Washington University’s AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL 2025 Overview – Diane Carson reports
Celebrating its 19th year, Washington University’s African Film Festival excels at introducing “contemporary artistic production by African artists to American audiences, combating stereotypes.” Over the March 28 to 30 weekend, it will present seven short films and three narrative features, all less than two years old. From Senegal, Somalia, Nigeria, South Africa, Reunion, and Cameroon, they offer a diversity of cultures and issues, landscapes and languages. Succeeding technically and artistically, the films (and I have had the pleasure of watching all of them) dramatize insightful and poignant stories of personal and communal interaction, often against a political backdrop.
Friday, March 30, begins with a most impressive short from Senegal and an award-winning feature from Somali. As can happen in friendly conversation over a meal, a casual remark may invite trouble. So it is in a brisk 17 minutes in Nous les Griots. As two families enjoy traditional Senegalese food, a revelation triggers an objection by father Daouda to Malik’s marriage. A griot himself, Daouda asserts that in his lifetime “a Diabate never marries a Cisse,” a griot (storytellers, poets, singers, and musicians) must maintain the griot line, and Malik’s fiancé Mariama is not from a griot family, even though Mailk and Mariama hail from the same district. Daouda tries to play matchmaker by suggesting a griot French woman. Praising his ancestors and tradition in a gathering conferring blessings on Malik, the conflict takes center stage. I leave it to Nous les Griots to reveal the judicious resolution. The consideration of a sensitive, complex problem regarding legacy resonates in many ways.
That evening’s award-winning feature from Somalia, the first included in the Cannes Film Festival Official Selections, The Village Next to Paradise also focuses on family dynamics, this time with individuals embroiled in contemporary crises. The brief opening begins with an actual news report of a senior Al-Shabaab commander killed in American drone attacks in southern Somalia near the coastal town Barawe. The narrative then follows an extended local family coping with their stressful situation. Father Mamargade first appears digging graves, but he seeks any job to support his young son Cigaal and divorced sister Araweelo. All have dreams that they actively pursue. Mamargade is so determined for Cigaal to get a good education, that when Cigaal’s teacher repeatedly fails to show up, Mamargade enrolls him at a nearby city’s boarding school he really can’t afford. Meantime, Araweelo resourcefully takes steps to open her own tailor shop.
Doggedly piecing together odd jobs, including a second burial job when he visits a hospital after a drone attack and delivering truckloads of unspecified items, Mamargade soon runs into serious trouble. Nevertheless, several elements buoy this film, notably the engrossing restraint that incorporates quiet, reflective moments before characters respond to each, a pace so unlike that in U.S. films that often rely on immediate responses. In addition, compositions are repeatedly surprising, unique, and appealing, such as a shot of only the father’s and son’s feet as they lie on a beach with waves gently breaking over their intertwined toes. At other times, foreground and background compositions comment implicitly on the importance of the landscape or the unequal relationships of the characters involved. Quiet but powerful, the narrative poignantly unfolds, never crossing the line into melodrama even as individuals struggle, often unproductively.
The Saturday, March 29, Youth Matinee at 3:00 p.m. includes four diverse, excellent short films. The Nigerian Hadu follows a young girl attempting to cook palatable okra soup. Only when her recently deceased grandmother magically appears and guides her does she triumph. The winner of several animation awards, this colorful, charming snapshot honors tradition through food, a theme of several films in this festival, and is appropriately “In Loving Memory of Grandma Elégbèdé.”
Next, the Nigerian/South African Afro Algorithms adds a second, beautifully animated film, this one 3D, that debates AI versus imagination and historical inclusion. Set in the distant future, because of the controller Miriam’s exclusion of vital databank information on marginalized and oppressed people, AI Aero lacks access to that knowledge. Seeking Dr. Richards, leader of the League of Human Intelligence, Aero’s search leads to the enlightened, explicit message that “imagination is the greatest tool we have.” The architectural design, movement, and sound enhance every element, validating the awards it has won.
