ASC Symposium: African Women Film Festival 2025
Open to Everyone
The event features award-winning filmmakers from across the continent alongside University of Michigan faculty experts for film screenings, Q&A sessions, and panel discussions. Conversations will address topics such as representation, gender, and the changing landscape of African media—creating space for dialogue among filmmakers, scholars, students, and the broader community.
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 (Kenya, 2021) by Sarah Owendi Ayitso. Exposes the exploitation and violence faced by elite female athletes in Kenya’s high-pressure sports culture.
Premiere Screening: Mwe Fo: My Queen Mother’s Shadow (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 Ndiaye. Examines the colonial origins and political weight of West Africa’s shared currency.
Standing on Their Shoulders (South Africa, 2018) by Xoliswa Sithole. Recounts 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.
The festival will also welcome Mahen Bonetti, founder and executive director of African Film Festival, Inc., as the keynote speaker. Renowned internationally for her vision and decades of advocacy, Bonetti continues to champion African cinema and amplify its voices on the global stage.
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
The African Women Film Festival honors the art, courage, and vision of African women filmmakers and is open to all who believe in the power of film to connect cultures and inspire change.