The Tuareg Purple Rain remake, Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai, is screening at the 2016 NYAFF

The New York African Film Festival returns next month to bring more of the best in African and diasporan cinema to New York City. As the festival organizers point out, 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the “Father of African Cinema” Ousmane Sembène’s first feature, Black Girl. As such, this year’s NYAFF is being presented under the theme “Modern Days, Ancient Nights: 50 Years of African Filmmaking.”

The full lineup includes 25 feature-length films and 27 short films from a total of 26 countries.

The festival kicks off with a preview town-hall event on Sunday, May 1, at the Film Society’s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater featuring the Digital Diaspora Family Reunion Roadshow (DDFR).

Opening the series at the Film Society of Lincoln Center is Bentley Dean and Martin Butler’s South Pacific drama, Tanna. The festival’s centerpiece is Ethiopian director Hermon Hailay’s Price of Love. A closing night spotlight on Tuesday, May 10, will include Manthia Diawara’s Negritude: A Dialogue Between Wole Soyinka and Senghor and the “Africa in New York” shorts program featuring a collection of films by or about New York City–based African creatives reflecting on the experience of the New York corner of the African Diaspora.

The Tuareg Purple Rain remake, Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai, is also screening.

As in previous years, the festival continues throughout the month of May at Maysles Cinema in Harlem (May 13-15) and over Memorial Day Weekend at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of BAM’s DanceAfrica festival (May 26-30).

For tickets and more information on the 2016 New York African Film Festival head here. See below for a full schedule of events.

2016 NYAFF Film Schedule

The following schedule is divided into the three main venues of this year's NYAFF:

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THE AMPHITHEATER AT FILM SOCIETY OF

LINCOLN CENTER

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SUN MAY 1

2:00* DIGITAL DIASPORA FAMILY REUNION ROADSHOW

+ ART & ACTIVISM: PERSONAL JOURNEYS

A special town hall event for the 2016 New York African Film Festival

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FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER

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WED MAY 4

7:00* Tanna

THU MAY 5

6:00* The Cursed Ones

8:30* Cuckold

FRI MAY 6

2:00 While You Weren't Looking

4:15 La Belle at the Movies + Twaaga

6:30* Price of Love

9:00* Pastor Paul + Hex

SAT MAY 7

1:30* Martha & Niki

4:00* Quartier Lointains - Shorts Program #1

6:30* Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai

8:45* '76

SUN MAY 8

1:30* Intore + Some Bright Morning: The Art of Melvin Edwards

4:15* Queen Nanny + Yemanja

7:15* In the Eye of the Spiral + About a Mother

9:15 While You Weren't Looking

MON MAY 9

2:00 Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai

3:45 Tanna

6:00* Black Jews: The Roots of the Olive Tree + The Dance of King David

8:30* La Belle at the Movies + Twaaga

TUE MAY 10

1:30 The Cursed Ones

3:45* Cuckold

6:00† Negritude: A Dialogue between Wole Soyinka and Senghor

7:45* Africa in New York - Shorts Program #2

9:30 Price of Love

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MAYSLES CINEMA

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FRI MAY 13

7:00* Too Black to be French?

SAT MAY 14

2:00* Oya: Something Happened On The Way To West Africa! + Finah Misa Kule

4:00* Child of the Revolution

6:00* Mixtress X

7:45 Faaji Agba

SUN MAY 15

2:00* Egypt’s Modern Pharaohs

6:00 The Other Side of the Atlantic

8:00 Tchindas

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BAMCINÉMATEK

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THU MAY 26

7:30 Lamb

FRI MAY 27

2:00 Lamb

4:30, 9:15 Red Leaves + Cholo

7:00 *Afripedia

SAT MAY 28

2:00, 7:00 Sembene!

4:30, 9:30 The Longest Kiss + The Prophecy

SUN MAY 29

2:00 Kirikou and the Wild Beasts

4:00, 6:00, 8:00 Under the Starry Sky

MON MAY 30

2:00, 6:30 TGV

4:00, 8:30 Head Gone

*Director will be in attendance

† Special Introduction or Q&A