Africa Film Fest Australia is heading to Melbourne this March with six days of bold cinema.
Running from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 March at Cinema Nova, the festival brings award-winning films from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Algeria and Guinea-Bissau to Victorian screens.
After selling out shows in Sydney over the past two years, curators Mumbi Hinga and Safia Amadou are expanding the Africa Film Fest Australia program nationally, partnering with Arts & Cultural Exchange to share stories that centre African voices and perspectives.
Africa Film Fest Australia at Cinema Nova
- Cinema Nova, Melbourne
- Friday 27 to Sunday 29 March
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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Opening night at Cinema Nova belongs to The Fisherman, a Ghanaian film that made history as the first from the country to be officially selected for the Venice International Film Festival. The whimsical tale follows a retired coastal fisherman whose quiet life gets upended when he befriends a talking fish. Venice awarded it UNESCO’s Fellini Medal for its message of peace and intercultural dialogue, and now Melbourne audiences get their chance to see what the fuss is about.
Beyond the opener, the program spans documentary and narrative work that’s been cleaning up on the festival circuit. Nawi took home Best International Feature and Best Debut Performance at Raindance Film Festival in London, telling the story of a young Kenyan girl who escapes child marriage to pursue education. Kenya Community Victoria is co-presenting this one.
My Father’s Shadow earned a Caméra d’Or Special Mention at Cannes and won Best Director at the British Independent Film Awards. Set across a single day in Lagos during political unrest, it tracks a father taking his two sons across the city while tensions simmer beneath the surface.
Documentary fans should circle Nteregu, which won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at FestIN 2025. The film traces the roots and global reach of Guinean music, centring women’s voices and ancestral instruments. African Music and Cultural Festival is co-presenting the screening.
Fanon explores the life of psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon in colonial Algeria, where his radical mental health care approach collides with the growing independence movement. Director Jean-Claude Flamand-Barny will stick around for a Q&A after the screening.
Rounding out the program is This Jungo Life, winner of Best Documentary at the Bantu Film Festival and Best International Documentary at Festiwal Filmowy NNW. The unflinching portrait of young Sudanese men captures daily survival and friendship amid displacement and conflict. Melbourne-based director David Fedele will be on hand for a Q&A, with SmartFone Flick Fest co-presenting.
Africa Film Fest Australia Melbourne, coming to Cinema Nova this March, is supported by Weir Anderson Foundation, Ubuntu Project, Kenya Community Victoria, SF3, and the African Music and Cultural Festival.
For more information, head here.
