The 2026 Festival Program

Feature Films and Documentaries

Opening Night Film – The Laundry (Uhlanjululo): Set in Johannesburg in 1968, this coming-of-age drama follows 16-year-old aspiring jazz musician Khuthala, whose ambitions collide with the realities of apartheid and the struggle to protect his family’s laundry business.
Thu, 3 Sept, 8:30pm | Sydney Opera House | 1h 46m, plus a 15-minute introduction | Australian Premiere | Get Tickets

The Eyes of Ghana: Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot and executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, this documentary follows 93-year-old filmmaker Chris Hesse as he races against blindness and time to recover more than 1,000 films documenting the birth of African independence.

Co-presented by the Ghana Association and Ghanaian Australian Women’s Association, with an introduction by Effie Nkrumah.
Fri, 4 Sept, 6pm | Sydney Opera House | 1h 30m, plus a 5-minute introduction | Australian Premiere | Get Tickets

The Desert Child: From director Gilles de Maistre, this visually striking family adventure follows 14-year-old Sun, whose debut novel about a boy lost in the Sahara and raised by ostriches leads her to discover that her grandfather’s extraordinary story may be true.
Sat, 5 Sept, 10:00 am | Event Cinemas Parramatta | 1h 30m | Get Tickets

Muganga: The One Who Treats: Produced by Cynthia Pinet and Angelina Jolie, this drama follows Congolese doctor and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr Denis Mukwege as he treats survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Co-presented with the Refugee Council of Australia and followed by a Q&A with Adama Kamara, Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Refugee Council of Australia, and humanitarian practitioner Jeanne Mutarutwa.
Sat, 5 Sept, 10:00 am | Event Cinemas Parramatta | 1h 50m, plus Q&A | Australian Premiere | Get Tickets

Katanga: The Dance of the Scorpions: Dani Kouyaté’s black-and-white political drama follows a military leader caught between prophecy, loyalty and power after a failed conspiracy leads a king to appoint his cousin Katanga to command the armed forces.
Sat, 5 Sept, 2:00 pm | Event Cinemas Parramatta | 1h 53m | Australian Premiere | Get Tickets

El Sett: This biographical drama traces Umm Kulthum’s journey from singing in rural Egypt disguised as a boy to becoming one of the Arab world’s most iconic musical voices, culminating in her historic 1967 concert at the Olympia in Paris.
Sat, 5 Sept, 4:10 pm | Event Cinemas Parramatta | 2h 42m | Get Tickets

East West Love: Spanning Lagos and Mombasa, this romantic comedy follows a meticulous Nigerian event planner whose carefully arranged getaway unravels before an unexpected connection changes everything.
Sat, 5 Sept, 7:10 pm | Event Cinemas Parramatta | 1h 24m | Australian Premiere | Get Tickets

Skylark: Mignotae Kebede’s hybrid vérité and poetic documentary follows three Black women as they confront the physical and emotional toll of racism-related stress and search for pathways towards healing, restoration and liberation.

Co-presented with Amplify Black Women and followed by a Q&A with Annette Cole, Founder and Executive Director of Amplify Black Women, and Executive Producer Dr Yanique Redwood.
Sun, 6 Sept, 11:30 am | Event Cinemas Parramatta | 1h 10m, plus Q&A | Australian Premiere | Get Tickets

Closing Night – Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story: Yemi Bamiro’s documentary tells the story of Harlem photographer Kwame Brathwaite, whose images and pioneering fashion shows helped popularise the Black Is Beautiful movement of the 1960s.
Sun, 6 Sept, 4:10 pm | Event Cinemas Parramatta | 1h 38m, plus an introduction | Australian Premiere | Get Tickets

Short Films

2026 Short Films Programme: Eight Australian premieres bring together emerging filmmakers and stories from Africa and its diaspora: I’m Not You; Borders, Bonds, Belonging; Kayamatah; Jazz Infernal; The Don; Dialogue From the Between Worlds; The Legend of Ntiti and Ntitietsana; and Being You.

The session will conclude with a filmmakers Q&A.
Sun, 6 Sept, 1:25 pm | Event Cinemas Parramatta | 2h 30m, including a filmmaker Q&A | Get Tickets

Special Events

Opening Night Reception

Celebrate the opening of AFFA 2026 at the Sydney Opera House before the Australian premiere of The Laundry (Uhlanjululo).

Filmmakers, artists, industry guests and audiences will come together over canapés and drinks, with DJ GnGR bringing Afrobeat, Amapiano, Afrofusion and global rhythms to the Utzon Room.

Please note that tickets to the Opening Night Reception do not include admission to the film screening.
Thu, 3 Sept, 6:00 pm | Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House | 2 hours | Get Tickets

The Art of Storytelling

Presented in partnership with AFTRS, with support from the African Caribbean Writers Festival Australia and African Youth Initiative, this masterclass explores how ideas become stories, stories become scripts and scripts become films.

Moderated by Ratidzo Mambo, the session features filmmaker Zamo Mkhwanazi, writer and filmmaker Malla Nunn, screenwriter and filmmaker Huna Amweero, and screenwriter Jenevieve Chang. Each speaker will share insights into the craft of storytelling before the session concludes with an audience Q&A.
Fri, 4 Sept, 2:00–5:00 pm | Playhouse, Sydney Opera House | Get Tickets

Filmmaker Q&As

Selected screenings at Event Cinemas Parramatta will be followed by conversations with filmmakers and special guests, offering audiences a closer look at the stories, themes and creative processes behind the films.