SHORTS PROGRAM #1: The Ancestors Smile

Presented with The New York African Film Festival
Co-presented with The Black Art Vanguard

YA HANOUNI

Lyna Tadount, Sofian Chouaib, 2024, France, 3 min.

While the Mom and the Dad try to put their baby to sleep, a competition arises between them: who will manage to get the baby to say the first word?

DÉDÉ

Yasmine Djedje-Fisher-Azoume, 2025, United Kingdom, 3 min.

Yasmine Djédjé-Fisher-Azoumé’s Dédé (Ancestor)delves into diasporic female identity. Featuring animated copper relief engraving, the film is a journey into the feminine cosmology and folkloric traditions of the Ivory Coast and the Bété tribe, guided by feminine icons such as fertility carvings, masks,sculptures, mythological fables and deities.

TINA, WHEN WILL YOU MARRY

Celestina Aleobua, 2024, Nigeria, Canada, 8 min.

As she clocks 30, Tina’s faced with the sudden pressure to get married. By exploring the stories of three unconventional Nigerian-Canadian women, she decides to tune out the society and traditions that try to dictate what life should look like.

HADU

Damilola Solesi, 2024, Nigeria, 7 min.

An eager young girl embarks on a culinary journey to recreate her grandma’s special recipe. Unfortunately, she ends up in a kitchen disaster, they reunite in the kitchen to relive cherished memories and create a perfect dish.

BEGE (YEARNING)

Umar Turaki, 2023, Nigeria, 14 min.

When Sanda shows up at her front door years after their breakup, Amina plays the perfect host. As the conversation unfolds, they acknowledge the things that time has made plain. But do they have the courage to confront the elephant in the room? Bege (Yearning) shines a light on the oft-unspoken emotional toll that comes about when love falls out of bounds for medical reasons, and examines what happens when the body betrays the heart.

AFRICAN LOVE STORY

Fantagbe Camara, 2025, U.S., 2 min.

This tender story not only celebrates family bonds and cultural pride but also sheds light on Black and African equestrians, honoring the rich and often overlooked history of African horse riders. By blending tradition and contemporary experiences, the film pays tribute to a legacy of strength, resilience, and connection through horseback riding.

WHEN RAIN CLOUDS GATHER

Christian Nyampeta, 2024, Rwanda, U.S., 29 min.

In a fictional situation, three artist friends debate how to spend one of their few remaining Saturday nights in New York. Interpreted by artist and documentary filmmaker Maliyamungu Gift Muhande, artist and researcher Akeema-Zane, and Christian Nyampeta, their dialogue is centered around life’s little annoyances in the face of a world ablaze with unjust wars and cruel exterminations. Through improvisation and collaboration with theater maker and director Adrian Alea, their conversation draws from the works and ideas of Black and African writers and film makers who reflected on exile, social life, and urgent cultural action in the society of their time.

HOUSE OF AAMA THREADS OF LEGACY

Jamal Ademola, 2024, Ghana, U.S., 15 min.

After the loss of her father, Akua Shabaka and her mother, Rebecca Henry—the visionary duo behind the fashion label House of Aama—find solace and inspiration in their creative bond. Drawing from the Free Jazz movement, they craft a captivating new collection, Sun Records, which they debut at New York Fashion Week. As Akua recalls her father's lineage from the Caribbean to Ghana, this evocative short documentary delves into their journey of resilience, and renewal, revealing the profound artistry that emerges from archives and ancestral reverence.

PA'LANTE

Karisma Jay, 2025, U.S., 18 min.

In a world of endless victories on the track, PA’LANTE tells the story of Afro - Latina twin siblings who dominate every race except the most elusive one: navigating the complexities of being human.

+ Post-screening discussion TBA!

$15 General Admission / $7 Reduced Price

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