Bristol: Afrika Eye festival unveils city-wide programme of new & classic films, stories and music
Films, stories and music from more than a dozen countries and the premiere of its own first self-made film will be on offer when Afrika Eye - the South West’s biggest festival of African cinema and culture – returns to venues across Bristol and beyond from November 8 to 16.
The festival’s mission is to offer audiences of all ages and backgrounds opportunities to explore the richness of African creativity, culture and history, using film and arts to challenge the stereotypes, dispel the myths and uncover more about the ever-changing social and political landscape of the continent of Africa and diaspora.
The full line-up for the festival’s 16th edition is now available via www.afrikaeye.org.uk with highlights including the first public screening of ROOTED IN BRISTOL – a short film, made by Afrika Eye, about the Bristol allotment growers of African heritage who are using their plots to keep alive the African and Afro-Caribbean food traditions of their families.
The documentary will get its premiere at Watershed on Sunday 14 November as part of a weekend of screenings of new and classic films, Q&As, shorts by black Bristol filmmakers and an opening night party featuring Robert Plant and Jah Wobble guitarist Justin Adams and gimbri maestro Mohammed Errabbaa playing the gnawa sound of Morocco.
Other venues being used this year include The Cube, Easton Community Centre, The Old Picture House in Totterdown, the Curzon at Clevedon and, as a curtain-raiser for Afrika Eye week, a teepee in Easton’s Felix Road Playground on Saturday 6 November where families and children will be able to enjoy a film & story-telling sessions with Kabbo Hue Ferdinand.
Above: The Bronze Men of Cameroon
Festival director Annie Menter says: “We are so excited to be back with our first live festival since 2019, sharing screen stories of lives lived, lives imagined and all the bits in between; using a wider range of venues; working with new partners, among them Sheba Soul, Rising Arts, Kiki, Queer Vision and premiering our very own film with its wonderful cast of local characters.”
For more details or to book, see www.afrikaeye.org.uk.
Afrika Eye news is also available by signing-up for the festival’s free e-bulletins, finding Afrika Eye Film Festival on Facebook or following @AfrikaEyeFest on Twitter/ Instagram.
The principal current funders of Afrika Eye are Film Hub South West, The Morel Trust and Bristol UNESCO City of Film