Report

New York African Film Festival, American lights on the cinema of the African continent

Souleymane Cissé and Moussa Absa Sène, present at the New York African Film Festival. © Michael Oliveira da Costa / RFI

Text by: Michaël Oliveira Da Costa Follow

5 min

From May 10 to June 1, the Big Apple hosts the largest African film festival across the Atlantic, the New York African Film Festival. With about fifty films on the program, but also workshops to discover and raise awareness of the realities of cinema on the continent with the interventions of several actors in the field, this event, which celebrates its 30th anniversary, has become essential over the years for amateurs and an African film industry that wants to make a place for itself in the sun in the hyper-competitive American market.

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From our correspondent in New York,

Lincoln Center, May 10. In the legendary cultural complex of the Upper East Side, the red carpet is quite short, but the smiles are numerous, for this opening night of the 30th New York African Film Festival. Far from the rhinestones and glitter of Cannes, the NYAFF, as it is called here, is a central event in the calendar of cinema from the continent to the United States, and highlights, this year again, essential directors such as Malian Souleymane Cissé, Senegalese Moussa Absa Sène, but also young rising values, such as Angolan Ery Claver and Kenyan Angela Wanjiku Wamai.

«

We started from almost nothing, but the intentions have always been the same since 1993: to give a window of visibility to African cinema, because it very rarely has the exposure and success it deserves in the American cinematographic panorama. " says Mahen Bonetti, the festival's executive director. With meagre resources in the inaugural years, NYAFF is a pioneer. It was the first festival to program films by French-speaking African directors in the United States, dedicating its 1993 edition to a retrospective of the works of Senegalese Ousmane Sène, one of the fathers of African cinema.

A useful festival for "better visibility and distribution

»

Since then, the festival has brought films to this side of the Atlantic, among others, by Abderrahmane Sissako, Fanta Régina Nacro, but also Souleymane Cissé and Tunde Kelani. "This kind of festival is very important for African cinema, its recognition, but also for a better visibility and distribution of our films here," insists Malian legend Souleymane Cissé, who is the subject of a retrospective of his career for the occasion, and adds "that the presence of older directors, but also newcomers from all over Africa allows us to expose our talents internationally, and show people that we deserve a lot more attention."

► Also listen: At the Cannes Film Festival, African directors with a different look at the world

Close friend of Martin Scorsese – the American director, great connoisseur of African cinema and supporter of the festival – and who was to mark presence for a conversation on the past, present and future of cinema on the continent, (canceled for health reasons, Editor's note), Cissé spent long moments at the festival exchanging, mixing with the public, "which makes a human dimension of proximity with the spectators, one of the striking characteristics of NYAFF", as says Matthew, a film student happy to have received advice from a monster of African cinema.

Free access for better accessibility

NYAFF attracts a large audience, about 6,000 people, of all ages, and varied profiles, long-time regulars, film lovers, but also sons of African immigrants born in the United States who want to learn more about the social and cultural topics of the continent. "Here, the education system and the exhibition of the history of Africa is not a priority, people know almost nothing about the continent," says Fatia, daughter of Senegalese immigrants born in Harlem, "this festival allows the most curious to come and learn the stories, the realities that people live in Dakar, Nairobi, or Abidjan. It's a trip to Africa, but without flying," she smiles.

In order to bring together as many people as possible, film screenings, workshops and discussions are scheduled throughout the city, and a large part is free, to ensure optimal accessibility. "We have events at Lincoln Center, but also at the Brooklyn Art Museum (BAM) and Maysles Cinema, in Harlem, which and THE neighborhood of the African diaspora here," says Bonetti, "we know that the competition is tough with the many festivals that take place here, but we manage to do well. Every year, we grow."

WALLS OF KNOWLEDGE immerses us in the world of four students at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal's largest university. Each seeks to overcome troubles in this world of dreams, rage, and disappointments. 5/21 at 4:30pm @MayslesCinema with Q&A.https://t.co/9TrqLPIgOR pic.twitter.com/ckqiTjxAtb

— African Film Festival, Inc. (@AfricanFilmFest) May 21, 2023

Avoiding a "wakandization" of African cinema

The festival is also important to help distribute African films in the United States, with several American premieres, and networking between players in the image industry, novices in the field and the most experienced directors are at the center of many discussions. "Elders like Cissé and I are still trying to promote African cinema, but I feel that the energy of the younger generations is exceptional, unique," says Moussa Absa Sène, who adds: "We are in an era where the continent's cinematographic creation is exploding, and we must ensure that the future of African cinema, but also that of African diasporas around the world, is becoming more and more radiant, also in the United States."

For the Senegalese director, this kind of festival is also crucial to provide a realistic window on Africa, too often perceived here in a "fantastic" perspective, from the big American blockbusters. "Above all, there must not be a 'wakandisation' of the continent, because the reality is quite different. We must give a realistic vision of our daily lives, so that the world is fully aware of our joys, our difficulties, but also our different visions of life," he concludes.

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