Category: The Latest

The Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), which recently wrapped up its 29th edition, established the African Film Library of Ouagadougou in 1989 during its 20th anniversary. Located at FESPACO’s headquarters in Burkina Faso, the institution collects, preserves, and promotes African films and related materials, making it one of the continent’s largest film conservation centers. From […]

It’s a question I hear often, at festivals, on panels, in interviews, in casual conversation, usually framed in different ways: What are your top African films? What have you been watching? What would you recommend? Give me your top 5 African films or filmmakers. The inquiry itself feels innocent enough. People are curious, and given my […]

On February 7, 2025, Nigerian filmmaker Kunle Afolayan announced that his 2016 film, “The CEO,” would be released for free on YouTube, followed by his 2011 romantic dramedy, “Phone Swap,” on February 28. Both films have already gone through primary theatrical, pay-TV, and streaming distribution windows. In a February 12 interview, Afolayan explained that this […]

Haile Gerima’s “Black Lions, Roman Wolves: The Children of Adwa” is a long-awaited, work-in-progress documentary film series by the acclaimed Ethiopian filmmaker. The project is an epic five-part work (totaling roughly 10 hours) that chronicles Ethiopia’s struggle against fascist Italy during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1941)​. Gerima has been developing “Black Lions, Roman Wolves” for […]

ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL: Rungano Nyoni—A Surreal Wake, and a Reckoning with Silence. A24 opens “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” in U.S. theaters on March 7, 2025, bringing Rungano Nyoni’s daring exploration of trauma, silence, and generational conflict to a broader global audience. Check your local listings for screening information. Akoroko Premium subscribers received […]

Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante, who served over four years as chief of Ghana’s National Film Authority (NFA), revealed in a March 2, 2025, Facebook post, that she had been unexpectedly terminated. Asante said she learned of her replacement through public announcements rather than formal notice. Her candid post detailed challenges during her tenure, including: Her […]

Canal+ has extended its MultiChoice acquisition deadline by six months, pushing the expected closure from April 8 to October 8, 2025. This is because regulators require more time to approve the deal. This update came directly from Canal+’s full-year 2024 earnings report, released on March 4, 2025, and a joint statement from Canal+ and MultiChoice […]

The Oscars are just one way of assessing cinema, shaped by a specific cultural lens. Conventional wisdom suggests Academy recognition brings real-world benefits. But acclaimed African filmmakers—Ousmane Sembène, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, and many others—built influential careers without it. Still, the way Oscar categories are structured matters—not because an Oscar legitimizes a film, but because arbitrary barriers […]

The 29th Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) wrapped up on March 1, 2025, with an eventful closing night at the Palais des Sports – Ouaga 2000. The ceremony ended a week-long festival that brought together filmmakers, industry professionals, and cinephiles from across Africa and beyond.  Awards as the Centerpiece The heart of the evening was […]

Rushlake Media, the Nairobi-Cologne-based sales outfit, has acquired international distribution rights to “The Dog,” a Kenyan-Swedish crime thriller directed by Swedish-Ugandan filmmaker Baker Karim. The deal was finalized during the European Film Market (EFM) 2025, which ran alongside the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), February 13 to 23, 2025. Set in Mombasa, Kenya, “The Dog” […]