THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
From 11 to 16 November 2025, the Afrikamera film festival returns under the compelling theme “CHANGE”, curated to spotlight cinematic works that interrogate social norms, power dynamics and transformation across Africa and its diaspora.
Hosted across multiple venues in Berlin — Kino Arsenal, fsk, Brotfabrik Kino, Sinema Transtopia and City Kino Wedding — Afrikamera 2025 will present a carefully selected programme of features, documentaries and shorts. From the bustling streets of Lagos to the hauntingly beautiful landscapes of the Sahara, the 2025 edition invites audiences on an unforgettable journey through the lenses of the continent’s most creative filmmakers.
Through its curated selections and public discourse, the festival offers audiences a chance not only to witness, but to also engage with those shaping the narrative.
Festival with Purpose
Since its inception, Afrikamera has sought to challenge limited portrayals of Africa in European cultural spaces, offering nuance, diversity and depth through film. Past coverage in The African Courier has highlighted how Afrikamera uses cinema as a bridge in dialogue — between continents, communities and generations. This year, the theme “CHANGE” signals a sharper turn towards cinematic activism: centering works that question institutions, societal conventions and the very foundations of power relations.
Programme Highlights
-
The festival opens with Promis le Ciel (Promised Sky) by Erige Sehiri (Tunisia/France/Qatar, 2025) on 11 November, screening at City Kino Wedding. It explores motherhood, self-determination and the experiences of refugees from a female perspective. Set in Tunisia, the film also delves into the experiences of Black African migrants in North Africa, reflecting on the themes of hospitality, solidarity and the social exclusion faced by sub-Saharan Africans within Tunisian society
-
On 14 November, Mikoko (Togo, 2025) by Angela Aquereburu Rabatel lifts up conversations on women’s rights and sustained activism.
-
Timpi Tampa (Senegal, 2024), debut of Adama Bineta Sow, screens on 15 November, interrogating harmful health practices and intergenerational tensions.
-
That same evening, Hanami (Cape Verde/Switzerland/Portugal, 2024) by Denise Fernandes rounds out a delicate coming-of-age story dealing with love, mental health and postnatal depression.
-
The festival closes on 16 November with Mambar Pierrette (Cameroon/Belgium, 2023) by Rosine Mbakam, a powerful portrait of perseverance, economic precarity and collective strength in urban Africa.
Alongside these anchor titles, Afrikamera 2025 will also feature recent award-winning and festival circuit titles — including works from Nigeria — making the event a vital showcase for new African voices.
Spotlight on Windhoek
As part of the anniversary programme ‘25 Years of Twin Cities Windhoek – Berlin’, Afrikamera presents a comprehensive programme at Sinema Transtopia.
Namibian director and producer Joel Haikali presents the programme Windhoek Shorts (Namibia 2019–2024) with current short and medium-length films from the Namibian capital.
There will also be two discursive formats that deal with the country’s colonial past and its impact on the present, as well as the project Image Restitution (Work-in-Progress (2025)) by artists Laura Horelli and Hildegard Titus, which shows current reactions in Namibia to a 1975 anti-apartheid documentary and Sorry for the Genocide (Work-in-Progress (2025)), a documentary by Wave In Motion Medienproduktion about the journey towards reconciliation between Namibia and Germany. Moreover, Time Prints Film & Media presents two works of filmmaker and media artist Christian Zipfel in the foyer — The Soil of the Namib (2023) and A Place in the Sun (2018).
Venues & Experience
Screenings will take place across well-loved Berlin venues — Kino Arsenal, fsk Kino, BrotFabrikKino, Sinema Transtopia and City Kino Wedding. The programme is structured to foster not just passive viewing but dialogue: audience Q&As, panel discussions and filmmaker engagements have been part of Afrikamera’s offerings in earlier editions.
Why You Should Go
Afrikamera 2025 is not a passive showcase — it is an invitation. For African diasporans, cultural enthusiasts or curious cinema-goers, it’s an opportunity to see films that unsettle, provoke and expand perception. The emphasis on women’s narratives and social transformation ensures that each viewing carries resonance beyond the screen — into politics, society and personal reflection.
Berlin’s cultural calendar in November is busy, but Afrikamera holds a unique space: African storytelling rooted in change, risk and creative agency. For those who wish to connect deeply with the continent’s evolving cinematic pulse, this is your moment to engage.
Vivian Asamoah
For the full festival programme, tickets and other details, visit afrikamera.de.
