// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy film at Pan African Film Festival? It's a reel unity.
Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles, California, United States, that states its goal is to promote "cultural understanding among peoples of African descent" through exhibiting art and film. It hosts an Oscar-qualifying film festival[1] and an arts festival in Los Angeles in February of each year.[2] The Los Angeles Times in 2013 called the film festival "the largest black film festival" in the United States.[3]
Background
[edit]The festival was founded in 1992 by actors Danny Glover, Ja'net Dubois, and executive director Ayuko Babu.[4] Babu had no ties to Hollywood and was working as a financial consultant before he contributed to finding the film festival.[5] Glover and actress Whoopi Goldberg co-hosted the festival in 1992.[6]
One of the main goals was to expose others to African films because many of the films were not being screened and going unnoticed. Babu states, "A showcase festival, maybe two of them. First, try one in Hollywood. That would get the attention of the movie crowd and would stimulate international interest. Then, try Washington that would draw in the political community."[5] Another goal was to connect other African people to each other because there is so much diversity amongst African people.
It featured over 40 films by Black directors from four continents. The Los Angeles Times said the films had universal themes as well as African themes: "the overthrow of colonial governments, the clash between modern values and traditional values, and tales of gifted artists". Films at the first festival included Sarraounia, Heritage Africa, and Lord of the Street.[7] In 2013, the film festival attracted approximately 30,000 patrons, and the arts festival attracted around 75,000.[3] In 2014, the film festival featured 179 films from 46 countries. The films included feature-length documentaries, short documentaries, narrative feature films, narrative short films, and web series.[8]
Films
[edit]Tsotsi (2005)
[edit]Directed by Gavin Hood, the film shows what life is like in South Africa as a youth. The themes revolved around violence, redemption, and humanity.
Dry (2014)
[edit]Directed by Stephanie Okereke, which is about child marriage and is inspired by a true story. Okereke first learned about child marriage going on in Nigeria when she attended college. She wanted to bring this issue to the media to bring awareness. It got so much attention that Gambia's government banned child marriage.[9]
The Pan African Film & Arts Festival presents annual awards recognizing achievement in narrative, documentary, and short filmmaking. Categories include Jury Awards, Audience Awards, Programmers' Awards, and other special honors.
| Year | Award Category | Award | Country | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jury Award | Best Feature Narrative | United States | We Grown Now | Minhal Baig |
| 2024 | Jury Award | Best First Feature Narrative | Brazil | Power Alley | Lillah Halla |
| 2024 | Jury Award | Best Feature Documentary | United States | Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes | Ben Shapiro (director) and Sam Pollard (filmmaker) |
| 2024 | Jury Award | Best First Feature Documentary | Ghana | Brief Tender Light | Arthur Musah |
| 2024 | Jury Award | Best Short Narrative | South Africa | The Last Ranger | Cindy Lee |
| 2024 | Jury Award | Best Short Documentary | United States | Own the 8 Count | Child |
| 2024 | Audience Favorite | Narrative Feature | Ethiopia | Doka | Kidist Yilma |
| 2024 | Audience Favorite | Narrative Feature | United States | Outlaw Posse (film) | Mario Van Peebles |
| 2024 | Audience Favorite | Documentary Feature | United Kingdom | HumaniTree: A Story of Us Humans | Nuakai Aru |
| 2024 | Audience Favorite | Documentary Feature | United States | Respect My Crown: The Rise of African American Women in California Politics | Pamela Bright-Moon |
| 2024 | Audience Favorite | Short Narrative | United States | Superman Doesn’t Steal | Tamika Lamison |
