19th UR African Film Weekend 2026
September 11-12, 2026
Guest Presenter: Matene Touré
The African Film Weekend has been focused on Black diasporic and continental African films that examine and survey ecological issues tied to colonialism, racism, and extractive capitalism. This year’s edition is entitled “Ecology through Diasporic and Continental Films.”
Hosted by the Department of Languages, Literatures, & Cultures, with support of the College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office and the Cultural Affairs Committee.
Please contact Prof. Kasongo Kapanga or Jaime Rung if you have any questions.
Festival Schedule, Day 1: September 11, 2026
Location: Ukrop Auditorium
3 - 5 pm Faya Dayi (2021, 118 minutes) dir. Jessica Beshir. Ethiopia & Mexico.
Film Synopsis: This debut feature by the Mexican-Ethiopian filmmaker Jessica Beshir is a hypnotic immersion in the world of Harar, Ethiopia, where khat, a euphoria-inducing plant once prized for its mystical properties, now holds sway over the daily life of the people most dependent on it as a source of income and relief from life's hardships. In Amharic, Harari, Oromiffa with English subtitles.
5 - 6:30 pm Dinner Reception
6:30 - 8: 45 pm Xaraasi Xanne (Crossing Voices) (2022, 122 minutes) dir. Dr. Raphaël Grisey and Bouba Touré. Documentary. France and Mali.
Film Synopsis: Using rare cinematic, photographic and sound archives, Crossing Voices recounts the exemplary journey of Somankidi Coura, an agricultural cooperative created in Mali in 1977 by western African immigrant workers living in workers' residences in France. In Soninké, French, Bambara, and Pulaar with English subtitles.
Festival Schedule, Day 2: September 12, 2026
Location: Ukrop Auditorium
8:15 - 8:35 am Buckskin (2026, 17 minutes) dir. Mars Verrone. United States.
Film Synopsis: Buckskin documents the reflections of Carroll B. Williams Jr. who was the first African American to receive a doctorate in forestry and entomology, the first African American scientist to be hired by the U.S. Forest Service, and among the first African Americans to be a part of the environmental science and forestry faculties at both Yale and UC Berkeley. English.
8:45 - 10:20 am Seeds (2025, 94 minutes) dir. Brittany Shyne. United States
Film Synopsis: Seeds is a black and white documentary that follows a Black generational family of farmers in the American South, exploring their joys, struggles, and the significance and decline of land ownership. English.
10:30 - 12:15 pm Grisgris (2013, 101 minutes) dir. Dr. Mahamat Saleh Haroun. France & Chad.
Film Synopsis: A Chadian tragedy centering Souleymane, 25, who dreams of being a dancer despite having a paralyzed leg. At nightclubs, he transforms into the beloved dancer Grigris, impressing people with his moves. However, when his stepfather falls seriously ill, Souleymane desperately needs money and decides to work for petrol smugglers. In French and Arabic with English subtitles.
12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch Reception
1:30 -2:15 pm Still, It Remains (2024, 28 minutes) dir. Dr. Arwa Aburawa. Algeria & United Kingdom.
Film Synopsis: Still, It Remains examines the ongoing impact of French toxic colonialism in Mertoutek, a village nestled in the Hoggar Mountains of Algeria’s Southern Sahara and a home to the Escamaran community of Black Algerians. Used as a testing ground for nuclear bombs by the French between 1961 and 1966, the area continues to suffer the consequences of radioactive fallout circulating in the water and soil. In Arabic with English subtitles.
2:15 - 4 pm Banel and Adama (2023, 87 minutes) dir. Ramata-Toulaye Sy. Senegal, France, Mali, & Qatar.
Film Synopsis: A visually striking fiction debut from the mind of Ramata-Toulaye Sy follows a young couple in a remote Sahelian village in northern Senegal. The film unfolds in a landscape governed by generational traditions, climate disaster, and duty. In Pulaar with English subtitles.
4 - 4:30 pm Beverage & Snack Break
4:30 - 5 pm Life on the Horn (2020, 25 minutes) dir. Mo Harawe. Somalia, Austria, & Germany.
Film Synopsis: For over a decade, toxic waste has been dumped illegally on the coastline of Somalia. The 2004 earthquake and tsunami damaged toxic containers and caused waste to spill, which led to the spread of diseases. While many people left their villages, Life on the Horn is a slice-of-life portrait of residents who stayed and endured the consequences of the damage done to their land. In Somali with English subtitles.
5 - 6:45 pm Tree of Blood / Po Di Sangui (1996, 95 min) dir. Flora Gomes. France, Guinea-Bissau, Tunisia, & Portugal.
Film Synopsis: Set in the forest village of Amanha Lundju, a place where the birth of children is celebrated by planting a tree. Tree of Blood, the third feature by radical Bissau-Guinean filmmaker Flora Gomes presents an African folktale in which trees are considered spiritual twins. But for every tree planted, the rapacious state destroys many more. In Kriolu with English subtitles.