INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE In the early ’90s, Nigeria was a nation mired in political unrest, economic struggle and social upheaval. In the midst of these difficult circumstances, the Nigerian mens’ national (football/soccer) team, soared to unprecedented heights. Known fittingly as the Super Eagles, the team captured the hearts of a nation on their magical gold-medal run […]
US PREMIERE In the deserts of Benin, shepherds struggle with the changing landscapes and droughts as they herd animals through ancestral lands. – Samah Ali All in-person screening venues provide hearing impaired listening devices upon request with venue management. All guests & staff will be required to comply with our Health & Safety protocols while […]
NYC PREMIERE In love with the ocean, a father and son reflect on what it means to represent South Africa as a professional surfer on the world stage. – Samah Ali All in-person screening venues provide hearing impaired listening devices upon request with venue management. All guests & staff will be required to comply with our […]
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: After her 2009 victory at the World Championships, South African runner Caster Semenya’s win came under invasive public scrutiny. When the International Amateur Athletics Federation (now World Athletics) ruled that targeted women with naturally high androgen levels must medically alter their bodies in order to compete, a generation of athletes have their lives […]
Using khat, a stimulant leaf chewed by Sufi Imams seeking eternity, as a connecting thread, Faya Dayi takes us on an ethereal journey through Harar, Ethiopia, dipping into the lives of its Oromo denizens as we follow the crop from harvest to consumption. In this hypnotic tribute to the beauty of the land of her […]
US PREMIERE Materna, Italy, where Pasolini filmed the recreation of the life of Jesus, is the location for an updated reenactment entitled The New Gospel, a film gracefully blending art and activism. “Jesus was a social revolutionary,” says award-winning documentarian Milo Rau. With Cameroonian political activist Yvan Sagnet cast as Jesus, the film takes us […]
US PREMIERE Museums continue to be guardians of the politics of colonization; whether by whitewashing the plunder of artefacts from the global south or from being sponsored by neocolonial corporations that continue to exploit human lives. Continuing in the vein of his earlier film Enjoy Poverty, Renzo Martens tries imagining a utopia where the subaltern […]
NYC PREMIERE Despite the cruelty of living under Belgium’s oppressive regime in the colonial era, the Congolese maintained their sense of pride and self-expression, most notably in the form of the Congolese rumba, a blend of sounds from Cuba and the Congo’s unique musical traditions. Director Alain Brain showcases an impressive slate of musicians from […]
US PREMIERE Sorious Samura is Sierra Leone’s best-known investigative journalist, making documentaries for CNN, Channel 4 and BBC and winning two Emmy awards. But he wrestles with creating stories for a white gaze. He embarks on a project with Sierra Leone playwright Charlie Haffner to create an epic work of national theatre meant to reclaim […]
US PREMIERE Two men from opposite sides of the world come together over a shared love of action cinema. Isaac Nabwana, a director hailed as “Africa’s Tarantino,” and Alan Hofmanis, a film programmer from New York, struck a deep friendship while making films with minimal resources in the slums of Kampala. Alan sees the genius […]