African Film Festival New York: The Cinema of Diaspora

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Wednesday, 10 May 2023 16:32

Written by Brad Balfour

Xalé 

The 30th New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) kicks off at Lincoln Center on May 10, 2023, with a slate of films reflecting African diaspora and a wealth of stories.

“The New York African Film Festival was founded to counteract the voice over, where Africans were being spoken for over grim images and to provide a place where the seventh art could become a weapon for us to reclaim our voices, to reappropriate our images and to add layers to the narrative,” said NYAFF founder and AFF Executive Director Mahen Bonetti. “In each frame presented by the festival over three decades we have found our connection with each other and our footing in other people’s spaces, while presenting myriad stories about all corners of the African diaspora and the human experience itself.”

The festival opens with the New York premiere of Moussa Sène Absa’s Xalé, the third film in his trilogy focused on women. When twin brother and sister Awa and Adama’s grandmother passes away, their Aunt Fatou and Uncle Atoumane pledge to marry to preserve the family union. Tired of waiting to consummate their marriage, Atoumane commits an act from which there is no return.

There will also be the premiere of Hyperlink, an anthology film from South African filmmakers Mzonke Maloney, Nolitha Mkulisi, Julie Nxadi, and Evan Wigdorowitz, centered around the very human foibles of the internet.

Speaking of the internet, the festival will also have AFF Digital, with certain films being streamed online as well as panel discussions and lectures.

The festival continues at Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem from May 19 to 21 and culminates at the Brooklyn Academy of Music under the name Film Africa from May 26 to June 1 during Dance Africa.

To learn more, go to: https://africanfilmny.org

African Film Festival New York/
May 10 - June 1, 2023

Various Locations

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