The New York premiere of Moussa Sène Absa’s Xalé will kickoff of the 30th New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) at Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) from May 10 to 16, 2023. Under the banner, Freeforms, the festival presents over 30 films from more than 15 countries.
Opening Night film is 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.
The Centerpiece selection is the U.S. premiere of Hyperlink, comprised of four short films and directed by South African filmmakers Mzonke Maloney, Nolitha Mkulisi, Julie Nxadi, and Evan Wigdorowitz, who 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.
Four festival features are U.S. premieres: Fatou Cissé’s A Daughter’s Tribute to Her Father: Souleymane Cissé, an intimate portrayal of the life and career of Souleymane Cissé, one of Africa’s most celebrated filmmakers; Ottis Ba Mamadou’s Dent Pour Dent, a comedic drama placing the unemployed Idrissa in the position of being entirely dependent on his wife after budgetary restrictions imposed by the IMF and seeking revenge; Katy Léna N’diaye’s Money, Freedom, a Story of CFA Franc, a revealing account of why a currency holdover resulting from French colonialism is still in use to this day; and Ery Claver’s Our Lady of the Chinese Shop, a delicate urban tale that reveals a family and city full of resentment, greed and torment in Luanda, Angola, in part due to a peculiar, holy plastic figure of Our Lady.
Other highlights from the slate include the New York premiere of Know Your Place, Zia Mohajerjasbi’s slice of life drama set in present-day Seattle in which an errand undertaken by Robel, a 15-year old Eritrean-American, transforms into an odyssey across the rapidly gentrifying city; and Souleymane Cissé’s Den Muso, an exploration of repercussions of a mute girl’s assault, that shines a light on the societal and economic challenges facing women in urban Mali during the 1970s. The film was restored by Cissé – who was among the first wave of sub-Saharan African filmmakers – and La Cinémathèque française in 2020, in collaboration with the Cinémathèque Afrique and the French Institute, thanks to the support of Pathé.
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.
Films of the 2023 New York African Film Festival (NYAFF)
The Opening Night premiere of Xalé will take place at the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th Street).
All other films will screen at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (144 W. 65th Street).
Opening Night
Xalé
New York Premiere
Moussa Sène Absa, 2022, Senegal/Ivory Coast, 101m
Wolof with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Awa, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, is happily living her teenage years alongside her twin brother, Adama, who dreams of Europe. When their grandmother dies, their Aunt Fatou and Uncle Atoumane promise to marry in order to preserve the family union. But Fatou does not love Atoumane and the latter, tired of waiting to consummate his marriage, commits an act from which there is no going back. This film is the third in Moussa Sène Absa’s trilogy focused on women.
Centerpiece
Hyperlink
Mzonke Maloney, Nolitha Mkulisi, Julie Nxadi, and Evan Wigdorowitz, 2022, South Africa, 63m
English, French, Xhosa, and Swahili with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
A Christian convert is preparing for his rebirth as a man of god—unaware that his teenage daughter, who hasn’t heard from him in three months, has declared him dead on social media. A schoolgirl sees her private life made public when she invites a classmate, who is an online influencer, to her home. A divorced man with financial troubles so wants to show his young daughter he can be a good father that he fails to see the precarious position he is maneuvering himself into. And a poet and commentator risks losing herself and those she loves in her desire to use her fame to achieve social change. 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.
Colette and Justin
Alain Kassanda, 2022, Democratic Republic of Congo/France/Belgium, 89m
Lingala and French with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Born in Kinshasa and living in Paris, filmmaker Alain Kassanda embodies the classic immigrant dual identity: in the Democratic Republic of Congo he is seen as French, while in France he is seen as Congolese. Determined to understand the colonial legacy from which he comes, Kassanda convinces his maternal grandparents—Colette and Justin—to sit for a series of interviews. Together, they watch old news footage, remember a visit from the Belgian king, and recall what life was like as part of the nascent Black bourgeoisie who served the colonial administration. But Colette and Justin is more than a film about family reminiscences. Kassanda uses a wealth of black-and-white archival footage to tell the story, superimposing his own thoughts and his grandparents’ voices over the visuals—in effect, using the colonizers’ images against them. (He generally avoids footage of the horrors, focusing instead on daily life.) Kassanda, we learn, has two heroes: Justin and inaugural Congolese prime minister Patrice Lumumba, who was murdered by secessionists in collusion with Belgium. In the course of making Colette and Justin, he realizes their lives were intertwined far more deeply than he knew.
