identity and resistance.

Spain/Dominican Republic, 2024, 91 mins, drama in Haitian and Spanish (with English subtitles), Johanne Gomez Terrero, dir. 

“Johanné Gómez Terrero blends tradition and spirituality, the literal and the allegorical, in a beautifully made and deeply touching fiction feature debut. The themes of labour rights, protests against the mechanisation of the sugar industry, and decolonial thought make Sugar Island a syncretic, politically engaged work that avoids all traces of didacticism. On the contrary, the film’s gorgeous look, thanks to lensing by Alván Prado, alludes to the many layers of reality and beyond" ~ Savina Petkova, Cineuropa

Breaking Boundaries is a captivating feature-length documentary that chronicles the journey of Nastasya Generalova, a determined Californian teenager and daughter of an African-American father, raised by her single mother, Olga.

Introduced to rhythmic gymnastics at the age of four to connect with her mother’s Russian heritage, Nastasya embarks on a path filled with emotional and physical challenges. Her dream of competing in the 2020 Olympic Games drives her to overcome systemic biases and limited resources.

The film highlights her resilience, ambition, and the unwavering support of her mother, transforming into the inspirational story of a young athlete breaking boundaries in a demanding sport. With suspense building as we root for her, this poignant story offers a unique perspective on the personal struggles and triumphs involved in pursuing one's dreams against all odds.

Nastasya Generalova was an ambassador for She’s the First. 

Directed by Dina Burlis, 2024, 76 mins, USA, Documentary, English and Russian with English subtitles.

FESTIVAL SCREENINGS

DIRECTED BY RAJA AMARI
TUNISIA AND FRANCE / 2016 / ARABIC AND FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 92 MIN

Foreign body - Trailer from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

SYNOPSIS
Seeking refuge from her Islamist radical brother whom she informed on, a young woman arrives in France illegally following Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution and discovers a new world of both hope and danger, in the fourth feature from writer-director Raja Amari (Satin Rouge, Buried Secrets).

Rent the film today! 50% of the profits will go to your favorite theater!

Director RAJA AMARI introduces the film for you:

Foreign Body Intro by director Raja Amari from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Raja Amari
Starring: Sarra Hannachi
Starring: Salim Kechiouche
Starring: Hiam Abbass

GENRE
Drama

STAMBALI
DIRECTED BY NAWFEL SAHEB-ETTABA
TUNISIA / 1999 / ENGLISH AND ARABIC WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 52 MIN

In Tunisia, the history of stambali goes back to the arrival of the first Africans taken as slaves from Mali, Timbuktu specifically. Practicing their music and worship in the house of their masters, the enslaved and their musical traditions survive to this day.

Stambali is a religious ritual in Tunisia, a journey with the rhythm of the "gombri" and "chkackek," traces an individual and collective hypnosis, an annual tribute that the disciples of Sidi Saad pay to their master during an initiatory journey and rite of purification that lasts three days.

In "Stambali," the camera, video and film follow the rhythm of the possession, dances, and goes into a trance, in the cemetery, in an open space of grass, trees, dust and sand, in the eroticism that is released by this physical and spiritual representation.

MADE IN BANGLADESH

Shimu, 23, works in a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Faced with difficult conditions at work, she decides to start a union with her co-workers. Despite threats from the management and disapproval of her husband, Shimu is determined to go on. Together the women must fight and find a way.

By Rubaiyat Hossain, Bangladesh/France/Denmark/Portugal, 2019, 95min, social drama, English & Bengali w/English subtitles

WINNER, Public Award Best Film Directed by a Woman of Color ADIFF 2019.

SHE HAD A DREAM

She Had a Dream Trailer - ArtMattan Films from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

Ghofrane, 25, is a young Black Tunisian woman. A committed activist who speaks her mind, she embodies Tunisia’s current political upheaval. As a victim of racial discrimination, Ghofrane decides to go into politics.  In its own unique way, this documentary sheds light on the place of women and Black people in Tunisia’s changing society.

By Raja Amari, Tunisia, 2020, 90min, documentary, Arabic and French w/English subtitles.

WINNER, Public Award Best Film Directed by a Woman of Color ADIFF 2021.

With Ema diagnosed with terminal cancer, the Siope family searches for healing by confronting  intergenerational trauma head on and returning to their homeland of Sāmoa.

The redemptive tale of waka builder and captain Lilo Ema Siope’s final years, the stunning LOIMATA, The Sweetest Tears is a chronicle of journeys. Confronting intergenerational trauma head on, the Siope family returns to their homeland of Sāmoa. For Ema’s father, this is his first time back to his birthplace since leaving in 1959. The result is a poignant yet tender story of a family’s unconditional love for each other, and a commitment to becoming whole again.

