New York African Film Festival To Feature ‘Over The Bridge’, ‘Dilli Dark’, Short Film EP’d By Spike Lee And More
04.04.2024 - 00:23
/ deadline.com
Film at Lincoln Center and African Film Festival Inc. have revealed the slate for the 31stNew York African Film Festival, a lineup that includes more than 50 films hailing from over 25 countries.
The festival, running from May 8-14, will open with the North American premiere of Over the Bridge, director Tolu Ajayi’s narrative feature set in Lagos, Nigeria. The closing-night slot goes to Dilli Dark, directed by Dibakar Das Roy, a narrative feature about a Nigerian MBA student in Delhi, India. Nigerian actor Samuel Abiola Robinson stars in the role of Michael Okeke.
“The whole intent behind it is to not just talk about Africans in Delhi,” Roy told Outlook India. “The intent is to talk about anyone who feels like an outsider in society today, that could be in India, America, or any other place. Michael Okeke is a metaphor for every outsider, whether he is an Indian or foreigner in any society.”
The first edition of the New York African Film Festival took place in 1993. Since its inception, “the festival has been at the forefront of showcasing African and diaspora filmmakers’ unique storytelling through the moving image,” a release notes. “This year’s theme, ‘Convergence of Time,’ explores the intersection of historical and contemporary roles played by individuals representing Africa and its diaspora in art.”
See the full lineup below.
Among North Americans premieres is Fight Like a Girl, directed by Matthew Leutwyler, “depicting the true story of a young Congolese woman (Ama Qamata from the hit Netflix series Blood and Water) who finds liberation after joining an all-women’s boxing club in Goma, led by an ex-child-soldier coach.”
The festival lineup makes space for fiction and nonfiction films. Among documentaries are D