The two live-action films in the Youth Matinee deliver solid lessons through interesting stories. In Kabri I Manz Salad/The Scapegoat, 12-year-old Ibrahim responds to fellow housing resident Ethan’s disrespectful comments after Ethan calls him an animal killer because of Ibrahim’s Comoran traditions. As the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast nears, Ibrahim acts to rescue a goat he fears is meant for slaughter. The results are humorous and instructive. In the final afternoon film Muna, the title British-Somali teenager experiences confusion over her family’s mourning for mother Yasmin’s father, a man Muna has never known. Muna wants to embark on a week-long trip to which Yasmin and father Ali object with brother Abdi no help at first. Trying to gain approval by performing house chores, even as her attention remains on her playlist, Muna may learn empathy as her extended family gathers to share in the mourning. Straightforward and clear, all four of the Youth Matinee films have something important to say to adults and young individuals, easily prompting beneficial discussions.
Saturday evening’s feature program has more complexity, though the introductory short The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí telegraphs its unambiguous message: don’t try to deceive your savvy, assertive fiancée of eight years, especially in this media age. It is the revelation of Constance’s would-be groom’s prior and ongoing marriage that leads to a most satisfactory revenge. The light-hearted presentation of bright colors and strong performances culminates in a most picture-perfect finale.
From Senegal, Demba challenges viewers but is more than deserving of rapt attention for immersion in the interconnected, troubled lives of Demba, his son Bajjo, and colleagues. A clerk in Matam City in northern Senegal, 55-year-old Demba has created, indexed, and filed the city’s registers for over 27 years. Abruptly “retired,” grieving the loss of wife Awa as that two year anniversary approaches, and hoping to reconnect with his son Bajjo, Demba feels adrift emotionally and professionally. With earned sentiment, with understanding and compassion, with careful characterization devoid of any reductive stereotypes, writer/director Mamadou Dia fashions a poignant, deep dive into coping with personal and professional loss, estrangement from one’s offspring, and a society changing in unprecedented ways. Most heartbreaking, Demba tells Bajjo, “Once you grow up, you’ll see that being bored hurts less than being lonely.”
The film’s conscientious psychological honesty makes Demba a memorable experience. Moreover, many of the verbal and nonverbal elements correlate implicitly with universal experiences, thereby amplifying relevance. As a bonus, celebrated filmmaker Ekwa Msangi plus Abbesi Akhamie, Demba’s producer and director of The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí’s, will lead a Q&A after the Saturday evening films.
Sunday, March 30, begins with the haunting short Mångata. As young Alya floats in a lifejacket on the Mediterranean Sea, her father invites her to play a game, asking Alya to imagine who lives on the moon that is reflected in the water. Juxtaposing her adult work with her early memory, as an Italian-Nigerian astronaut Alya enters moon caves looking for the rover CREX. Flashbacks to her father’s voice encouraging her to take his Kalimba inform her life in profound ways.
The fest concludes with Sadrack, another in this weekend’s offering of strong films. When 70-year-old Bayo’s son Franck, a successful businessman not particularly attentive to his father, hires Rachel Yongoua to care for Bayo, she becomes the caretaker for a man contending with advancing Alzheimer’s. A student with unacknowledged health complications of her own, Rachel is left to cope with Bayo, a challenge she admirably meets. Rachel’s developing empathy becomes contagious, inviting us to contemplate our own treatment of individuals with this disease, especially when former Cameroonian Army Colonel Bayo explains the meaning of his Sadrack nickname. The metaphoric suggestion that local language, history, and culture may also be at risk of incremental, increasingly alarming loss intensifies the film’s impact. Shared vulnerability of caretaker and patient, plus the need for mutual support, even sacrifice, introduces another level of critical, collective commitment.
Hoping to help filmgoers choose among the African Film Festival offerings, I have summarized and commented at some length because of the rare opportunity afforded us this weekend to see exceptional work that I wish had more U.S. distribution. The African Film Festival provides a unique opportunity to sample important ideas, issues, and cultures too rarely available on a big screen here in St. Louis. Kudos to Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo for initiating the festival in 2005 and continuing to curate this diverse, superb group of aesthetically and technically impressive feature and short films. Appreciation is also extended to all the festival supporters. All the films have English subtitles as needed.
For more information, you may visit the African Film Festival website
