Film Africa returns to London with landmark program celebrating African cinema and global diaspora voices
Film Africa 2025, the UK and Europe’s leading festival celebrating African and African diaspora cinema, returns to London from November 14–23. Presented by the Royal African Society, this year’s edition will feature more than 50 films and events from over 20 countries, including features, documentaries, and shorts. The lineup spans Morocco to South Africa and Nigeria to Congo, celebrating the diversity and innovation defining African filmmaking today.
Festival curator Keith Shiri highlighted the rapid evolution of African cinema, noting bold experimentation across genres and storytelling forms. According to Shiri, the festival aims to foster collaboration, elevate visibility, and support artists as African cinema expands globally.
Opening, closing films and special tributes
The festival opens at BFI Southbank on November 14 with My Father’s Shadow, Nigeria and the UK’s Oscar submission for Best International Feature. Directed by Akinola Davies Jr., the film follows a father and his sons navigating Lagos during the 1993 election crisis and will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
The festival closes on November 23 with Katanga: The Dance of the Scorpions, a Shakespeare-inspired drama from Burkina Faso directed by Dani Kouyaté. Shot in black and white, the film reimagines Macbeth through West African storytelling and recently led African Movie Academy Awards nominations with 10 nods.
A tribute to the late Malian filmmaker Souleymane Cissé will showcase a restored screening of Yeleen at the University of East Anglia on November 20. Cissé, who passed earlier this year at 85, was a trailblazer credited with reshaping African cinema and winning the Cannes Jury Award in 1987.
Spotlight on the Democratic Republic of Congo and global themes
This year’s spotlight focuses on the Democratic Republic of Congo. Screenings include The Tree of Authenticity by Sammy Baloji and Of Mud and Blood by Jean-Gabriel Leynaud, alongside Lobito Bound, which follows explorer Dwayne Fields across southern Africa as he examines the transformative Lobito Corridor trade route.
Congo RE-Vue, a digital photography exhibition at The Africa Centre, will showcase emerging Congolese visual voices throughout the festival.
Films centering women’s lives also take the spotlight, with titles such as Promised Sky, NAWI, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, and Aicha exploring themes including migration, identity, gender-based violence, and resilience.
Sudanese stories arrive through Aisha Can’t Fly Away and Khartoum, examining displacement, conflict, and the human cost of war through grounded, community-driven perspectives.
More than 20 short films will also screen, featuring emerging voices such as Golda Kesse’s Adinkra, Sanaa El Alaoui’s Aïcha, Ali Ziani’s Forty Days Road, Phumi Morare’s Why the Cattle Wait, and Moreetsi Gabang’s Baratani.
Beyond screenings, Film Africa will facilitate direct engagement with filmmakers through Q&A sessions and panels. A BAFTA-hosted masterclass on November 17 will feature Nigerian director Kunle Afolayan discussing his storytelling craft, Nollywood’s evolution, and his Netflix collaborations, followed by a screening of The Figurine.
The festival’s intellectual centerpiece, African Cinema and Liberation, will take place on November 22 at the London School of Economics. Sir John Akomfrah and Billy Woodberry will lead a discussion on cinema’s role in resisting colonial narratives and advancing African cultural sovereignty.
