CITIZEN KWAME

“Citizen Kwame” is a Kafkaesque film about travel visas and brain drain in Africa. It tells the story of Kwame, an ambitious African man who wants to travel outside his country. However, he must first obtain a visa from a white Western gatekeeper who controls movements in and out of the house. It is only with the help of a newly acquired white Western girlfriend that he succeeds.

“This film explores universal themes such as freedom of movement, family and friendship, in a way that is meant to make the audience reflect on them,"  ~ Yuhi Amuli

Rwanda, 2023, 81 mins, drama in English, Yuhi Amuli, dir. 

THE CITIZEN

THE CATHEDRAL 

OTOMO 

NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH 

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MINGA and the Broken Spoon

A charming animation for the entire family, this African fable tells the story of Minga, an orphaned girl living with her stepmother MamiKaba and her stepsister Abena. One day, when she washes the dishes in the river, she accidentally brakes a spoon. A furious MamiKaba chases her away from the house, asking her to find the only identical spoon hidden by her late mother. An adventurous journey then begins for Minga in the forest.

 Minga and the Broken Spoon is the first feature-length animated film entirely conceived and produced in Cameroon and is loosely based on “The Broken Spoon,” the famous African tale. The film is a vibrant tribute to Cameroon’s rich cultural diversity, while being a source of entertainment for the young and old alike.

By Claye Edou, Cameroon, 2019, 80 min, animated film with two audio tracks: English and French (with English subtitles).

HUMAN BEHAVIOR

DIRECTED BY FLAVIO LEANDRO 

FOREIGN BODY

DESIREÉ

BLACK DJU

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BACK OF THE MOON: SOPHIATOWN 1958

Oscar-nominated South African director, Angus Gibson, takes us back to the glitz and menace of Sophiatown in his stylish new film, Back Of The Moon. Starring Richard Lukunku and Moneoa Moshesh.

28 July 1958. Badman, an intellectual and the leader of the most powerful gang in Sophiatown, lives life on his own terms in this crazy, cosmopolitan, half demolished ghetto on the edge of Johannesburg. The gorgeous Eve Msomi, a torch-singer on the brink of an international career, is giving her last concert in the local hall before she travels to London. Tomorrow, legions of Apartheid police will force the residents of Gerty street out of their homes and they will be trucked to a desolate township, ten miles out of the city.

Refusing to face the bleak reality of black South African life, Badman has decided that he will fight to the death for his home. But fate, thrusts Eve Msomi, whom he has loved from a distance, into his orbit. And on this night that bears this beautiful encounter, Badman’s gang, The Vipers, sensing his vulnerability, turns on them both.

Directed by Angus Gibson, South Africa, 2019, 95min, Drama, Zulu w/English subtitles

“Eve is kind of a character that was based on Miriam Makeba on the eve that she leaves for London. So you have this great talent that you know is being driven out of this country and then Badman, played by Richard Lukunku, is an intellectual, he should have been a leader in the community and in order to hold his head up high, he has become a gangster. So both of these pretty fabulous characters are lost to South Africa. That is something that I find sad.”  ~ Director August Wilson

AWARDS

South African Film and Television Awards (2020)
Best Achievement in Costume Design - Feature Film

Black Film Festival Montreal, Canada (2020) 
Best International Narrative Feature

Durban International Film Festival, South Africa (2019) 
Best South African Narrative Feature

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AVA AND GABRIEL, A LOVE STORY

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A TASTE OF OUR LAND

Set in an unnamed African country, A Taste of Our Land is a film about greed told against the backdrop of the current Chinese influence in African countries. While trying to provide for his pregnant wife, Yohani, an older African man, retrieves a gold nugget in a Chinese-run mine built on his land and runs away to sell it for $100. When he learns its real value, he becomes as obsessed with it as Cheng, the Chinese mine supervisor who will stop at nothing to get it back.

Winner, Best First Feature Film, 2020 Africa Movie Academy Awards; Winner, Best First Feature Narrative, 2020 Pan African Film Festival.

 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

Rhythm of Dammam

Rhythm of Dammam is the first narrative feature film to explore the distinct cultural identity and historical struggles of the Siddi community in India—descendants of Bantu peoples brought to the subcontinent centuries ago as captives.

