African Women Film Festival 2025 to Showcase the Creativity, Resilience, and Global Impact of African Women in Cinema
The African Studies Center (ASC) at the University of Michigan invites the public to the African Women Film Festival (AWFF) 2025, a three-day celebration of the creativity, leadership, and global influence of African women in film.
This year’s festival spotlights the theme “Voices of Resilience: The Power of Storytelling in African Cinema,” focusing on how women filmmakers are redefining narratives and facilitating dynamic changes within the film industry. AWFF will bring together acclaimed filmmakers, actors, and scholars from across the continent and diaspora to celebrate the power of women’s storytelling in African cinema, exploring how African women use film to challenge stereotypes, preserve history, and envision bold new futures.
AWFF 2025 highlights six remarkable works by women filmmakers from across the continent, each exploring resilience, representation, and the transformative power of film.
The Burning Field (Ghana, 2019) by Justin Weinrich and Anita Afonu. A documentary on the human and environmental cost of Ghana’s e-waste industry.
Dark Side of Glory - Death in the Heartlands (Kenya, 2021) by Sarah Owendi Ayitso. An exposé of the exploitation and violence faced by elite female athletes in Kenya’s high-pressure sports culture.
Premiere Screening: MWEM FO, My Queen Mothers Shadow (Cameroon/USA, 2025) by Frieda Ekotto and Marthe Djilo Kamga. (Cameroon/USA, 2025) by Frieda Ekotto. A reflective film exploring memory, matrilineal heritage, and identity.
Money, Freedom: A Story of CFA Franc (Senegal, 2022) by Katy Léna N'diaye. An examination of the colonial origins and political weight of West Africa’s shared currency.
Standing on Their Shoulders (South Africa, 2018) by Xoliswa Sithole. A recounting of the 1956 march of 20,000 women against apartheid pass laws and its legacy in today’s activism.
Premiere Screening: Henna (Nigeria, 2025) by Sophia Muhammed. The story of a young girl from northern Nigeria confronting child marriage, abuse, and the search for freedom and self-worth.
Across their films, the filmmakers reflect on what it means to create in an industry long shaped by male voices. “Filmmaking is an act of resistance and of healing,” says Frieda Ekotto. Sophia Muhammed champions the motto “women empowering women,” using her storytelling to inspire and open doors for the next generation of African filmmakers. For Sarah Owendi Ayitso, “the industry has long-standing issues, and each of us has a responsibility to change things—one step, one story, one production at a time.” Read more about the filmmakers at myumi.ch/R39pD.
The festival also welcomes Mahen Bonetti, founder and executive director of African Film Festival, Inc., as the keynote speaker. Bonetti is internationally recognized for her vision and long-standing advocacy for African filmmakers and authentic representation in global cinema.
Alongside film screenings and the keynote, the festival includes a series of panels led by U-M faculty experts, guest filmmakers, and actors. The sessions examine the intersections of gender, technology, heritage, and creative practice in African cinema.
Panel topics include:
Women Making Films in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities
Toxic Circuits: Uncovering the Global Afterlives of E-Waste Through the Lens of Film
Preserving History: Women’s Activism and the Power of Representation in African Films
Filmmaking in Africa: The Nollywood Example
Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of Filmmaking in Africa
Building Bridges, Making Movies: Africa Connects to Its Diaspora
It is heartwarming to welcome some of the most talented and critically acclaimed filmmakers to our campus for the first African Women Film Festival ever organized in the state of Michigan and one of the first in the United States. The festival would showcase the creativity and vivacity of the African women in telling stories that build bridges and connect people across different cultures in Africa and beyond. By bringing these women to our campus, the African Studies Center once again demonstrates the importance of serving as a public resource on Africa and Michigan’s involvement with it for our state and local communities.
– Omolade Adunbi, director of the African Studies Center.
The African Women Film Festival (AWFF) seeks to amplify the voices of African women in film, celebrating their artistry, innovation, and resilience while creating spaces for dialogue, mentorship, and cross-continental collaboration.
AWFF is organized by the African Studies Center (ASC) at the University of Michigan and made possible with support from:
Office of the Vice Provost for Engaged Learning – Global Michigan, Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, Department of English Language and Literature, Global Islamic Studies Center, International Institute, and other campus partners.
The event is free and open to all who believe in the power of film to connect cultures and inspire change. For more details, visit the AWFF event page.
