Discover documentaries and short films created by artistic individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community.
The 19th edition of the AFRYKAMERA Film Festival will take place in Warsaw from 29th November to 4th December 2024. This year’s event, entitled ‘African Gaze: Queer’, presents the complex and multi-layered identities of the black and African queer community, love and different forms of resistance.
The programme will show almost 40 films, including feature-length fiction, documentaries and short films created by artistic individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community. Audiences will be given the opportunity to participate in Q&A meetings with the directors and numerous side events, including panel discussions and workshops. The events will take place in several locations: the Atlantic, Amondo and Wisła cinemas, the Ethnographic Museum and the Jasna 1 Club in Warsaw.
Ballroom as a form of radical self-expression
On 29th November, the festival will open with a screening of the film ‘Salao de Baile’ (‘This is Ballroom‘ – Portuguese), which will introduce participants to the world of ballroom culture. The screening will be followed by a discussion on the future of this unique movement and expression.
The highlight of the programme will be a set of short films, ‘The Early Works of Cheryl Dunye’, documenting the work of the Liberian-American director, whose work explores themes of race, sexuality and gender.
As part of the festival, the Ethnographic Museum will host a unique event on 30th November – the AfryKiki Ball, organized in collaboration with Sudanese artist Deri Louboutin West. It will focus on ballroom culture, creating a space to celebrate black queer identity. For the people of colour will be provided free entrance to this event.
‘This is an important step in recognizing the role of the black and Latin American communities in creating ballrooms and ensuring that these spaces remain welcoming to POC people in Poland,’ the organizers say.
Ballroom is a space and art form of radical self-expression, a performance manifesting protest, using costume as armour and dance to tell a story. Ballroom culture emerged in mid-20th-century New York in response to the marginalization of the black and Latino trans community, providing an opportunity to shift identities and break down rigid social structures. The theme of the ballroom at the Ethnographic Museum will be the pan-African colours – red, yellow, green and black. These colours have deep meaning across the African continent, symbolizing unity, liberation and pride. They are a celebration of African heritage and strength.
On the eve of the Festival’s launch – 28 November – will be held the opening of the exhibition ‘I Didn’t Come From Outer Space. I Came From The Future‘. A multidisciplinary event curated by Kenyan artist Amy N. Muhoro also represents the theme of the past of African queer artists and their communities.
Ballroom is a space and art form of radical self-expression, a performance manifesting protest, using costume as armour and dance to tell a story. Ballroom culture emerged in mid-20th-century New York in response to the marginalization of the black and Latino trans community, providing an opportunity to shift identities and break down rigid social structures.
Gqom, kuduro, techno trap, avant pop and more
Also on 30th November, the third edition of AFreaks, a music event promoting the African electronic and experimental scene, will take place at the club Jasna 1. The programme features unconventional, often predatory and surprising sounds at the intersection of genres such as gqom, kuduro, techno trap, avant pop and experimental music. Performing will be Kabeaushé – a Kenyan-born producer gifted with an unusual voice and a performer, representatives of the rebellious ANTI-MASS collective representing the electronic queer movement in Uganda, namely DJ and producer Nsasi, producer, DJ and model Turkana, as well as DJ Dream. AFreaks will open with a set by Kitty Sarcasm. From the Polish scene, we will also hear a DJ from Poznan who signs as Moli Monster, a member of Oramics who has played in many prestigious European clubs. And hovering over it all will be the spirit of Nyege Nyege.
This year’s programme is the fruit of a collaboration between Festival Artistic Director Ramat S. Musa and an international group of artists, curators and activists – from Sudan, Kenya, Tunisia, Nigeria, the UK, Germany and Poland.
The term ‘African cinema’, like ‘African art’, does not refer to a specific style, but only to geography. The African continent is made up of 54 countries, more than 3 000 ethnic groups and languages, which translates into an extremely diverse cinema and a rich culture.
African cinema and geography
The term ‘African cinema‘, like ‘African art’, does not refer to a specific style, but only to geography. The African continent is made up of 54 countries, more than 3 000 ethnic groups and languages, which translates into an extremely diverse cinema and a rich culture. The history of African cinema dates back to the 1960s and the decolonization of the continent. Today, African films are a fixture at film festivals around the world, and their filmmakers are being recognized for their contributions to the art of filmmaking.
The AFRYKAMERA Film Festival was launched in 2006 by the FilmGramm Foundation in cooperation with the Embassy of South Africa. Since then, it has established itself as the first and largest African film festival in Central and Eastern Europe, presenting a wide range of African films and promoting African culture, art and music. This year’s queer theme of the Festival is part of a global discussion on identity and social change. The Festival aims to showcase a decolonial and Afrofuturist perspective, disrupting the current status quo.