Preceded by
Ota Benga
Chadrack Banikina and Cecilia Zoppelletto, 2023, Democratic Republic of Congo, 6m
French with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
An animated film that captures a moment in the true-life story of Ota Benga (1883–1916), the pygmy who was exhibited at the Bronx Zoo. Desperate to return home to the rainforest in Congo but trapped in Lynchburg, Virginia, Ota Benga reflects on being bought by so-called “civilized society” and being treated like an animal. A passionate call by the fire to return to his ancestors.
Cordelia
Tunde Kelani, 2021, Nigeria, 98m
New York Premiere
Adapted from the eponymous novel by Nigerian author and poet Femi Osofisan, Cordelia is a romantic period-drama where romance meets politics. This novella starts with a lecturer in a disturbed state about his marriage, which is resulting in an inability to teach his students. One of them later confronts him in his office about his shoddy lecture, and the student in question is accompanied to the lecturer’s office by another student named Cordelia. But little does our lecturer know that Cordelia is about to be at the center of a major riot at the institution.
Preceded by
Employee of the Month
Goga Clay, 2022, Nigeria, 19m
New York Premiere
Ibinabo, a young husband and father-to-be, lives an unremarkable but exemplary life. He strives to prove himself to his boss, but gets caught up in the horrors of the October 2020 protests against police brutality.
A Daughter’s Tribute to Her Father: Souleymane Cissé
Fatou Cissé, 2022, Mali, 73m
English, Bambara, and French with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
An intimate portrayal of the life and career of Souleymane Cissé, one of Africa’s most celebrated filmmakers. The film traces the Malian director’s trajectory from his formative years in Bamako to the present day, through interviews with Cissé and those who knew him best. It celebrates his groundbreaking films and highlights their enduring relevance.
Den Muso
Souleymane Cissé, 1975, Mali, 88m
Bambara with English subtitles
A mute girl’s life takes a dramatic turn when she is raped and, as a result, impregnated. Her family is at once plunged into chaos. The film not only explores the repercussions of her assault but also shines a light on the societal and economic challenges that women dealt with in urban Mali during the 1970s. It is a poignant and thought-provoking portrayal of the difficulties that women continue to face in many parts of the world today.
Den Muso was restored by Souleymane Cissé and La Cinémathèque française in 2020, in collaboration with the Cinémathèque Afrique and the French Institute, thanks to the support of Pathé. The restoration work was carried out at the Hiventy laboratory using the original negatives and 16mm magnetic tapes.
Dent pour Dent
Ottis Ba Mamadou, 2022, Senegal, 84m
French with English Subtitles
U.S. Premiere
In this comedic drama, Idrissa lives in the suburbs of Dakar, Senegal. As a result of budgetary restrictions imposed by the IMF, then headed by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, he lost his job as a civil servant. Since then, Idrissa has been looking for work, without success. His pride as an African man is all the more affected by the fact that he is now entirely dependent on his wife, Viviane, who somehow manages to support the family through her medical practice. Aminata (Idrissa and Viviane’s daughter) and Moussa, two young students in love with each other, also see their lives disrupted by the economic situation imposed on the country. After yet another humiliation, Idrissa, who holds Strauss-Kahn responsible for his misfortune, decides to go and see a marabout to prepare his revenge.
Know Your Place
Zia Mohajerjasbi, 2022, USA, 120m
English and Tigrinya with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Know Your Place is a slice-of-life drama set in present-day Seattle. Robel (a 15-year-old Eritrean-American) and his best friend, Ethiopian-American Fahmi, embark on a journey to drop off a suitcase containing medicine and cash with a friend traveling back to Eritrea because of a family member’s sudden illness. An unexpected turn transmutes Robel’s simple errand into an odyssey across the rapidly gentrifying city; in the process he navigates directions to make his delivery on time, along with the challenges of familial responsibility, self-identification, and dislocation amid the ongoing redevelopment and displacement of the only community he’s ever known as home.
