Tag Archives: Pan African Film & Arts Festival

Africa & I, Ayinla win at PAFF

Africa & I

African films Africa & I and Ayinla have emerged winners at the recent Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles.

South African documentary Africa & I (1×90’), directed by Othmane Zolati and Chris Green (Chasing the Sun), follows 20-year-old adventurer Zolati who spent four years walking, cycling and skateboarding his way south through Africa, from Morocco to Cape Town.

The film is produced by Cape Town prodco Both Worlds Pictures (Puppet Nation ZA, Recipes for Love & Murder), in partnership with MultiChoice-owned African streamer Showmax and the National Film & Video Foundation of South Africa. Worldwide sales of Africa & I are handled by Big Media (US) and Paradoxal (France).

Ayinla, directed by Nigerian filmmaker Tunde Kelani, tells the story of Nigerian musician Ayinla Omowura, who used Apala music to address issues in contemporary society, commending and criticising various governmental and individual acts.

Sponsored by the First Bank of Nigeria and distributed by FilmOne (Nigeria), Ayinla will debut soon on Netflix.

At PAFF, the 30th edition of which concluded on May 2, Africa & I won in the Best First Feature Documentary category, while Ayinla took home the Programmers’ Award: Narrative Feature.

On Instagram, Kelani said: “Congratulations to our talents, crew, executive producers, producers, and our rep team in Los Angeles and Pakistan. Thanks and God’s blessings.”

PAFF is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles that states its goal is to promote cultural understanding among peoples of African descent through exhibiting art and film.

The full list of PAFF 2022 award winner can be found here.

tagged in: , , , , , , , , , ,

PAFF receives LA Arts recovery fund

The Los Angeles-based Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) has been named as one of 90 recipients of cash from the LA Arts Recovery Fund, which was raised for post-pandemic rebuilding.

Initiated by the J Paul Getty Trust and administered by the California Community Foundation, the fund gives grants to small to mid-sized cultural organisations – ranging from visual arts to theatre, music, dance, literary arts and arts education – that demonstrate exceptional regional or local significance.

The grants, ranging from US$5,000 to US$2m, will support these organisations within a period of two to three years to ensure they can sustain vital contributions to their communities, recover and re-envision their futures.

The PAFF posted the following message on Instagram: “The Pan African Film & Arts Festival is thrilled to be a recipient of the LA Arts Recovery Fund!! As one of 90 non-profits receiving grants, we are excited to continue serving and contributing to the rich cultural fabric and economic recovery.”

The PAFF is a non-profit corporation whose goal is to promote cultural understanding among peoples of African descent through exhibiting art and film.

tagged in:

Pan African Film & Arts Festival goes online

The 29th edition of the Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) will take place online this year instead of as a live event in its usual location in LA in the US.

Held from February 28 to March 14, the event’s organisers describe it as the largest black film festival in the US.

The PAFF is aimed at showcasing work that highlights the diverse stories of black America, Africa and the global black diaspora, and especially that which reinforces positive images.

Themed Evolution, this year’s virtual event came about in response to Covid-19, which has compelled the film and entertainment industry to use technology in creative ways. According to the organisers, this response to the global pandemic and consumer trends has led to PAFF’s new digital incarnation.

Out of over 900 submissions from 83 countries, the event will feature over 200 films, including 168 narrative films, 39 documentaries and 159 short and mini films from 45 countries and in 43 languages.

The official selections include Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies’ short tiled Lizard, a story about an eight-year-old girl with an ability to sense danger; Kapana, directed by Philippe Talavera, about gay relationships in Namibia; Jammal Ibrahim’s Pause, a short film inspired by the coronavirus; and animated short The Power of Hope, directed by Kalia Love Jones and inspired by a Michelle Obama speech.

Also selected are The Milkmaid by Desmond Ovbiagele, a story of two sisters who are abducted from their village in northeast Nigeria; and The Moon & Me, a short film by Igbo-Australian writer and director Kalu Oji that is described as a magical realist drama set in suburban Australian.

There will be juried prizes for Best Narrative Feature, Best First Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short and Best Narrative Short, among other awards.

Established in 1992, PAFF is dedicated to the promotion of cultural understanding among people of African descent. It is also the largest Black History Month event in the US in the month of February.

tagged in: