We watch movies (and trailers) for you

Still from "Out of my hand"

This is the first edition of a new weekly series of posts/listicles we’ll be doing to keep you up to speed with the world of African cinema/TV/online video content. We’ll be sharing news, trailers and complete short films. Welcome to our movie night.

1. Remember director Ava DuVarney’s distribution and exhibition network ARFFM? It’s now an “independent film distribution and resource collective” called ARRAY. It opened its first two films they’re opening last Friday: Sarah Blecher’s “Ayanda” set in Johannesburg and Takeshi Fukunaga’s Liberian immigrant tale “Out of My Hand.”

Here’s a teaser for “Out of My Hand”:

BTW, read an interview with Fukunaga about making “Out of my hand” from our archives.

 

2. The British Film Institute interviewed Rwandan filmmaker Kivu Ruhorahoza (he is talented for real) on his new film “Things of the Aimless Wanderer.”

 

3. The trailer for the new film, “Am I Too African to be American or Too American to be African?” (It seems to be from the same genre as “The Neo-African Americans“):

 

4. More trailers: Watch the trailer for “Sembene!” the new documentary about Ousmane Sembene, the “Father of African Cinema”

 

5. Check out this dystopian Kenyan short Monsoons Over The Moon over two parts (HT @ShadowandAct):

 

6. South African performance art duo FAKA have released a new video which they call a “Gqom-Gospel Lamentation for Dick.” (The video was in part inspired by South African pop icon Brenda Fassie’s rendition of the song “From a Distance,” which in itself is worth a rewatch.)

 

7.. Watch Miel a new short film inspired by black migrant experiences by Belgian/Congolese brother and sister team Malkia and Nganji Mutiri.

 

8. “Africa” now has its first superhero TV show (can this first be confirmed?). It’s is a South African production. Here’s a trailer.

 

9. Finally, “The World’s First American Nollywood film” (this must be the week of firsts?), “Pastor Paul,” recently premiered in Ghana. Here’s a teaser:

 

 

Further Reading

Repoliticizing a generation

Thirty-eight years after Thomas Sankara’s assassination, the struggle for justice and self-determination endures—from stalled archives and unfulfilled verdicts to new calls for pan-African renewal and a 21st-century anti-imperialist front.

Drip is temporary

The apparel brand Drip was meant to prove that South Africa’s townships could inspire global style. Instead, it revealed how easily black success stories are consumed and undone by the contradictions of neoliberal aspiration.

Energy for whom?

Behind the fanfare of the Africa Climate Summit, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline shows how neocolonial extraction still drives Africa’s energy future.

The sound of revolt

On his third album, Afro-Portuguese artist Scúru Fitchádu fuses ancestral wisdom with urban revolt, turning memory and militancy into a soundtrack for resistance.

O som da revolta

No seu terceiro álbum, o artista afro-português Scúru Fitchádu funde a sabedoria ancestral com a revolta urbana, transformando memória e militância em uma trilha sonora para a resistência.

Biya forever

As Cameroon nears its presidential elections, a disintegrated opposition paves the way for the world’s oldest leader to claim a fresh mandate.

From Cornell to conscience

Hounded out of the United States for his pro-Palestine activism, Momodou Taal insists that the struggle is global, drawing strength from Malcolm X, faith, and solidarity across borders.