In 2019, we organized the 2nd edition of the OAFF Festival.
1 month online from November 15tg to December 15th, with a selection of more than 30 films.
The OAFF platform is now available all year long, and the festival will still happen once a year.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FORMER SELECTION OF 2019
#jury
films that will be submitted for the official and digital jury’s vote
#diaspora
Films made by filmmakers from the African Diaspora (Colombia, Brazil, Jamaica, etc…)
SEW THE WINTER TO MY SKIN
by Jahmil X.T. Qubeka
South Africa, 2018, feature film, 2h08
A rousing, action-adventure-epic set in early 1950’s rural South Africa, chronicling the captivating chase and suspenseful capture of the native outlaw, John Kepe.
This self-proclaimed “ Samson of the Boschberg ” inevitably became a political threat to the very fabric of the ruling colonial society.
Trailer subtitled in English
SUPA MODO
by Likarion Wainaina
Kenya, 2018, feature film, 1h14
Jo, a witty 9-year old terminally ill girl is taken back to her rural village to live out the rest of her short life. Her only comfort during these dull times are her dreams of being a Superhero, which prove to be something her rebellious teenage sister Mwix, overprotective mother Kathryn and the entire village of Maweni think they can fulfill.
Trailer subtitled in English
#jury
A SEAT IN THE PLANE
by Khadidiatou Sow
Senegal, 2016, short film, 17min
In Senegal, a radio announces that a special plane bound for the USA is waiting at the airport for any passengers wishing to emigrate. A one-way ticket, without any formality or obligations for the first ones who will be boarding… Moussa, a father of a family, dedicates body and soul to this crazy adventure. Khadidiatou Sow tackles with humor the subject of emigration, where Occident represents a fantasy, that drives migrants to take huge risks while leaving everything behind them, without being sure ia better life awaits.
BLACK MAMBA
by Amal Guellaty
Tunisia, 2017, short film, 20min
Poulain d’or Prize at the Fespaco 2019
Sarra is a girl from the middle class of Tunis, she appears to lead the ordinary life her mother has set for her : she takes sewing lessons and will soon marry a nice boy. But Sarah has her own secret plans that will help her escape her present life.
#jury
DULCE
by Guille Isa & Angello Faccini
Colombia, 2018, short film, 11min
In coastal Colombia, a mother teaches her daughter how to swim so that she may go to the mangroves and harvest the piangua shellfish with the other women in the village.
#diaspora #jury
IT’S RAINING IN OUAGA
by Fabien Dao
Burkina Faso, 2017, short film, 25min
It’s raining in Ouaga. It’s the love season, the country is rebuilding itself after the revolution. Alpha will soon join her sweetheart in France. But after meeting Leila, he sees everything differently.
BURKINABÈ RISING
by Iara Lee
Burkina Faso / United States of America, 2018, feature film, documentary film, 1h12
Burkinabè Rising showcases creative nonviolent resistance in Burkina Faso. A small, landlocked country in West Africa, Burkina Faso is home to a vibrant community of artists and engaged citizens, who provide an example of the type of political change that can be achieved when people come together. It is an inspiration, not only to the rest of Africa but also to the rest of the world.
#jury
MABATA BATA
de Sol de Carvalho
Mozambique, 2018, feature film, fiction, 1h13
Azaria is a young orphan shepherd, keeper of a herd of oxen, where Mabata Bata stands out. The oxen will be the basis of the “ lobolo ” payment, a traditional dowry that his uncle Raul must pay for his own marriage. Azarias’ dream is to be a normal child, to go to school, goal that is supported by his grandmother. One day, when Azariah is in the pasture, Mabata Bata steps into a mine – the result of the civil war in the country – and explodes. The young man fears his uncle’s reprisals and flees to the forest, taking with him the remaining oxen. The grandmother and uncle leave in their quest to rescue him and persuade him to return. The film is an adaptation of a short story by international awarded writer Mia Couto.
#jury
POROUS BODY
by Sofia El Khyari
Morocco, 2018, short film, fiction, 6min
A young woman who lives in her thoughts goes back to the sea to centre herself. As she dives into the water, she dives under her skin and penetrates her psychological wrapping.
DHALINYARO (Youth)
by Lula Ali Ismail
Djibouti, 2017, feature film, fiction, 1h30
Deka, Asma and Hibo, three young girls about to graduate. United by a strong friendship, they face together the transition to adulthood. Their lives are intertwined and allow us discover the realities of an 18-year-old «Djiboutian» without forgetting the scorching sun and the dust which masks the differences and the Red Sea.
