The 32nd New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) is now gracing Brooklyn, with its opening night at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) tonight, May 23.

Featured Photo : So Long a Letter by Angèle Diabang to open the New York African Film Festival/FilmAfrica at BAM

African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) and BAM have once again collaborated for the NYAFF. This year’s Brooklyn segment, dubbed FilmAfrica, complements the beloved DanceAfrica festival, often seen as the unofficial start of summer in the borough. The festival will showcase 51 feature and short films at BAM Rose Cinemas, drawn from a larger collection of over 125 contemporary and classic cinematic works from Africa and its diaspora. Many filmmakers are scheduled to attend for post-screening Q&As.

The central theme for this year, “Fluid Horizons: A Shifting Lens on a Hopeful World,” celebrates the strength and resilience of African youth, while also paying homage to the trailblazers who paved their path. Since its inception in 1993, the festival has consistently championed the distinctive narratives of African and diaspora filmmakers through the medium of film.

Tonight’s opening selection at BAM is the North American premiere of So Long a Letter, a film adaptation of Mariama Bâ’s groundbreaking 1979 feminist novel from Senegal. Following the screening, an opening night party will be held.

The festival commenced earlier this month at Film at Lincoln Center, then moved to the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem, and will run at BAM from May 23 to May 29. The NYAFF will conclude with a complimentary outdoor screening at St. Nicholas Park in Harlem on Saturday, May 31.

Who’s Attending

Notable attendees for the 32nd NYAFF include:

• Opening Night film director and co-producer Angèle Diabang and co-producer Abdul Aziz Diallo
• Ahmad Cissé (Making Manifest | A WESHHHSIDE TALE)
• Mirta Desir (Jean & I)
• Nerenda Eid (Underground Railroad Ride)
• Phil Cox (Khartoum)
• Salma Idris and Sara Idriss (curators of the Sudan-focused Shorts Program: No Time to Rest)
• Kach Offor (Baptized by Fire)
• Friends, panelists, and presenters like Bayan Abubakr (researcher), Azza Elhosseiny (director of Luxor African Film Festival), and Yara Costa Pereira (filmmaker representing the Mozambique programs)
• NYAFF Founder and African Film Festival, Inc. Executive Director Mahen Bonetti

When and Where

When: Friday, May 23 5:30 p.m. – Press check-in 6:00 p.m. – Red Carpet/Arrivals 7:00 p.m. – Screening of Opening Night Film

Where: BAM Rose Cinemas, Peter Jay Sharp Building (30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217).