The festival programme includes projects in different formats, including narrative features and shorts, documentary features and shorts, and animation, from 21 African countries.
By Adedamola Jones Adedayo
The Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF) has unveiled a lineup of 76 films from 33 countries for its 17th edition, acknowledging stories from across the African continent and diaspora—with the festival scheduled to run from 8th to 11th October, 2026 in California, USA.
The festival programme includes projects in different formats, including narrative features and shorts, documentary features and shorts, and animation, from 21 African countries. Selected countries include Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Narrative feature projects include Namibian filmmaker Elisabeth Tonata Hamukwaya’s Mwananga, Gabonese filmmaker David Mboussou’s AFROTŌPIA, Ugandan filmmaker Maureen Jolly Nankya’s SLUM BOMBER, South African filmmaker Lwazi Duma’s Thulebona, and Beneath The Tides, directed by Kenyan filmmakers Mbithi Masya, Millan Tarus, Mark Wambui, Barbara Minishi, Samuel Tebandeke.
In the narrative short category, projects include Mauritanian filmmaker Boubecrine Ibrahim El Mamy’s Anima, Senegalese filmmaker Zeyna Seyni Diop’s Burden of Silence, Nigerian filmmaker Ola “Naked” Jegede’s Convictions, Moroccan filmmaker Taha Aziz’s Donkey Skin, Angolan filmmaker Paulo Idalécio’s Do You Know Who I Am?, and Tanzanian filmmaker Kelvin Kagambo’s Embe Dodo.
Part of the documentary lineup are shorts such as Ugandan filmmaker Denis Israel’s The Blind Family, Kenyan filmmaker Robert Mutahi Macharia’s What Shall I Wear To My Funeral?, South African filmmaker Felicia Mokgara’s Living Under Water, Nigerian filmmaker David Akwara’s 40 Years of Crafting AFRICA; and features such as Togolese filmmaker Joel M’Maka Tchedre’s CENT DOUZE, Tunisian filmmaker Anis Lassoued’s Our Seed, Kenyan directors Robert Asimba and Ras Mutabaruka’s Fight For Life, and Nigerian filmmaker Daro Umaigba’s SUYA – A Spicy Piece of Home.
From the animation selections are Moroccan filmmaker Marwan Chiguer’s INVESTIGATION, Ugandan filmmaker Arnold Abayo’s Queen Kitami, and Congo-Côte d’Ivoire co-production My little stories_The gardener’s tears, directed by Manuelly Lashika N’Landou-Tchibindat, among others.
The festival programme also highlights projects linked to African diaspora communities across Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Réunion, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The full list of all 76 selections is available on the official website of SVAFF.