Words from our amazing founder and visionary @enjolimoon ❤️ Watch the full video for everything you need to know about the festival next week. We want to thank you for all of your patience, grace, and endless support as we navigate preparation. We’re dedicated to elevating this experience each year and this 8th evolution will be a beautiful one. 🎥 @willroye Stay tuned for further updates and information. Link in the bio for all passes and tickets ⬆️

We all know they tried to give us the teaser month, but what they didn't realize is the Afrikana Venn Diagram says that today is technically Day 1 of Black Women's History Month 👏🏽 👀 So, we fitna celebrate VA''s finest Black girl film gang, mmmk?! mmmmk! Big Salute to the ladies (and fellas) of #TeamAfrikana that make the magic happen 👏🏽💪🏾🖤

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 🗓️! The 8th Annual Afrikana Independent Film Festival is going down September 14-17th 2023 in Richmond, VA. Afrikana fam, you already know what time it is! Afrikana is back again, taking over these Richmond streets to showcase the best of global Black cinema and culture. This year we're placing a special emphasis on Richmond's connection to the diaspora with film screenings, workshops, happy hours, dinners, discussions, and more! Plus, you don’t want to miss the world premiere of Afrikana’s first film production, Ninki Nanka! Spread the word and stay tuned for more details!

We want to take this opportunity to show our heartfelt thanks to our exceptional sponsors and community partners. Your unwavering support and dedication have been instrumental in our journey and in making this year's festival a memorable one. We deeply appreciate the significant impact your generous contribution has made on Afrikana, our community, and the folks we have the privilege to serve through our work. So many have been rocking with us from the very beginning! They believed in our vision and helped make it a reality. Much love to you🖤⁠ ⁠ #afrikanafilmfest⁠ #afrikanasponsors⁠ #afrikanacommuntitypartners⁠ #afrikanafest2023⁠ #afrikanafilmfestival

Happy Indigenous People’s Day 💫 We couldn’t let the day go by without honoring and acknowledging not only a history that has impacted us all but also a history that speaks to what it means to be indigenous to a land that was stolen and cultivated by stolen people. The African diaspora is deeply connected to the story of America and those stories can be found within food, music, culture, art and of course, film.. We are Indigenous peoples of what is currently known as the Americas and the Caribbean, and we are also the descendants of Indigenous peoples of Africa. Although we no longer reference today in honor of Columbus because the only Christopher we acknowledge is Wallace let’s be foreal 👀 However, we have a LONGGGG way to go when truly walking in what it means to be liberated, free, having agency and reclaiming what is ours. Also, we know we’ve been a bit quiet and everyone has been patiently waiting for all the recaps from the festival. The time is here. Stay tuned 😇

Words aren’t adequate enough to express all of the emotions we have. We love our Afrikana family so much and have to show gratitude to everyone who made this past weekend a success! Thank you to our queen, our visionary, our founder, and our creative director @enjolimoon for trusting and listening that Afrikana is what we all needed and has continued to bless many lives a million times over. This experience and this space wouldn't have made it to 8 years without your faith, resiliency, and brilliance. ❤️⁠ ⁠ To our staff + ambassadors💕:⁠ Thank you for your commitment to the purpose and vision of curating an experience of Black cinema, Black voices, and Black culture. You are the heartbeat of Afrikana. A team like no other foreal. They deserve ALL the love and gratitude in the world. They've worked tirelessly, with passion and dedication, to bring this magical experience to life from setting up venues to assisting in guiding festival attendees; their hard work and commitment has made this festival soar beyond our wildest dreams. Truly our festival superheroes!⁠ ⁠ To our filmmakers 🎥:⁠ Sending a big round of applause to all the incredible filmmakers out there who transport us to magical worlds, stir our emotions, and inspire us to dream big. From the visionaries behind the lens to the creative minds behind the scenes, thank you for bringing stories to life and making our hearts skip a beat. Let's celebrate their dedication and passion that sprinkle a little bit of stardust into our lives. Without you, there would be no film to this festival. ⁠ ⁠ To our community partners + sponsors👥:⁠ Afrikana has been blessed to connect with so many partners and sponsors who understand and accept the challenge of fueling the machine that makes all of this happen. Their exceptional patronage has proven instrumental in materializing our aspirations beyond measure. Their unwavering dedication and unstinting support act as a force that has helped propel Afrikana through the years and many more to come. Much love to these phenomenal allies who believe in our vision and actively contribute towards its fulfillment.⁠ ⁠ Stay tuned for the recaps you've all been waiting for👀😉

Join the cast and crew of award winning web series “The Worst” @watchmamu for their day party today from 3pm -7pm. This is for the folks who wanna extended their Afrikana experience especially after the brunch. We’re happy to partner with @watchmamu and hope to see some of you their to support the vibes✨

Sold out another one *DJ Khalid voice* Thank you thank you THANK YOU for securing your tickets to tonight’s midnight brunch and @skillzva world premiere of his film. We will not be selling anymore tickets for this event and sales have ended. We are so grateful for your overwhelming support and hope you’re enjoying the Afrikana experience so far. It’s lit 🔥 tonight !

We had a a beautiful evening last night in the garden as we dined and celebrated the Diaspora and it’s connection through food, stories, and film. But today, we have a FULL day of screenings, premieres, workshops, talks, and more ! With all that is happening as we take over the RVA Arts District, we want to make sure to highlight a very special experience this year. Afrikana will host Sawubona: A Tale of Two Souths, a special program in partnership with the VCU Institute for Contemporary Art @icavcu , which will explore the cultural connections between South Africa and the American South. Sawubona will feature film screenings, vinyl listening sessions, discussions, and a specially curated lounge experience highlighting the sonic and culinary connections between the two souths. The afternoon spotlight screenings include the VA premiere of Milisuthando, which premiered at Sundance this year followed by a Q&A discussion with filmmaker Milisuthando Bongela @missmillib . Afrikana will also be screening the works of South African filmmaker Sifiso Khanyile @51f150 who has joined us all the way from South Africa. Time: 1:45p - 2:15p Location: ICA Cafe at VCU 601 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23220

🎥 @afrikanafest Youth Takeover @art_180 🗓️ Sat, 9.16.23 ⏰ 11 am to 4 pm #afrikana #aftikana2023 #youthtakeover #art180 #kmosspresents

When opening night was the perfect vibe to honor the beginning of a beautiful weekend to come 🥂 Thank you to @bunakursrva for welcoming us into their space and hosting an incredible opening reception and tasting event. Shoutout to our core team and ambassadors who held it down per usual. Lastly, thank you to everyone who attended and celebrated with us. We’re just getting started. Y’all ready for more ? Tonight, we feast! See you at the A Taste of Liberation Dinner. Wear your finest and prepare your palates. It’ll be a culinary experience to remember🍽️✨

UPDATE 🚨 This is a reminder that the A Taste of Liberation Dinner is completely sold out. While we are so happy to have this experience sell out so quickly, we are sad that some folks will miss out. We would have loved to accommodate for everyone who wanted to attend however, this experience is intentionally intimate and set to a capacity to reflect that. We will not be able to sell any additional tickets for this event. We appreciate your patience in getting your questions and inquiries answered as we continue to ensure you have the best festival experience possible. We also hope everyone at the festival supports and enjoys our other events, films, workshops, talks, etc. ❤️