ENTITLED
by Adeyemi Michael
Nigeria/United Kingdom, 2018, short film, documentary, 4min
What does the immigrant fantasy feel like ? Filmmaker Adeyemi Michael reimagines his mother’s idea of what it meant to be leaving her country of origin, Nigeria as an immigrant 30 years ago, for Peckham, South London. The horse is a universal symbol of freedom without restraint a symbol of travel, movement, and desire. This position represents power and agency. Subverting the colonial position with that of an immigrant mother is to directly address the colonial narrative and where immigrants exist within that.
BARKOMO
by Boucary Ombotimbé
Mali, 2019, feature film, fiction, 1h15
Selected for the Fespaco 2019
Mali, in the end of the 19th century. A hunter lives in a small village in Dogon Country with his two wives. The first one, Yamio, with whom he has been married for ten years, is sterile. She tries to kill herself for she cannot bear the humiliation imposed to her by the other young wife. She jumps from a cliff but miraculously survives.
RAW DINNER
by Santi
Nigeria, 2019, short film, fiction, 8min15
Music video
In this video clip, Santi deploys all his creativity around the themes of sorcery, esoterism and fantasy.
Ozzy B/Santi is a rapper and singer from Nigeria who combines several music genres to produce his unique sound.
As a director, producer, and artistic director, he started acting at the age of 10 and became a professional musician at the age of 16. In July 2011, he released a mixtape which made the buzz and had a lot of reviews that considered the song as the best mixtape ever in Nigeria.
LIYANA
by Aaron & Amanda Kopp
Swaziland, 2017, feature film, docu-fiction, 1h17
Liyana is a story born in the imaginations of five orphaned children in the Kingdom of Swaziland. The film follows the children, Zweli, Sibusiso, Phumlani, Mkhuleko, and Nomcebo, as they collaborate to tell the original tale of Liyana, a fictional character whose early life bears remarkable similarities to their own.
JETHRO X JETHRO
by Malcolm Bigemyamo
Uganda, 2016, feature film, fiction, 13min
Jethro x Jethro is a meta-comedy about hopeful Ugandan filmmakers pitching their stories to the Moderately Altruistic Non-Governmental Organisation (MANGO).
CASCA DE BAOBÁ
by Mariana Luiza
Brazil, 2017, feature film, documentary, 12min
Maria, a young black girl, born in a quilombo in the interior of Brazil, is studying at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro where she is a scholarship holder. Her mother, Francisca, makes a living cutting sugar cane near the quilombo. Their correspondence is an opportunity for them to fight their nostalgia but also to reflect on the end of the economic and social period they are experiencing.
#diaspora
LA NEGRADA
by Jorge Perez Lozano
Mexico, 2018, short film, fiction, 1h45
La Negrada tells the story of Magdalena and Juanita, two women linked to each other. In the spiritual world, they have the same guardian animal and in the material world, they have in common Neri, Juanita’s husband, of whom Magdalena is the mistress.
Juanita’s death will open Magdalena’s eyes and give her the strength to take control of her life, without Neri. In Mexico, people of African origin represent about 1% of the total population, yet they have still not been recognized as a people, an ethnic group or a cultural referent, which has led to their marginalization and social discrimination. The Negrada is the first fiction film filmed in these communities, with local non-professional actors. It is an effort to give them a voice and make them visible.
#diaspora
OGA BOLAJI
by Kayode Kasum
Nigeria, 2018, feature film, fiction, 1h30
Oga Bolaji is a story that is centered around the simple happy go luck life of a 40 year old retired musician (Gold Ikponmosa). His life takes a drastic turn when he crosses paths with a young girl. Perhaps it leads to the worst or best part of his life.
SEARCHING THE EBONY VINYL
by Rufin Mbou Mikima
Democratic Republic of Congo, 2017, mid-length film, documentary, 52min
While Aidan, owner of a record store in Le Havre, is looking between Congo Brazzaville and the DRC for old African music records for his shop, film director Rufin Mbou Mikima, from Congo Brazzaville, is searching for the popular voices that rocked his childhood. With rumba music as a backdrop and as encounters unfold, this road-movie takes us on a journey through the very turbulent contemporary history of the Congo and its music.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
by Eddy Munyaneza
Belgium/ Burundi / France / Senegal, 2018, feature film, documentary, 1h10
Burundi, April 2015. Demonstrations against Pierre Nkurunziza‘s third term of office are gathering thousands of people in the streets of Bujumbura. A failed coup d’état further plunges the country into repression and violence. Entire families are fleeing the country. Eddy, a film director, films the demonstrations, then the first abuses and victims. His artistic and social commitment weakens his couple, dislocates his family, who decides to leave for Rwanda without him. Faced with the increasing violence, he too will be forced to flee his country. Refugee in Senegal, far from his family, he embarked on a long internal journey, caught in the images and memories of the crisis in Burundi. Nine months later, he goes to Rwanda to find his children. On both sides of the border, he meets those who have remained in Burundi or have chosen the path of exile. Their stories, often fragmentary and brutal, reflect a great deal of uncertainty.
