About the NC African Film Festival
Moving forward into the future while building upon the past, the North Carolina African Film Festival connects our community with the progressive works of innovative filmmakers of all genres throughout Africa and the African Diaspora who cultivate their human experiences and culture through the eyes of a cinematic lens.
The art of cinematic storytelling manifests through treasured tales of social issues, economic disparities, conflict resolutions, and global inequalities faced by communities of African descent to learn from the past and visualize all the possibilities that advancement brings.
The North Carolina African Film Festival is a creative exchange between cinematic enthusiasts and the filmmakers and content creators of Africa and the African Diaspora who showcase the artistry and global impact that films can have in closing cultural and educational gaps.
Through film screenings, artist talk sessions, film production and screenwriting workshops, and networking, an open dialogue is stimulated to help build a connectedness among communities, give voice to different perspectives, and empower young aspiring filmmakers by exposing them to the fundamentals of filmmaking and experiences in acting, directing, scriptwriting, and choreography.
The North Carolina African Film Festival is a production of the Cultural Heritage Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that preserves and informs communities of the culture, customs, and traditions of all indigenous people.
Be A Festival Collaborator or Partner
The North Carolina African Film Festival is a collaborative effort with partners who share the vision and advancement of African culture and history by supporting films directed and produced in Africa that are told in indigenous or local dialects and captioned in English.
Targeted invitations will be issued to the Film and Theatre Departments of local colleges and universities to expose fundamental and advanced opportunities to aspiring student filmmakers, screenwriters, production techs, actors, and content creators.
Interested in becoming a festival collaborator or partner? CONTACT US!
Be A Festival Volunteers
Being a volunteer of the North Carolina African Film Festival comes with many privileges.
- ALL ACCESS PASS to festival activities.
- Help create a memorable experience for guest filmmakers and attendees.
Interested in volunteering? CONTACT US!
THANK YOU 2023 COLLABORATORS
FEATURED 2023 FILMS
EGÚNGÚN
Director Olive Nwosu
Fiction, Nigeria and UK, 2021, 14m
In English and Yoruba with English subtitles
Salewa must return home for her mother’s funeral, to Lagos, a place where she once had to hide herself. At the funeral, she runs into an important person from her past and is forced to go in search of her own peace.
Egúngún (Masquerade) is a meditation on home, memory, and identity – on the many versions of ourselves that haunt us. Yet, in each other, they find the strength to make a change and tell their own stories, devoid of societal pressures. Their strength is so great, it empowers their entire female community to set out for a different future.
THE LAST SHELTER
Director Ousmane Samassékou
Documentary, France, Mali and South Africa, 2021, 85m
In Moré, Bambara and French with English subtitles
The House of Migrants in Gao, Mali, is a refuge at the southern edge of the Sahara desert. It welcomes those in transit towards Algeria in the north, or on their way back after a failed attempt to make it to Europe. When Esther and Kady, two teenage girls from Burkina Faso, arrive to regain the strength to continue their journey, they form a friendship with Natacha, a migrant woman in her forties whose memory has faded over the years, along with her hopes of regaining her home.
The trio finds a semblance of family life, sharing moments of joy, hope, and tenderness. But the girls can’t shake the dream of a future abroad, even when their journey collides with the ones who came back, burdened by failure and trauma.
JUWAA
Director Nganji Mutiri
Belgium and Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2021, 85m
In French and Swahili with English subtitles
Shot in Belgium and the DRC, Juwaa is a subtly powerful drama offering African characters rarely seen on screens. Years after a traumatic night, a son and a mother reconcile and slowly peel away the layers of their complex relationship.
PRECIOUS HAIR & BEAUTY
Director John Ogunmuyiwa
Fiction, UK, 2021 11m
In English and Yoruba with English
John Ogunmuyiwa’s vibrant short is an ode to the mundanity and madness of the high street, told through the window of an African hair salon in London.
FRIEDA
Director Tisa Chigaga
Fiction, USA, 2022, 8m
In English and Bemba with English subtitles
An older undocumented migrant is summarily dismissed from her housekeeping position. Cast into desperate uncertainty, she roams the city in despair.
MMA MOEKETSI
Director Reabetswe Moeti
Fiction, South Africa, 2018, 25m
In Sotho with English subtitles
Based on true events, this film recounts a 2012 massacre in which a group of South African mine workers went on a wage-increase strike, leading to a national tragedy in which 34 miners were brutally killed by the police.
BOTLHALE
Director Reabetswe Moeti
Fiction, South Africa, 2022, 35m
In Setswana with English subtitles
Botlhale, who’s mentally ill, makes new friends and finds love when he’s institutionalized. The comrades plan an escape to Chicken Heart, a fast-food joint, where they’ll live out their fantasies of being high-society people. But their outing collides with the shutting down of their home, forcing the friends to confront tragedy and death head-on.
TUG OF WAR
Director Amil Shivji
Fiction, Tanzania, South Africa, Germany and Qatar, 2021, 92m
In English and Swahili with English subtitles
Denge, a young freedom fighter, meets Yasmin, an Indian-Zanzibari woman, in the middle of the night as she is on her way to be married. Passion and revolution ensue in this coming-of-age political love story set in the final years of British colonial Zanzibar.
How to Submit Your Film:
SELECTION CRITERIA
We are proud to celebrate with you through the eyes of the lens, the richness of African culture and heritage. Some of Africa’s setbacks would be shared during the North Carolina African Film Festival.
We therefore encourage the world to make films about Africa; and our selection criteria will be based on the following:
- Films that promote African culture
- Films that address issues affecting Africa
- Films about historic African leaders
- Films about historic African landmarks
- Films made by Independent African filmmakers
NCAFF WILL BE LOOKING AT…
Film Feature:
Short Film:
Documentary Feature:
Documentary Short:
Original Score:
Cinematography:
A panel of judges will grade each submitted film based on a score card. Each film will be scored based on different categories on a 1-10 scale. Averages will be measured to select the winners.
Each film will be graded based on the following categories:
- Screenplay
- Picture Quality
- Performance
- Sound Quality
- Visual Effects
- Original Score
- Continuity
FESTIVAL CATEGORIES
Best Film Feature
Best Documentary Feature
Best Short Film
Best Documentary Short
Ready to submit your film? Contact Us!
Contact Us
Inquiry? Interested in being a Collaborator, Partner, or Volunteer? Contact the North Carolina African Film Festival.