| 2024 | Audience Favorite | Short Documentary | United States | The Orchestra Chuck Built | Christopher Stoudt |
| 2024 | Programmers' Award | Best Narrative Feature | United States | Outlaw Posse (film) | Mario Van Peebles |
| 2024 | Programmers' Award | Best Documentary Feature | United States | One Person, One Vote? | Maximina Juson |
| 2024 | Programmers' Award | Best Short | United States | Inner Demons | Jasmine J. Johnson |
| 2024 | Janet Dubois | Best Narrative Feature | United States | Bob Marley: One Love | Reinaldo Marcus Green |
| 2024 | Janet Dubois | Best Documentary | United States | Sing! Fight! Sing! Fight! From LeRoi to Amiri | Colin Still |
| 2024 | Janet Dubois | Best Short | United States | As the Cookie Crumbles | Aimiende Negbenebor Sela |
| 2024 | Janet Dubois | International Feature Award | United States | For the Love of the Motherland | Theodros “Teddy” Teshome |
| 2023 | Jury Award | Best Feature Narrative | United Kingdom | Rye Lane | Raine Allen-Miller |
| 2023 | Jury Award | Best First Feature Narrative | Nigeria / United Kingdom | A Song From the Dark | Ogo Okpue |
| 2023 | Jury Award | Best Feature Documentary | France / United States | King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones | Harriet Marin Jones |
| 2023 | Jury Award | Best First Feature Documentary | United States | Wade in the Water: A Journey into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture | David Mesfinn |
| 2023 | Jury Award | Best Short Narrative | United States | True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes | Matthew Law |
| 2023 | Jury Award | Best Short Documentary | United States | American Justice on Trial: People vs. Newton | Andrew Abrahams & Herb Ferrette |
| 2023 | Audience Favorite | Narrative Feature | United States | First | Jahmela Yarbrough & Brandon Yarbrough |
| 2023 | Audience Favorite | Documentary Feature | France / Italy / United States | Hargrove | Eliane Henri |
| 2023 | Audience Favorite | Short Narrative | Haiti/United States | Port of a Prince | JR Aristide |
| 2023 | Audience Favorite | Short Documentary | United States/Sierra Leone | Ifine | Adisa Septuri & Ebony Gilbert |
| 2023 | Programmers' Award | Narrative Feature | South Africa | The Honeymoon | Bianca Isaac |
| 2023 | Programmers' Award | Documentary | Cape Verde / Egypt / Ghana / Guinea / Bissau / Kenya / Morocco / Senegal / South Africa / Tanzania | The Africologist: The Chronicles of Africa | Valerio Lopes |
| 2023 | Programmers' Award | Short Narrative | Jamaica | Raw Materials | Sosiessia Nixon-Kelly |
| 2023 | Programmers' Award | Short Documentary | United States | Team Dream | Luchina Fisher |
| 2023 | PAFF Executive | Narrative Feature | Senegal / Mali / Italy / France / Canada | Dancing the Twist in Bamako | Robert Guédiguian |
| 2023 | PAFF Executive | Documentary Feature | United States | Fantastic Negrito: Have You Lost Your Mind Yet | Yvan Iturriaga & Francisco Nuñez |
| 2023 | PAFF Executive | Short Narrative | United States | We Were Meant To | Tari Wariebi |
| 2023 | PAFF Executive | Short Documentary | United States / Sierra Leone | Ifine | Adisa Septuri & Ebony Gilbert |
| 2022 | Jury Award | Best Feature Narrative | Chad | Lingui, the Sacred Bonds | Mahamat-Saleh Haroun |
| 2022 | Jury Award | Best First Feature Narrative | United States | Queen of Glory | Nana Mensah |
| 2022 | Jury Award | Best Feature Documentary | United States | Buddy Guy: the Blues Chase the Blues Away | Charles Todd & Devin Amar |
| 2022 | Jury Award | Best First Feature Documentary | South Africa | Africa and I | Othmane Zolati & Chris Green |
| 2022 | Jury Award | Best Short Narrative | United States | Slow Pulse | Marshall Tyler |
| 2022 | Jury Award | Best Short Documentary | Cuba / United States | Cuba in Africa | Negash Abdurahman |
| 2022 | Programmers' Award | Narrative Feature | Nigeria | Ayinla | Tunde Kelani |
| 2022 | Programmers' Award | Documentary | United Kingdom | Race Today | Wayne G Saunders |
