African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) is thrilled to announce the 30th anniversary of its iconic New York African Film Festival (NYAFF), which runs from May 10-June 1, 2023. Under the banner, Freeforms, NYAFF30 will celebrate with a program of over 50 films from more than 25 countries, with screenings taking place at three collaborating venues: Film at Lincoln Center (May 10-16); Maysles Cinema in Harlem (May 19-21), and Brooklyn Academy of Music (May 26-June 1). Launched in 1993, the NYAFF is one of the first film festivals in the United States to reflect on the myriad ways African and diaspora filmmakers have used the moving image to tell their own complex and nuanced stories. This live, interactive festival kick-off event will feature one-on-one conversations with artists who will explore the festival’s theme in relation to their work and will conclude with a group panel discussion and Q&A with the audience.

Doors open at 6 PM and the conversation begins at 6:30 PM. Live set by DJ AQ!

Participants include Assane Sy, Senegalese photographer and film curator of Jollof Films; Ladan Osman, Somali-American poet, and filmmaker; Afro-Mexican artist Bocafloja, rapper, poet, and spoken word artist; and Khane Kutzwell, a Trinidadian-American hair stylist and barber for film and TV. Moderator Maboula Soumahoro is a French-Ivorian scholar and writer, whose book, Black is the Journey: Africana the Name (2021), will contextualize the program.

Artists:

Bocafloja is an interdisciplinary artist of Afro-Indigenous descent based in Atlanta, GA. Bocafloja’s mediums of creation include documentary filmmaking, music, literature, and photography. His body of work addresses topics such as the Global South, decoloniality, critical race theory, and the African Diaspora in Latin America. Bocafloja has directed two critically acclaimed documentaries (Nana Dijo, 2016; Bravado Magenta, 2020), gaining international notoriety in the independent and experimental film circuit. Bocafloja has performed extensively for over 20 years in more than 35 countries, positioning him as a leading voice within artistic communities in the Spanish-speaking diaspora. He has been featured in PBS, NPR, BBC, Afropunk, OnceTV, and Okayplayer, among other media outlets worldwide. IG: @bocaflojaquilombo

Ladan Osman is the author of Exiles of Eden (2019), winner of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and a Whiting Award, and The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony (2015), winner of the Sillerman Prize. Her work in film includes The Ascendants, Just Sam, and Sun of the Soil. These films have played in numerous festivals and were awarded the ECU Award for Best Independent Documentary and the Dikalo Award for Best Short Documentary, among other honors. IG: @ladanbadan

Khane Kutzwell is a Trinidad-born, Far Rockaway, Queens-raised master barber and the owner of Camera Ready Kutz, Inc., a barbershop in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, geared towards, but not exclusively to, the LGBTQIA+ community. Khane has been a barber for 16 years and also works in the entertainment industry as the personal barber for stars such as Danai Gurira (Black Panther), Zeeko Zaki (FBI), and many more. IG: @khanekutzwell

Raised in Senegal, Assane Sy is a film photographer who is very passionate about the visual arts. His style crosses between fine art, portraiture, and abstract photography. After capturing the essence of the streets of Senegal for a few years, he has now crossed over to the Brooklyn scene. African cinemas and renowned Senegalese cinematographers such as Ousmane Sembéne and Djibril Diop Mambéty are his sources of inspiration. Assane often dreamed about photography and the diverse ways in which photographs are interpreted. He now dreams of pushing the culture forward through his visual expressions and compositions, as well as his own take on fine art portraiture. His mission is to create unique images that stand as a reflection of Blackness. IG: @assane_gaaye

Moderator:

Maboula Soumahoro has a Ph.D. in English civilizations. She is a specialist in American, African-American, and Black/African Diaspora studies. Lecturer at the University of Tours (France), she has also studied and taught in many other schools and prisons in France and the United States, notably Columbia University (New York and Paris), Bard Prison Initiative, Stanford University (Paris), and Sciences Po (Paris and Reims). She is notably the author of Le Triangle et l’Hexagone: réflexions sur une identité noire (La Découverte 2020), translated into English under the title Black is the Journey, Africana the Name (Polity, 2021), which received the special mention of the FETKANN Literary Prize! Maryse Condé in 2020. IG: @maboulasoumahoro

About The Africa Center

The Africa Center is transforming the world’s understanding of Africa, its Diaspora, and the role of people of African descent in the world. Serving as the hub for the exchange of ideas related to the continent, and in the spirit of collaboration with individuals and institutions who share our values, The Africa Center inspires enthusiasm, advances thought, and empowers action around Africa’s global impact on our collective futures. theafricacenter.org

About AFF

Since 1990, 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 the Brooklyn Academy of Music. AFF also produces a series of local, national, and international programs throughout the year. africanfilmny.org

Time: 6:00 PM

Free!

Registration