Under the banner "Streaming Rivers: The Past into the Present," the New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) returns virtually December 2-6 with a spotlight on the cinema of two nations: Nigeria and the Sudan. Presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) and African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF), this year's regional NYAFF will screen six features and eight short films in the FLC Virtual Cinema, as AFF celebrates its 30th anniversary.

WED, DEC 2 TO SUN, DEC 6
"You Will Die at 20" by Amjad Abu Alala
Shortly after Muzamil's birth, the village's holy man predicts that he will die at age 20. Muzamil's father can't stand the curse and leaves home. His mother, the overly protective Sakina, raises her son alone. One day, Muzamil turns 19.

WED, DEC 2 TO SUN, DEC 6
"Khartoum Offside" by Marwa Zein
A group of exceptional young women in Khartoum are determined to play football professionally, in spite of the ban imposed by Sudan's Islamist authorities.

WED, DEC 2 TO SUN, DEC 6
"Talking About Trees" by Suhaib Gasmelbari
Ibrahim, Soliman, Manar and Altayeb, filmmakers and friends for more than 45 years, are idealists and intensely humane. They were reunited again, after long years of distance and exile, to bring life back to their old dream: make cinema a reality in the Sudan.

WED, DEC 2 TO SUN, DEC 6
"Kadara" by Adeyemi Afolayan (aka Ade Love)
Tradition dictates that the suitor of the beautiful princess of a kingdom will be decided by a wrestling contest open to all. In Ade Love's charming, swooning tale, a handsome and endearing farmer and a brutish man of considerable wealth face off for the princess's hand.

WED, DEC 2 TO SUN, DEC 6
Two Films by Ibrahim Shaddad: "Jagdpartie" + "Insan"
Shaddad's seminal film, Jagdpartie, is a Western-inspired treatise on racism. Shot in a forest in Brandenburg, it portrays a white mob's hunt for a black farmworker. In the dialogue-less Insan, distinguished by its innovative use of sound, Shaddad paints a dramatic and powerful portrait of the trials and alienation of a Sudanese villager who moves to a large city.

WED, DEC 2 TO SUN, DEC 6
"Three Thieves" by Udoka Oyeka
In this hilarious comedy of mistaken identities, three discontented friends are contracted to commit a seemingly simple theft. But complications arise when a young girl slips into their car, turning their robbery into an unwitting kidnapping. Purchase Tickets

WED, DEC 2 TO SUN, DEC 6
"Shoot the Messenger" by Ngozi Onwurah
In Onwurah's provocative tale, David Oyelowo plays Joe, a schoolteacher in South London who is falsely accused of hitting one of his pupils. As the local Black population turns on him, branding him as a racist, a destitute Joe is forced to confront his fear and hatred of his own community.

WED, DEC 2 TO SUN, DEC 6
Shorts Program: Notes From Home
The Shorts Program is composed of works by filmmakers who are challenging the notion of home, space and where in the world Africa is. Taboo subjects are tackled within the realms of gender, sexuality, liberation, redefining the evolving phrase "tradition versus modernity" and from the point of view of younger generations. Purchase Tickets

NOW TO SUN, DEC 27
Digital Art Exhibition: Motion and Sound Streams
The NYAFF27 Digital Art Exhibition showcases a fantastic digital dance piece titled Forever (Brother's Keeper), choreographed and performed by self-taught Ebinum Brothers from Nigeria, in addition to a jam session of catchy Afrobeat tunes spun by the popular DJ mOma at Coral Rocks in Jambiani, Zanzibar.

View Full Schedule :
https://africanfilmny.org/calendar/

For thirty years, African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) has bridged the divide between post-colonial Africa and the American public through the medium of film. AFF's unique place in the international arts community is distinguished not only by leadership in festival management but by a comprehensive approach to the advocacy of African and diaspora film and culture. Launched in 1993, the New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) is presented annually by African Film Festival, Inc. and Film at Lincoln Center, in association with Brooklyn Academy of Music. AFF also produces a series of local, national, and international programs throughout the year.