| 2022 | Programmers' Award | Short Narrative | United States | 2 Eye Drops from Normal | Mora Carew |
| 2022 | Programmers' Award | Short Documentary | United States | For Love & Legacy | A.K. Sandhu |
| 2022 | Audience | Feature Narrative | United States | Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story | Denise Dowse |
| 2022 | Audience | Feature Documentary | United States | The Dream Whisperer | Eric Drath |
| 2022 | Audience | Feature Documentary | United States | Ferguson Rises | Mobolaji Olambiwonnu |
| 2022 | Audience | Short Narrative | United States | Contraban | Chelsea Hicks |
| 2022 | Audience | Short Documentary | United States | Crawford – The Man the South Forgot | Carol Devoe |
| 2022 | Janet Dubois | Narrative | United States | A Brother’s Whisper | Jacinto Taras Riddick |
| 2022 | Janet Dubois | Documentary | United States / Canada / Ethiopia / France / Germany / Jamaica / UK | Grandpa was an Emperor | Constance Marks |
| 2021 | Jury Award | Best Feature Narrative | South Africa | Back of the Moon | Angus Gibson |
| 2021 | Jury Award | Best First Feature Narrative | Austrailia | Caged Birds | Fredrick Leach |
| 2021 | Jury Award | Best Feature Documentary | United States | Firestarter - The Story of Bangarra | Wayne Blair, Nel Minchin |
| 2021 | Jury Award | Best First Feature Documentary | United States | Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story | Royal Kennedy Rodgers, Kathy McCampbell Vance |
| 2021 | Jury Award | Best Short Narrative | Egypt | Tuk-Tuk | Mohamed Kheidr |
| 2021 | Festival Award | Narrative Feature Award | Nigeria | The Milk Maid | Desmond Ovbiagele |
| 2021 | Festival Award | Contemporary Vision Award | United States | Who Is Gatsby Randolph? | Kobie Randolph |
| 2021 | Festival Award | Documentary Feature | Canada / France / United Kingdom | Uprooted - The Journey of Jazz Dance | Khadifa Wong |
| 2021 | Festival Award | Short Narrative or Documentary | United States | The Cypher | Letia Solomon |
| 2021 | Festival Award | Best Actor | United States | Chase Gutzmore, Standing Ovation | Chase Gutzmore, Standing Ovation |
Notable directors and actors
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "List of 181 Oscar Qualifying Short Film Festivals | 2025". Indie Shorts Mag. Archived from the original on February 9, 2025. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
- ↑ "About". Pan African Film Festival. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- 1 2 3 King, Susan (February 6, 2013). "The world comes calling at the Pan African Film & Arts Festival". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ↑ King, Susan (February 16, 2011). "The 19th Pan African Film Festival features eclectic lineup". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- 1 2 Epstein, Robert (October 14, 1992). "Multicultural Curtain Call Films: Ayuko Babu hopes the Pan African Festival will help rebuild hope in riot-scarred L.A.: [Home Edition]". login.proxy180.nclive.org. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
- ↑ Marx, Andy (October 15, 1992). "Pan African Film Fest kicks off tonight at Laemmle". Variety. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ↑ Staff (October 17, 1992). "A Kaleidoscope of Continents: Inaugural film festival highlights beauty of pan-African experience". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ↑ Bennett, Wyllisa (January 30, 2014). "22nd Annual Pan African Film Festival Night of Tribute this Friday, January 31". EURweb. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
- ↑ FIND, Voice of America News. "Pan African Festival Connects African Diaspora Through the Arts". login.proxy180.nclive.org. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ↑ "Archives - Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF)". December 13, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
- ↑ Martin, Michael T. "Joseph Gaï Ramaka: "I am not a filmmaker engagé. I am an ordinary citizen engagé."". login.proxy180.nclive.org. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
External links
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