33rd New York African Film Festival Unveils Must-See Lineup for May 6–12

Film at Lincoln Center and African Film Festival, Inc. have revealed the complete lineup for the 33rd New York African Film Festival, set to run May 6 through May 12 at Lincoln Center in New York City. The festival will showcase 14 feature films and 25 short films, with many filmmakers attending in person for post-screening conversations. Programming continues at additional New York City venues throughout the rest of May.

This year’s theme, “As the Stars Sow the Earth,” centers on Africa’s natural resources, ancestral wisdom, and the artists and leaders who imagine new relationships with the Earth. The selection spans debut features, restored classics, and documentary work from across the African continent and its diaspora.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 1, at 2 p.m. ET, with early access for Film at Lincoln Center members beginning at noon. General admission is $19, with discounted rates available for students, seniors, and members.

Opening night and centerpiece films

The festival opens on May 6 with the New York premiere of Promised Sky, directed by Erige Sehiri. The film follows an Ivorian pastor living in Tunisia whose home becomes a refuge for a group of women navigating poverty, displacement, and the bonds of an unconventional family. The film opened the 2025 Cannes Un Certain Regard program and stars César Award nominee Aïssa Maïga and Laetitia Ky, both of whom are scheduled to attend the screening in person.

The centerpiece film is The Eyes of Ghana, directed by two-time Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot and executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. The documentary follows 93-year-old photographer Chris Hesse and a young Ghanaian filmmaker on a race against time to recover more than 1,000 films that could rewrite African and world history. The film won the Audience Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Highlights from the full lineup

Several other films stand out across the program. Idris Elba makes his short film directorial debut with Dust to Dreams, a story set inside a Lagos nightclub where a family drama unfolds beneath the music. The Heart Is a Muscle, a debut feature from South Africa’s Imran Hamdulay, won the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the 2025 Berlinale and served as South Africa’s official submission for Best International Feature at this year’s Academy Awards. Rumba Royale, a historical thriller set in 1959 Léopoldville during the final days of Belgian colonial rule, marks the big-screen debut of Congolese rumba star Fally Ipupa.

The festival also includes the world premiere of The Soul of Africa, a documentary exploring African spiritual traditions before the arrival of Christianity and Islam, and the U.S. premiere of Lace Relations, which uncovers the colonial history binding the textile industries of Nigeria and Austria.

Restored classics return to the screen

Two significant restorations round out the program. A 4K restoration of Férid Boughedir’s 1987 documentary Caméra arabe, which charts the rise of politically engaged Arab cinema, will have its U.S. premiere, followed by a conversation with Boughedir himself. A 4K restoration of Paulin Soumanou Vieyra’s 1981 political satire En résidence surveillée, the only fiction feature by the pioneering Senegalese filmmaker, will also screen for the first time in the U.S. in its restored form.

Where and how to experience the festival

The main run at Film at Lincoln Center concludes May 12, with the festival continuing at Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem from May 15 to 17, at Brooklyn Academy of Music from May 22 to 28, and wrapping with an outdoor screening at St. Nicholas Park on May 30. A digital exhibition featuring rare archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with figures including Ousmane Sembène, Harry Belafonte, Rita Marley, and Miriam Makeba will also be on display during the Lincoln Center run.

 More information about AFF can be found on the Web at www.africanfilmny.org. You can follow AFF at @africanfilmfest on X and Instagram.

Source: Film at Lincoln Center / African Film Festival, Inc.