Money, Freedom, a Story of CFA Franc
Katy Léna N’diaye, 2022, Senegal/France/Belgium/Germany, 104 min
French with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
The year 1960 marked the end of the colonial empires across the African continent. France disappeared from the map, leaving behind a colonial creation, the CFA Franc, a currency that still circulates in almost all of France’s former territories south of the Sahara. Why did those countries never denounce this strange legacy after they regained their freedom? The film delves into a little-known story that started in the 19th century and continues to the present time.
Our Lady of the Chinese Shop
Ery Claver, 2022, Angola, 98m
Portuguese, English, and Chinese with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
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. This delicate urban tale reveals a family and city full of resentment, greed, and torment.
Shimoni
Angela Wanjiku Wamai, 2022, Kenya, 97m
English, Swahili, and Kikuyu with English subtitles
New York Premiere
After seven years in prison, 35-year-old Geoffrey (Justin Mirichii) is released into the care of a Catholic priests’ compound in Shimoni, a small and sleepy village in rural Kenya. As we discover, Geoffrey knows this place—all too well—as “the pit.” A revered English teacher before his time inside, he now does farmyard chores, attends church services as required, and maintains a distance from other residents. Not that he ever goes anywhere else; some unnamed fear prevents him from stepping outside the gate. Then a man with a distinctive patch of white hair appears, terrifying Geoffrey so much that he wets himself. Weru (Daniel Njoroge) has haunted Geoffrey’s dreams for decades. Now he can’t face him. Film editor Angela Wanjiku’s gripping directorial debut explores the ways in which memory and emotion seize control of the body, which in turn may speak when words fail.
With Peter Bradley
Alex Rappoport, 2022, USA, 86m
New York Premiere
An intimate, provocative series of conversations with 80-year-old abstract painter Peter Bradley. At turns bitter and humorous, the story of Bradley’s rise to success as a Black artist–and subsequent fall from grace–unfolds as we watch his artistic process amidst the changing seasons at his rural home and studio.
Yeelen
Souleymane Cissé, 1987, Mali, 105m
Bambara with English subtitles
Set in a timeless past, Yeelen recounts the mythic tale of a power struggle between father and son. Soma Diarra, the jealous father and member of a feared Bambara secret society, plots to kill his son and rival, Nianankoro. Highly stylized and deliberately paced, Yeelen forces the viewer to navigate fundamental oppositions: change and tradition, life and death, light and darkness. Inspired by the classic oral literature of the Mande, Souleymane Cissè traces the circle of time and shows us that the origin and the end are one and the same. Film Comment called Yeelen “not only the most beautifully photographed African film ever, but also the best African film ever made.” Winner of a Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987.
Followed by
Lights of Passage
Yeelen Cohen, 2023, USA/Mali, 12m
Lights of Passage is a hybrid autobiographical documentary, a cinematic baptism ceremony, and an homage to cultural preservation through ancestral storytelling practices. The story orbits two filmmakers at opposite ends of their careers, separated by oceans, who are cosmically connected through a name and a film.
Shorts Program 1: Call and Response
Okem
Joshua Okwuosa, 2022, Nigeria/USA, 15m
English and Igbo with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Okem, a Nigerian immigrant, is faced with his worst nightmare when he receives a call from home.
August Visitor
Ifeyinwa Arinze, 2022, USA, 11m
New York Premiere
When her widowed mother has a male friend over for dinner, an observant Nigerian-American teenager acts out, which leads her to a deeper perception of her mother.
Africans with Mainframes
Kima Hibbert, 2023, USA, 15m
New York Premiere
Africans with Mainframes is a short mockumentary following LaJoye Watkins, a reclusive Black woman living in Brooklyn. She is determined to tell a secret she has harbored all her life: electronic music was actually started by Black Southerners in the 1920s. Exploring themes of loneliness, revenge, and reclamation, Watkins takes us on a historical tour de force and a journey toward a spiritual awakening of her own.
Silsilad
Tariq Tarey, 2023, USA, 12m
New York Premiere
The story of three Somali-American artists, founders of the Minneapolis-based artists’ collective Soomaal House of Art, and the challenges they face running a community-based gallery for BIPOC artists and organizations. Including reflections by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
Mother’s Tongue
D. Wilmos Paul, 2022, USA, 16m
English and French with English subtitles
Junior, an African immigrant teenager ashamed of his accent, enrolls in a creative writing club thinking he can make it through the semester without speaking… and then is confronted with his worst fear.
