*Opening Night of the 25th New York African Film Festival at Film Society of New York is tonight, May 16. Isaach de Bankolé (“Black Panther”), Angelique Kidjo and comedian Gina Yashere (“The Daily Show”) will attend as New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) filmmakers and special guests in this year’s amazing lineup of films in the African Diaspora. The Opening Night film is “ApollineTraoré’s” award-winning tragicomedy, “Borders,” which ties in with women’s struggles currently in the news. There will be a Q&A after the screening.
In “Borders,” four business women (Adjara, Emma, Sali, and Vishaa) meet while riding buses that cross West African borders, starting in Dakar and traveling through Bamako, Cotonou, Ouagadougou, and on to Lagos. Despite the gorgeous landscapes of the Atlantic coast and the Sahel, not everything is beautiful.
They undergo car breakdowns in the stifling heat, face highway robbers, and endure fights between passengers. But their worst fears are realized in the space of the border itself, where they witness great corruption, violence against women, and dangerous traffic. To survive, the women must stick together and take care of each other. Consequences of this trip changes their lives.
“Purple Dreams” is among the films that also have Q&As following the screening. “Purples Dreams” explores the stereotypes of black youth, which are turned upside down in this inspirational documentary shadowing six high-school students on an emotionally powerful, three-year journey of transformation that bears witness to the need for arts education in under-served communities.
The NYAFF at the Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) and African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) celebrate 25 years in New York. The international film organizations will pay homage to the pioneers of African cinema while marking the passing of the baton to a new generation of African visual storytellers who continue to transform and expand our understanding of the continent and its diaspora.
The festival runs through May 22 at FSLC and continues at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAMcinématek, and Maysles Cinema in Harlem, screening 75 films from 25 countries across the African Diaspora. For tickets and further information, go to: https://www.filmlinc.org/festivals/new-york-african-film-festival/#films
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