AFRIKANA SUMMER IS HERE!
MEET US AT MAYMONT AS WE KICK OFF OUR SUMMER UNDER THE STARS WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
HOW THE MONUMENTS CAME DOWN
SUBMIT YOUR FILM!
Afrikana is currently accepting submissions for our 6th annual festival in fall 2021. All submissions accepted via Film Freeway.
UPCOMING EVENTS
MARCH 5 2021
LOCATION:
ZOOMunda
SUMMER 2021
STARRY NIGHT CINEMA
LOCATION:
TBA
AFRIKANA PLAYCAST BY DJ MIKEMETIC
AFRIKANA EXCLUSIVE
Head over to Afrikana virtual platform, Eventive to check out our current Afrikana Exclusive short film
EVERYDAY BLACK
MATTER
Dir. Dr. Chaz
Back from remixing the DON’T TOUCH MY HAIR RVA archives, this film spins a fresh story about Black joy as practice motivating audiences to lean into dreams of Black cultural production rooted in pleasure, self-love, and nuanced identities that defy containment.
HER FLOWERS
Housed in the garden of The Valentine from September 2020 through January 2021, Her Flowers is a mural project commissioned by Afrikana Independent Film Festival and designed to be a way for us, collectively, to honor the Black women who have lost their lives to police brutality in the United States. This four-sided free-standing mural, painted by a collective of Black male artists rooted in Richmond, VA, holds the names of 90 women whose lives were violently taken from 1985 to the present. We know there are more whose stories will never be told, but through this work, we hope to hold space for all those women - known and unknown - and the people who love them.
Afrikana offers thanks to the eight artists that gave their time, energy, and talents to complete this work, as well as the generous team at The Valentine for their support and for opening their doors to house this installation.
We give special thanks to the Eggleston Family Trust for making this project possible.
Her Flowers artists: Julian Greene, David Marion, Sir James Thornhill, S. Ross Browne, Hamilton Glass, Amiri Richardson-Keys, Jason Ford, Silly Genius
AFRIKANA ROUNDTABLE
Afrikana sees cinema as a catalyst for reflection and connection, using each film as an invitation to unpack the deeper meanings of any given story. As a part of our 2020 experience, we invited a host of filmmakers, community figures, scholars, and creatives to our virtual roundtable to take us on a deeper dive. Click on a video below to revisit some of our conversations.
WHAT IS AFRIKANA
Afrikana is a space that celebrates, elevates, and further validates Black stories, Black voices, and Black lives.
Our film festival showcases the cinematic works of people of color from around the world, we place a special focus on the global Black narrative. Our mission is to present high-quality, well-crafted stories that highlight the diaspora and encourage people to connect.