By Anna Marbrook, New Zealand / Sāmoa. 2021, 94 minutes, Documentary, English & Samoan with English subtitles

"I walked into this film expecting to see a portrait of a world-renowned ship builder, navigator and sailor, undertaking one of the final voyages of her life. And, in a way, that is what Loimata is. But not in the way I was assuming it would be." ~ stuff.co.nz

Themes: First Nation / Women / Sexual Abuse / LGBTQ+ / Family / Healing 

AWARDS:

FIFO (Festival International du Film Documentaire Océanien), 2021 
Grand Prix du Jury 

NZTV Awards, 2021
Best Documentary, Winner
Best Director, Nominee

Fighting For Respect - Art Trailer from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

FIGHTING FOR RESPECT: AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN WWI

ANGELICA

Angelica, after a long absence from Puerto Rico, returns home when her father, Wilfredo, suffers a stroke. This unexpected return and her father's illness force Angelica to re-evaluate her relationship with her mother and family members who don't accept her because of her skin color. She must face herself and discovers that she does not know who she is. After her father's death, Angelica must decide whether to return to the comfort of her previous life, dissatisfied, but secure, or set on an adventurous path to rediscover herself as an independent, modern, strong, black, and Puerto Rican woman.

Directed by Marisol Gómez-Mouakad, Puerto Rico, 2016, 100min, Drama, English & Spanish w/English subtitles

"Purposely challenging the Eurocentric beauty standards that blatantly plague Latin America on and off screen, Puerto Rican director Marisol Gómez-Mouakad sets out to tell the story of an empowered Afro-Latina fighting colorism at home in her debut feature Angélica." ~ Remezcla

“People talk about racism and sexism in the U.S.,” Gómez-Mouakad explains. “They may not do much, but in talking about it they are at least addressing the problem. In Puerto Rico — and across the Caribbean and Latin America — there is a lot of denial. If you do talk about the issues, you are accused of being over sensitive. But words have power and words can hurt.” ~ director Marisol Gómez-Mouakad

"In addition to the theme of racism, the film touches upon the implications of machismo in a patriarchal society from the perspective of women." ~ Repeating Islands 

"Another glorious, glorious portrait on race and the roles women play—by pressure, by tradition, by choice. " ~ Guilie Castillo Oriard

MYOPIA

Fatem, sixth month pregnant, leaves her village perched in the mountains, to fill a frame with empty glasses for the elder of her village, the only person who can decipher the letters sent by members of the villagers’ families who have gone to work in the cities. She moves from station to station to arrive in town in the middle of a protest. This will turn her trip into a peaceful revolution that she is hardly aware of.

Directed by Sanaa Akroud, Morocco 2020, 86min, drama, Arabic w/English subtitles

"A beautifully observed meditation on faith, perseverance and integrity, Moroccan director Sanae Akroud’s sophomore feature is an immersive and heart-breaking unique female saga. " ~ The Brazilian

"This film, which carries beautiful qualities of image and lighting, speaks of poverty, of the feminine condition and of a happiness so simple that one can hardly grasp its meaning nowadays. ~ La Presse

"Fatem is played by Sanaa Akroud, also the film's director. Akroud was in the acclaimed 2011 Egyptian film "Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story". In "Myopia" she is brilliant as our unsettlingly passive villager, whether inquiring about a letter from an absent husband or when wandering innocently through the city in search of an eyeglass shop." ~ Barbara Nimri Aziz

"She will be questioned by the police, defended by an association, interviewed by a journalist… She is accused of having endangered her baby, she is asked some of the most intrusive questions, but each person applies their own way of thinking - myopia of a society incapable of perceiving its difference. Agressive police officers falsely accused, activists urging her to press charges, sensationalist journalist who transforms news, even a listening minister… none understand that she only wants to fix the glasses." ~ Olivier Barlet

"It is in listening to these women that Sanaa Akroud wrote this script which she both interprets and directs. Apart from the interviews, she does it with few words. Wolfango Alfi's sequence shots respond to this desire to account for the time taken by everyday acts. They contribute to the open-mindedness called for by this film without a clear message, if not to invite people to understand that an equivocation is not a limit but a complexity." ~ Olivier Barlet

"This story is sure to resonate with many American viewers learning about the depth of racial disparities and the flaws in U.S. democracy where agents of ‘liberal’ society and opposition parties once again reach out to Black and Brown Americans and immigrants with shallow promises of equality and reform." ~ Barbara Nimri Aziz

KUESSIPAN

The award-winning drama Kuessipan by Myriam Verreault was adapted from the acclaimed novel Kuessipan and co-written with the novel’s First Nation Canadian author Naomi Fontaine. Kuessipan means "your turn" in the Innu language, a title chosen to mark the notion that it is the Innu people's turn to tell their story.

“The Innu voice is ever present, which is so important as it offers a glimpse into their lives without a Colonial perspective. It's a feature that, while seemingly an obvious advantage, is hardly ever utilized for similar films. It means that audiences can enter the world in a respectful manner - which isn't to say the film shies away from the issues, but it does mean that those issues are approached in a confident and dignified way” writes Joel Kalkopf in his review for Switch.