The film centers on twelve-year-old Jayaram Siddi, who becomes haunted by his late grandfather’s spirit, pushing his family toward ancestral rituals and the spiritual energy of Dammam music for guidance. The filmmaking itself is notable for its sensitive, immersive quality, carefully avoiding exoticization while establishing a visually rich, rhythmically structured world that elevates the music from mere backdrop to a core cinematic and spiritual force.

The director, an award-winning filmmaker with a deep familiarity with the community, expertly frames the haunting not just as an individual crisis, but as a metaphor for the burden of intergenerational trauma and the communal quest for healing.

As a work that bridges spiritual fiction with documentary realism, Rhythm of Dammam offers rare insight into the African diasporic presence in South Asia, celebrating the Siddi people’s unique devotional music as both a source of identity and a path toward profound spiritual restoration.

USA/India, 2024, 92 mins, drama in Kannada, Urdu (with English subtitles), Jayan Cherian, dir. 

About director Jayan Cherian

Jayan Cherian is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker and poet known for his socially and politically committed work. A graduate of Hunter College and The City College of New York, his cinematic focus consistently addresses the complexities of marginalization and post-colonial identity. His previous features, which include the award-winning Papilio Buddha (2013) and Ka Bodyscapes (2016), have screened at prestigious events such as the Berlin International Film Festival. Cherian's films often blend fiction with ethnographic realism, cementing his reputation for creating formally ambitious works that challenge cinematic and social conventions.

"Jayan Cherian's film blends realism with surrealism to produce a strikingly vivid image of the Siddi community's intergenerational trauma." ~ The News Minute

“A mesmeric journey through the Siddis’ past and present.” ~ Swaroop Kodur, The News Minute

“An exceptionally evocative, visually arresting film … Hitting all the right notes.” ~ Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV 

“A beautiful attempt in surreal documentation of a marginalized community.”~ Amartya Acharya, High On Films 

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

DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO 

DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO is a romance fraught with the drama of political change and infused with the musical energy of the 60s in Mali, only recently independent from French colonial rule. Samba, a young, idealistic socialist, works toward creating a more just nation by day and dances with girlfriend Lara to the Beach Boys, Otis Redding, and the Supremes by night.

by Robert Guédiguian, France / Canada / Senegal, 2021, 129min, Romantic Drama, French with English subtitles.

THE MALI CUBA CONNECTION

In the midst of the Cold War, ten young promising musicians from Mali are sent to Cuba to study music and strengthen cultural links between the two socialist countries. Combining Malian and Afro-Cuban influences, they develop a revolutionary new sound and become the iconic ensemble ‘Las Maravillas de Mali’. 

By Edouard Salier and Richard Minier, France/Cuba/Mali, 2020, 81 mins, Documentary, Spanish, French with English subtitles.

BEZNESS

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WÙLU

Shot for a good deal of the time using hand-held cameras, WÙLU is an African thriller that has an urgency and a vibrancy most Western made films lack.

Ladji, (a beautifully understated Ibrahim Koma), is the young man who, after losing his job on the cross-border taxis, takes up smuggling cocaine with lucrative if highly dangerous results.

A social commentary about the impact of corruption on intelligent, hard working African youths looking to improve their standard of living at home.

Official Selection TIFF 2016.

Directed by Daouda Coulibaly, 2016, France/Mali, 95min, crime drama, French w/ English subtitles

"In Wùlu, Malian cinema has found a promising and intriguing new voice." ~ Pamela Pianezza, Variety

"The film's foretold but very understated ending, which keeps a key moment offscreen to devastating effect, again confirms that Coulibaly is a talent to watch." ~ Boyd van Hoeij, Hollywood Reporter

"Coulibaly's Wùlu is a well-acted, fast moving, episodic depiction of some of the issues in contemporary Africa." ~ Alexa Dalby, Dog and Wolf

"A rags-to-riches crime saga like you won't see anywhere else." ~ Brent McKnight, The Last Thing I See

WHITE LIKE THE MOON 

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THE TRACKER 

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THE SURVIVAL OF KINDNESS