National Traveling Series
Now in its thirteenth year, AFF's National Traveling Series Program brings African cinema to a national audience by providing a package of curated films, promotional materials, and consultation to film programmers and festivals around the country.
Each year the package travels to ten to thirteen cities, reaching an estimated total audience of 8-15,000; many of whom would otherwise have little or no opportunity to see African cinema. This package also serves programmers — from art house cinemas to community-based organizations to independent curators — who often have difficulty locating or negotiating for films and face prohibitive shipping expenses. AFF’s National Traveling Series provides access to a neglected part of international film culture and supports African films overlooked by distributors but which are deserving of larger audiences.
Educational Programs
AFF has created two programs to reach young audiences. The first, the Young Adults Education Program brings New York City middle and high school students to an annual matinee program during the Festival. Short films are screened that are age-appropriate and relevant to African history, geography, politics, and culture. AFF’s facilitator moderates dialogue with visiting directors after the screening.
AFF’s In-School Program was initiated in 2000 with The East Harlem School at Exodus House (EHSEH) a middle school of seventy-five students in one of New York City’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. With EHSEH staff, AFF has developed a model curriculum that augments traditional materials with African films and visiting African artists and scholars. AFF is in the planning stages to expand the program to other schools.
International Partnerships
AFF contributes to many cross-cultural projects and has become a resource for programmers worldwide. The AFF Network reflects this unique perspective on the film industry. AFF has been to Burkina Faso to scout FESPACO since 1993. In the mid 1990s the Bob Marley Foundation hosted the African Film Festival at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1996, AFF curated the film program of Africa: Art of a Continent, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and, in 1997, went on to co-curate the African and African Diaspora Film Series for the 2nd Johannesburg Biennale. Recently, AFF partnered with the Celebration of African Heritage to co-curate a Pan-African Film Festival in Brazil. As our reputation for quality programming grows, so does the community of individuals and organizations committed to cultural understanding. In 2007 AFF met with partners in Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Sudan, Brazil, St. Kitts and Nevins, as well as organizers from North Africa and the Middle East. This year, AFF is pleased to once again to co-present the 2nd Sydney African Film Festival in Sydney, Australia.
Community-based Screenings
AFF’s Outdoor Screenings bring African films directly to New York neighborhoods with limited cultural resources, taking African cinema out of the art-house and into community-based cultural institutions, public parks and other settings. These screening reach many who may be unable to attend our annual Festival due to cost or location.
In past years, AFF has partnered with the City Parks Commission, and Ocularis on outdoor screenings in Queens, at the Socrates Sculpture Park, in Brooklyn at Grand Ferry Park, and in Manhattan at Luna Park and Pier 40. Since 2003 AFF has expanded its free Outdoor Series to include screenings in the Four Historic Harlem Parks, Central Park’s Harlem Meer, Fort Greene Park, Fulton Park and Betsy Head Track and Field in in Brooklyn, Queens Museum of Art, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts.