The story follows two girls who grow up as best friends in a Quebec Innu community. While Mikuan has a loving family, Shaniss is picking up the pieces of her shattered childhood. As children, they promised each other to be lifelong friends. But as they mature, their lives take different paths, and their personal ambitions diverge leading them to a cultural and identity clash that tests their bond.

Directed by Myriam Verreault, Canada, 2019, 117min, Drama, Montagnais, French, English w/English subtitles

"Kuessipan is quiet and mesmerizing and tragic and full of hope. It is a triumph, and a privilege to spend time with." ~ Globe and Mail

"Myriam Verreault excels at crafting a film told through an Indigenous lens that discusses universal themes of friendship, identity, love, and heartbreak." ~ Exclaim!

"Kuessipan is a beautiful, un-sensationalized look at young womanhood, friendship and community." ~ NOW Toronto

"Heartbreakingly exploring Indigenous identity and the bonds that root us to a community, Kuessipan is a bold ode to young womanhood." ~ MUBI

SHE HAD A DREAM - Young, Tunisian and Black

Ghofrane, 25, is a young Black Tunisian woman. A committed activist who speaks her mind, she embodies Tunisia's current political upheaval. As a victim of racial discrimination, Ghofrane decides to go into politics.

We follow her extraordinary path, ranging from acting on her ambition to be in politics to disillusion. Through her attempts to persuade both close friends and complete strangers to vote for her, her campaign reveals the many faces of a country seeking to forge a new identity.

In its own unique way, this documentary sheds light on the place of women and Black people in Tunisia's changing society.

Directed by Raja Amari, Tunisia, 2020, 90min, documentary, Arabic and French w/English subtitles

* IDFA 2020 - World Premiere

"Binous' determination to be an agent of change lends the film an engaging, upbeat energy that enhances its appeal..." ~ Screen International

"Effortlessly balancing the personal and the political - and the invisible line between them - the filmmaker offers a glimpse into the future of a better Tunisia through Binous's unique odyssey." ~ Film Inquiry

"As a Black woman from a working-class neighborhood in Tunisia, 25-year-old Ghofrane Binous has spent her whole life dealing with class inequality, racism, and sex discrimination. Following an extremely racist incident in 2018 while working as a flight attendant, she posted a cry for help on social media that was widely viewed, then joined a women’s movement and became politically active. The film follows this charismatic figure in the run-up to the 2019 national elections—during the turbulent campaign period, on the way to countless meetings, and in heated conversations with family members, friends, and party members.

The camera stays close to this young woman who is keen to perpetuate the myth of her own invulnerability—and maybe that’s exactly what she needs to do to rise to the top. The backdrop to her political ambition is a divided society where people have little confidence in their own democracy. Connecting it all is the voice-over in which Binous shares her vision of life, and her motivations for becoming politically active in a paternalistic, segregated society where women generally draw the shortest straw." IDFA

 MADE IN LAGOS

2 Weeks in Lagos is a turbulent and thrilling journey into the lives of Ejikeme and Lola. Their lives collide when Ejikeme an investment banker comes home from the United States with Lola’s brother Charlie to invest in Nigerian businesses.  2 Weeks in Lagos captures the excitement, vibrancy, and complexity of everyday life in Lagos, a dynamic city where anything is possible in 2 Weeks.

“Nigerian filmmaker Kathryn Fasegha’s sophomore feature is one of those great surprises that remind us why we love movies. Through the simple premise of two families coming to terms to decide their future and legacy, focusing on the romantic bridge between the youngsters, the director conceives a heart-warming, enchanted, funny and perceptive look at family values, faith, integrity, pure love and capital interests.” ~ Brazilian Press

“2 Weeks in Lagos paints a dynamic and vigorous canvas of the city and its vibrancy. Efficiently performed by a stellar cast, well written with accurate humor and unexpected twists, it’s an accomplished, sensitive and timely romantic comedy.” ~ Brazilian Press

MADE IN BANGLADESH

Shimu, 23, works in a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Faced with difficult conditions at work, she decides to start a union with her co-workers.

Despite threats from the management and disapproval of her husband, Shimu is determined to go on. Together the women must fight and find a way.

Directed by Rubaiyat Hossain, Bangladesh/France/Denmark/Portugal , 2019, 95min, social drama, English & Bengali w/English subtitles

* Toronto Intl Film Festival - Contemporary World Cinema
* London BFI
* Stockholm International Film Festival - Competition Films from the South

BARROW: FREEDOM FIGHTER

THE BLACK MOZART IN CUBA

White Lies Trailer - ArtMattan Films

WHITE LIES

WHITE LIKE THE MOON 

STAND DOWN SOLDIER

SEXY MONEY