A Laundry Day
Johanna Makabi, 2022, USA/France, 3m
World Premiere
Today, Fatou goes to the laundromat in Harlem and meets a young man.
Grace
Johanna Makabi, 2022, France, 14m
French with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Eight-year-old Grace hates her neighborhood, and she hates cheerleading. One day, she decides to join her father in space.
Shorts Program 2: Freeforms
By Water
Iyabo Kwayana, 2022, USA, 12m
New York Premiere
In this animated short, an unlikely hero’s journey into his own memories becomes a vehicle for reconciliation and healing for himself and his sibling.
Buzz
Mohamed Fawi, 2022, Sudan, 20m
English and Arabic with English subtitles
North American Premiere
While her situation is deteriorating, a sick mother watches her son and daughter going through her tragedy and their new reality.
Hématome
Babetida Sadjo, 2022, Belgium, 19m
French with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere
Twenty-five years later, Judith finally dares to break her silence and seek justice for the rape that she suffered as a child. She bitterly discovers that a trial will not take place. Thirsting for justice, she confronts the pedophile who shattered her life.
He’s Dead Now
Tarek El Sherbeny, 2022, Egypt, 12m
Arabic with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Hazem is distraught after his family secrets are made public when his mother decides to expose his late father’s sexual affairs during his funeral rites.
The Truth About Alvert, the Last Dodo
Nathan Clement, 2022, Réunion/Switzerland, 17m
Réunion Creole with English subtitles
New York Premiere
On Réunion Island, little Lunet and his grandfather Dadabé set off on a quest to turn a chicken into a dodo bird whose magic feathers might save the child’s sick mother.
Yuri
Baky Dia, 2022, France, 12m
French with English subtitles
Chris Dolo is a technical engineer for Aqua-Space, a company involved in several controversies about the privatization of drinking water and the lack of it everywhere. He is also the father of Yuri Dolo, an 11-year-old genius with a passion for astrophysics who dreams of another life in the stars. As the two characters go about their daily lives, affected by the absence of a maternal figure, a supernatural presence seems to be watching them.
Grief Is the Glitch
Julia Mallory, 2022, USA, 3m
New York Premiere
Grief Is the Glitch is a visual and sonic meditation on the disorienting experience of loss. Mallory moves through an encounter with an oracle-like figure to archival footage of her late son, Julian, as he reflects on the impact of young lives lost to violence.
Ààrẹ
Taoheed Bayo and Mark Odumuyiwa, 2022, USA, 4m
Yoruba with English subtitles
Ààrẹ is a movement and dance performance piece that serves as archival preservation of cultural heritage and a symbolic representation of personal identity in a commemorative manner. Ààrẹ also includes the study of ewi (poems), oriki (panegyric), and the recitations of the late Adebayo Faleti in Tunde Kelani movies, among other Yoruba relevancies.
Master Class with Moussa Sène Absa
Acclaimed Senegalese filmmaker Moussa Sène Absa will be presenting a masterclass on Saturday, May 13 in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater. The class probes the impact of migration on familial and community bonds and takes particular care to examine the perspectives of the mothers of migrants, who often provide the fare for passage. Within a global context, this masterclass will assess African cinema’s response to the question of “Who truly is welcome at heaven’s shores?”
Free Talks
Safi Faye Memorial Talk: Women of African Cinema
Safi Faye is best known as the first woman from Sub-Saharan Africa to ever direct a commercial feature film—1976’s Kaddu Beykat—but the Senegalese pioneer’s legacy and groundbreaking influence extends far beyond that landmark. Introduced to the world of cinema via an acting role in Jean Rouch’s Petit à petit (1971), Faye went on to create a monumental body of work that includes award-winning shorts and features, including Selbe: One Among Many (1983), and Mossane, which won the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997. Through both documentary and fiction modes, Faye sought to capture the agency, subjectivity, and beauty of African women, and bring to vivid life the everyday realities of rural Senegal. In honor of Faye’s recent passing on February 22, 2023, 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.