Omnipresence - Shorts Program is screening for $15 on May 20 as part of New York African Film Festival.

The 29th New York African Film Festival is presented under the banner Visions of Freedom: tuning into diverse and interconnected notions of freedom pertinent to Africa, the diaspora, and the world at large. This year’s festival presents programs that recall activisms past and usher in new anthems of the future to embrace a united front for liberation and expression.

Omnipresence - Shorts Program

Socio-political and cultural themes are explored through stories of migration, resilience, and a speculative envisioning of reparations.

This Thing is Not for You

Ifeanyi Awachie, 2022, USA, 20m

The first Black woman president of the United States announces that African Americans will finally receive reparations. A Nigerian-American family grapples with what this means for them, unearthing latent tensions along the way.

Becoming Black Lawyers

Evangeline M. Mitchell, 2021, USA, 25m

When these five Black lawyers set out on their journeys to receive a professional legal education, they did not realize that they would have to struggle against additional battles even more challenging than the rigors of learning the law in a hyper-competitive environment. They discover the contradictions of studying in an institution that idealistically represents "justice" for all.

From the Cave’s Mouth

Jeani Varty, 2020, South Africa, 3min

Khoekhoegowab with English subtitles
Somewhere in the ancient southern hemisphere of Africa, there is a small cave that is home to a humble family. For generations, they have lived here and peppered the walls with colorful art and stories. One day, their son goes missing, and the family abandons their small cave in search of him. The cave is lost to time and becomes dilapidated, faded, and corroded. Finally, after thousands of years of silence, the home is rediscovered by an adventurous little boy, who happens to be a very distant relative.

A Real Dancer Cannot Stand Still

Alice Aterianus-Owanga, 2021, Switzerland, 25m

French and Wolof with English subtitles

Since the late 1980s, many Senegalese dancers have migrated to Europe in hopes of finding a better life. Through words and movement, Hélène recounts how she overcame the hardships of migration, built her fighter mentality, and progressed in her career—sharing her irrepressible need to dance.

Kasongo (Im)Materiel

Noemie Arazi & Georges Senga, 2021, Belgium, 39m

Lingala, Swahili and French with English subtitles

Kasongo (Im)Materiel explores the forgotten history of the Swahili-Arab in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their trajectory from oppressors to oppressed along with the local adoption of their culture and language mirror the tensions and ambivalence of history and heritage. Interweaving scenes from excavations with archival material and contemporary recordings, an archaeologist and a photographer engage with the affective impact of that which persists from the past into the present.

A Q&A with Ifeanyi Awachie, Noemie Arazi, and Evangeline M. Mitchell will follow the screening.