We watch movies (and trailers) for you

Still from "Out of my hand"

This is the first edition of a new weekly series of posts/listicles we’ll be doing to keep you up to speed with the world of African cinema/TV/online video content. We’ll be sharing news, trailers and complete short films. Welcome to our movie night.

1. Remember director Ava DuVarney’s distribution and exhibition network ARFFM? It’s now an “independent film distribution and resource collective” called ARRAY. It opened its first two films they’re opening last Friday: Sarah Blecher’s “Ayanda” set in Johannesburg and Takeshi Fukunaga’s Liberian immigrant tale “Out of My Hand.”

Here’s a teaser for “Out of My Hand”:

BTW, read an interview with Fukunaga about making “Out of my hand” from our archives.

 

2. The British Film Institute interviewed Rwandan filmmaker Kivu Ruhorahoza (he is talented for real) on his new film “Things of the Aimless Wanderer.”

 

3. The trailer for the new film, “Am I Too African to be American or Too American to be African?” (It seems to be from the same genre as “The Neo-African Americans“):

 

4. More trailers: Watch the trailer for “Sembene!” the new documentary about Ousmane Sembene, the “Father of African Cinema”

 

5. Check out this dystopian Kenyan short Monsoons Over The Moon over two parts (HT @ShadowandAct):

 

6. South African performance art duo FAKA have released a new video which they call a “Gqom-Gospel Lamentation for Dick.” (The video was in part inspired by South African pop icon Brenda Fassie’s rendition of the song “From a Distance,” which in itself is worth a rewatch.)

 

7.. Watch Miel a new short film inspired by black migrant experiences by Belgian/Congolese brother and sister team Malkia and Nganji Mutiri.

 

8. “Africa” now has its first superhero TV show (can this first be confirmed?). It’s is a South African production. Here’s a trailer.

 

9. Finally, “The World’s First American Nollywood film” (this must be the week of firsts?), “Pastor Paul,” recently premiered in Ghana. Here’s a teaser:

 

 

Further Reading

Kenya’s vibe shift

From aesthetic cool to political confusion, a new generation in Kenya is navigating broken promises, borrowed styles, and the blurred lines between irony and ideology.

Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.