Join OkayAfrica at the 32nd New York African Film Festival

Abderrahmane Sissako (Black Tea), Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda (Juju Factory), Afolabi Olalekan (Freedom Way), and Fatou Cissé (Furu) will reflect on the creative shifts and enduring themes shaping African cinema today during the panel discussion. All four filmmakers’ films are screening at the festival, with Olalekan’s fast-paced thriller Freedom Way as the opening night selection.

This year’s NYAFF, now in its 32nd edition, is centered around the theme ‘Fluid Horizons: A Shifting Lens on a Hopeful World,’ honoring the resilience of African youth and young African filmmakers. One hundred films from Africa and the diaspora will be screened this year, along with special programs which include free art exhibits, a dynamic digital photo exhibition, and Ethiopian artist Bereket Adamu’s “All Night We Waited for Morning, All Morning We Waited for Night,” a welded steel light sculpture and animated video that reflects on African resistance, migration, and global interconnectedness.

The centerpiece film at the festival is Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine’s Memories of Love Returned, an intimate, nuanced documentary about the transformative power of photography which won best documentary at the Africa International Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the Pan African Film Festival.

The festival will close with the shorts program “In the Arms of the Mother,” which spotlights films by or about African women. It includes the world premiere of We Will Be Who We Are by black Iranian director Kounkou Hoveyda, the North American premiere of Nigerian filmmaker Dika Ofoma’s God’s Wife, the U.S. premieres of Zoé Cauwet’s Le Grand Calao and more.

Launched in 1993, NYAFF has consistently showcased the compelling uniqueness of filmmakers from Africa and its diaspora. This year’s edition is set to continue that mission.

“As the youngest and fastest-growing continent, Africa is brimming with stories that demand to be told, not just as reflections of today’s challenges but as blueprints for a future shaped by resilience and possibility,” NYAFF founder and AFF executive director, Mahen Bonetti, says. “This year’s festival is a testament to the power of cinema to inspire, provoke, and remind us that hope is always in motion.”