AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL

February 9, 2019 - February 16, 2019

Alma Duncan Salon (Level 3), Ottawa Art Gallery
Entrance: 10 Daly Ave. or 50 Mackenzie King Bridge

The CFI is proud and excited to present its 4th African Film Festival, an inspiring five-film festival of Ottawa premieres of contemporary films from the five regions of Africa. Presented in collaboration with Carleton University’s School For Studies in Art and Culture (Film Studies) and African Studies Program.

TICKETS

$14 : General Admission
- Adults
$10 : Discount Admission
- CFI Members, OAG Members, Seniors 65+, Students, Children under 12 (Valid membership card, proof of age, or valid student ID will be required)
FREE : CFI Ambassador Members

Advance- Online: See each film’s page for its ticket link.
Box Office: Open one half hour before each screening.

We can accept cash, credit cards, debit, and Apple Pay at our box office. All prices include HST. See Box Office page for ticket and membership information.

African Film Festival of Ottawa Fourth Edition Curator Statement
Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo, Professor of Film Studies/Carleton University

The Festival
Welcome to the fourth edition of the African Film Festival of Ottawa (AFFO). It is a pleasure to offer again to the Ottawa cinephilic audience a sample of some of the best in contemporary African cinema. This year marks a historic shift in the young history of the festival. For the first time it will be held during Black History Month. The idea is to be able to be part in this month-long celebration of the cultures of people of African descent in Canada. We consider cinema one of the most significant contributions of artists and cultural workers from Africa and of African descent to culture. Indeed, the cinema is one of the artistic forms that most illuminates what it means to live as human beings on this planet, one of the most thoughtful, sensitive and sensible spaces for reflections and meditations on the human condition. What better time to screen African films than in a month of intensified awareness of African and Afro-diasporic cultures and their indispensable role in shaping Canadian culture daily in a multiplicity of forms? Black History Month is thus one of the most propitious moments to have a conversation between Africa and Canada around culture, and more specifically film culture. It is part of an effort to make African cinema an indelible part of Canadian film culture and to broaden the cinematic palates of Canadian in a meaningful manner.

The Films
In continuity with our original project to represent the various regions of the African continent each festival, the films selected this year come from North Africa (Morocco), West Africa (Senegal and Nigeria), East Africa (Kenya) and Southern Africa (Zambia) with the Senegalese film set in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (Central Africa).

While we focused on the question of film heritage during our 2017 edition, we thought we would return to some of the most vibrant experiments taking place in African cinema today. The films we have chosen for you definitely feature in that category. They all feature strong voices (some established, some emerging, but each compelling) which are poised to play a significant role in African and world cinema the years and decades to come.

Past Events