THE WALK
by Yadia Mor-Jougan
Cameroun, 2018, short film, fiction, 30min
Talom, a 10-year-old orphan of father and mother, walks randomly on the paths in search of a little bit of sky.
GOLDEN FISH, AFRICAN FISH
by Moussa Diop & Thomas Grand
Senegal, 2018, feature film, documentary, 1h
In the south of Senegal, in Casamance, the fishing sector employs thousands of people, men and women coming from all over Senegal but also Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina, Malo… The resources are overexploited but sardinellas remain profuse. But a threat is appearing: the creation of a fish flour factory funded by chinese capital, which would prevent Africans to eat their fish. The film shows the anguished appeal of thousands of poor people. Strong and unforgettable images.
DIVINAS MÉLODIAS
by Lucas Silva Rodriguez
Colombia, 2019, short film, fiction, 33min
Pacho et Genaro are two farmers of African descent that live on the banks of the Guapi River, they are great musicians from the “ marimba ” tradition. One day, Pacho has to build a new instrument, for the burial rites of a kid who just died. The building of it turns into a mystical experience that is going to change his life forever
#diaspora
BABLINGA
by Fabien Dao
France, 2019, short film, fiction, 15min, Don Quichotte films
Moktar has always said that once his Bablinga pub is closed he will go back to Burkina. That day has arrived, but he hesitates. That’s when ghosts invite each other to celebrate one last evening.
#jury
Z THE BEGINNING #youngtalent
by Godwin Josiah (The critics)
Nigeria, 2019, short film, fiction, 10min
Z the beginning is a short film set in a post apocalyptic era of Nigeria that follows a bioriod who has no idea of who and what he is and how he becomes friends with a street burglar who claims to be on the run from an evil rebel leader called Korgan.
About the young and talented directors :
FEVER DREAM #diaspora
by Nile Saulter
Jamaica, 2018, short film, fiction, 13min
Enry is a scrap metal collector leading a solitary existence on the edge of the sprawling Riverton City landfill. As he prepares to take advantage of a rare and promising opportunity, disaster strikes, forcing him to vacate the area. He’s meanwhile plagued by dreams of a beautiful life once lived, or yet to come.
On the advice of a sinister friend, Enry travels out of town for a job which promises to provide a spark of hope. On this journey he finds something greater than he could ever imagine.
WILD CAB #youngtalent
by Olivia Frey, Elisa Gomez Alvarez, Paul Choquet, Moustapha Guèye, Yoro Mbaye
Senegal/France, 2018, short film, fiction, 16min
Adou is a clandestine taxi driver. Diégui is a student. This morning, she is late Adou is an illegal taxi driver. Diégui is a high school student. This morning, she’s late for school. Diégui then negotiates a race with Yadou and gets into his car. But she might have done better to continue by foot: the car is as slow as a snail. Travelling around the city, the two protagonists forge a relationship of complicity and exchange views on the transformation of Dakar.
RAFIKI
by Wanuri Kahiu
Kenya / Afrique du Sud / France,2018, feature film, 82’min
Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives,” but Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.
Only available for Spain, and South America
A BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLE
by Dafe Oboro
Nigeria, 2019, short film, 13min
This experimental short film follows a young artist from a Nigerian village in his quest for fame and success in music, all against a vibrant and psychedelic backdrop which is characteristic of the African megalopolis of Lagos.
A beautiful Struggle is the 5th short film by director Dafe Oboro, a tribute to fashion and artistic creation in Nigeria, produced in collaboration with @vliscoandco.
AWEL & AYTA
by Rami Aloui et Nadir Mohammedi
Algeria/Morocco, 2019, short-film, music video, 17min
It’s after the first cry that our life begins, that’s what is said.
This is a story of the first cry.
The first cry of a generation that we represent as “The sacrified generation’’.
The first spontaneous cry, inspired by youth, wanting to reappropriate its citizenship, striving to find back the appetite for living again, searching for the desire to act.
This first cry marks the awakening of a collective consciousness, and the rebirth of a sacred union through the solidarity of the citizens.
It is the first cry of those who stayed too long without voice, of those who yearn to reconcile with their roots, to spread their wings..