The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), celebrated for spotlighting independent filmmaking and artistic discovery, once again brought a compelling selection of African stories to its 2024 edition.
This year’s lineup showcased a diverse array of films that probed the continent’s rich narratives, exploring themes of revolution, identity, and cultural resilience.
South Africa had the highest number of inclusions with three films – Questioning the Existence of Alec by Roger Horn, as well as Godide and Cloud Migration by Phumulani Ntuli from South Africa. Horn’s film had its world premiere, while Ntuli’s films will have their Dutch premieres.Â
Kenya and Tunisia were both represented by two titles each; Stero – a short film by Kenyan filmmakers, Tevin Kimathi and Millan Tarus making its world premiere, and After the Long Rains by Damien Hauser – and The Sunflowers of the Moon by Douar al Kamar and Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated documentary, Four Daughters, from Tunisia. Egypt’s 2024 Oscar entry, Voy! Voy! Voy! (directed by Omar Hilal) also made the cut. Â
Other notable selections included Nigerian director Ishaya Bako’s I Do Not Come To You By Chance (a movie adaptation of Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s novel of the same name), Cameroonian production La grotte sacrée (directed by Daniel Minlo and Cyrille Masso), and Senegalese filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s highly acclaimed Banel & Adama.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) offers a high quality line-up of carefully selected fiction and documentary feature films, short films and media art. The festival’s focus is on recent work by talented new filmmakers. Its official selection generally includes more than 400 feature, mid-length, and short films from over 90 countries and also offers a high-quality line-up of exhibitions, performances, masterclasses and talks.
This year’s edition of IFFR took place from January 25 to February 4, 2024, in Rotterdam, Netherlands.