CULTURE & SOCIETY

Film about returned African artifacts wins top prize at Berlinale

Mati Diop’s documentary Dahomey secured the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, on Sunday. The film tackles the themes of colonialism and the return of looted African artifacts to the continent. The 41-year-old Senegalese-French director’s one-hour documentary follows the 26 priceless artifacts on their 2021 journey from Paris to Benin, where they were originally …

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Nigerian named Curator for the international literature festival in Germany

Starting in 2024, the international literature festival berlin will collaborate with a Curator in Residence. He or she will be responsible for events and invitations and will work together with the festival director and the team to develop a guiding theme for the ilb. Additionally, they will be present in Berlin during the festival. An internationally composed selection committee has …

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Nollywood Festival Germany congratulates Husseini, Nuhu on appointment

Nollywood Film Festival Germany (NFFG) has congratulated its two ambassadors – Dr Shaibu Husseini and star actor Ali Nuhu – who were recently appointed by the Nigerian government as Director General, National Film and Video Censors Board, and Managing Director, Nigeria Film Corporation respectively. In a congratulatory statement signed by the founder and director of the Festival, Isaac Izoya, the …

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Lupita Nyong’o named jury president of Berlinale

Kenyan actor, filmmaker and bestselling author Lupita Nyong’o will head the jury at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), which begins on 15 February. “We are excited to announce the president of the International Jury at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival: Lupita Nyong’o!” the Berlinale management announced on Monday. “Lupita Nyong’o embodies what we appreciate in cinema: versatility …

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Berlin prize for publisher focused on African writing

InterKontinental Verlag has been honoured with the 2023 Berlin Publishing Award (Berliner Verlagspreis). The publishing company is a subsidiary of InterKontinental, the Berlin-based literary agency and association for the promotion of African and Afro-diasporic literature. The Berlin Publishing Prize 2023 was presented to InterKontinental Verlag as well as two others, Edition Tiamat and Lukas Verlag, on 5 November during a …

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Vienna’s Adire Festival receives royal support in Nigeria

Adire Carnival, the Nigerian Cultural Festival that holds annually in the Austrian capital city of Vienna, has received an important endorsement from one of the most influential traditonal leaders in Africa. Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (Ọjájá II), the Ooni of Ife, has expressed his support for the Carnival, organised by the Egbe Omo Oduduwa Austria. He was speaking in his …

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An Afro-Brazilian legend was live in Berlin!

Our Editor-in-Chief, Femi Awoniyi, was at the live concert of the Afro-Brazilian legend Mateus Aleluia last week and he narrates what he describes as an unforgettable experience Mateus Aleluia gave a live concert during the week in Berlin. Accompanied by a percussionist, the Afro-Brazilian musician appeared with his daughter Fabiana on piano. It was such a lean lineup, but the …

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Berlin festival presents latest award-winning films from Africa and more

Once again, a selection of current feature, documentary and short films by African filmmakers will be screened in the German capital city. The occasion is the annual festival ‘Afrikamera – Latest Cinema from Africa’, holding from 14–19 November with the theme Urban Africa – Urban Movies: Future & Utopias. True to its theme, Afrikamera 2023 presents a selection of futuristic …

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Germany: Nigeria to showcase its rich cultures in Frankfurt

Africa’s most populous nation will display its diverse cultures in Frankfurt on 5 August in the German city of Frankfurt am Main. The 2nd Nigerian-German Cultural Carnival Frankfurt (NGCCF), according to a spokesman of the organisers, promises to be a major event in the financial city. “This year’s will be bigger, merrier as last year’s, with many activities taking place,” …

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Germany: Yemi Alade, Orchestra Baobab, Agoo perform at music festival

The 23rd edition of the African Music Festival takes place from 4 – 6 August 2023 at the Schlossplatz in the south-western German town of Emmendingen. Under the motto “Tribute to Mama Africa”, Afrikaba Kulturkreis e.V. has once again put together an exciting festival programme. The various African-origin musical styles and cultures, including salsa, reggae and Afro world, will be …

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Cologne Festival showcases enduring spirit of African filmmaking

From 14 to 24 September 2023, the Afrika Film Festival Köln (AFFK) will celebrate its 20th edition with about 85 historical and contemporary films from 20 African countries and the worldwide diaspora. The patron of this year’s festival is the Senegalese director Dyana Gaye, who will give an insight into the TIGRITUDES programme, a film series exploring the challenges and …

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Teaching Chinua Achebe to German high school students

School teacher Christine List writes on her experience taking her pupils to the African past in a literature class. The high school students read Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart for the project. List narrates her pupils’ mixed impressions of the literary voyage It had been four weeks since the students have been studying Africa in their geography project. During the …

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Berlin: Kenako kicks off with a children’s African festival

Kenako Afrika-Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. And it’s doing it in a big style! In addition to its activities on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, its traditional venue, from 20 to 30 July, there will also be a Kenako Kids Festival, organised in cooperation with FEZ Berlin, the largest non-profit child, youth and family centre in Europe. Kenako Kids at FEZ-Berlin, …

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Zimbabwe’s most celebrated band drops new album

Five years after the release of ‘Luyando’, Zimbabwe’s most celebrated musical export have returned with their long-awaited follow-up album ‘Tusona: Tracings in the Sand’, released on 7 July by Munich-based Outhere records. Like anywhere in the world Africa’s musical output has become more and more producer based. Mokoomba, however, are the living proof that Africa’s great guitar band heritage is …

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Don’t miss these African Festivals in Germany!

This year’s season of African music and culture in Germany is taking shape. Here are the Top Festivals you don’t want to miss before summer ends in 2023:———————————- Africa Festival Würzburg 26 – 29 May / Würzburg The International Africa Festival has been existing since 1989 and is the largest and oldest festival for African music and culture in Europe. …

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Arab Film Festival Berlin focuses on Palestinian cinema

The 14th edition of Arab Film Festival Berlin (ALFILM), taking place from 26 April to 2 May 2023, offers a programme that is more diverse than ever with over 43 feature films, documentaries and short films. The festival presents films from across the Arab world, from Casablanca to Damascus, via Algiers, Tunis, Cairo, Gaza, Jaffa and Beirut. The Guest of …

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