The 14th edition of the Silicon Valley African Film Festival took place from the 12^th to 15^th October, 2023, in San Jose, California, U.S.A. The objective of the festival was to showcase and promote African cinema internationally and to contribute to the writing of the history of Africa through African lenses. The festival showcased the best of African talent and the best storytelling.

For this 14^th edition, 94 films from 38 countries were screened. Many film makers were on site at the festival to talk about their works and interact with the audiences through series of roundtable discussions and workshops on digital storytelling, the influence of social networks, communications and the use of the art of cinema to break down the barriers of perceptions and misconceptions that the rest of the world continues to have about Africa.

The festival featured an African Market with all kinds of African products - handicrafts, clothes, etc. Visitors had the opportunity to sample various African dishes amid drumming and dancing as well. There was also an African Fashion show on the final day of the festival.

The Founder and Executive Director of the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF), Nigerian born Chike C. Nwoffiah, a Director and Art Consultant, who was listed as one of the “Ten Most Influential African Americans in the San Francisco Bay by City Flight Magazine in 2000, said that what had been created at Silicon Valley was a true African cultural experience where people saw, touched, tasted and felt like they were in Africa.

A fund, the African Film Fund was also set up to provide the needed support to film makers in different regions of Africa.

At the end of the programme, the following people emerged winners:

SVAFF 2023 Best Narrative Feature:

Nakupenda

Director: Juma Saada

Tanzania

 

SVAFF 2023 Best Narrative Short:

Ebezina

Director: Ifeanyi Ezieme

USA / Nigeria

 

SVAFF 2023 Best Diaspora Narrative Short:

You Fit The Description

Director: Davy Lazare

United Kingdom

 

SVAFF 2023 Best Documentary Feature:

White Yet Black

Director: Steven Chikosiimbabwe

 

SVAFF 2023 Best Diaspora Documentary:

OnBoard

Director: Deborah Riley Draper

USA

 

SVAFF 2023 Best Documentary Short:

CRUDE: Wentworth Community vs Big Oil

Directors: Angelo Louw, Malcolm Rainers

South Africa

 

SVAFF 2023 Best Diaspora Documentary Short:

Interception: Jayne Kennedy • American Sportscaster

Director: Safiya Songhai

USA

SVAFF 2023 Best Animation:

Apacha

Director: Dubien Fortune Tsetse

Congo Brazzaville

 

SVAFF 2023 Narrative Feature - Special mention:

Jaladine

Director: Hassan Benjelloun

Morocco

 

SVAFF 2023 Narrative Feature - Special mention:

A Warm Christmas

Director: Regina Ohiama Udalor

Nigeria

 

SVAFF 2023 Narrative Feature - Special mention:

Face to Face

Director: Robert Peters

Nigeria

 

SVAFF 2023 Narrative Short - Special mention:

She's Doing Well

Director: Ariam Weldeab Araya

Eritrea

 

SVAFF 2023 Narrative Short - Special mention:

The Space Between

Director: Nicole Collins

USA

 

SVAFF 2023 Documentary Feature - Special mention:

Homeland: A Song for Refugees

Director: Faith Isiakpere

South Africa

 

SVAFF 2023 Documentary Feature - Special mention:

The Soul of Oja

Director: Chiamaka Keren-happuch

Nigeria

 

SVAFF 2023 Documentary short - Special mention:

Fear Not

Directors: Annette M. King, Ivanovitch Ingabire

USA

 

SVAFF 2023 Documentary short - Special mention:

Mr. Fotso

Director: Noumo Willy Stephane

Cameroon

 

SVAFF 2023 Animation - Special mention:

Lil' RED is RIDING the wrong way in the HOOD!

Director: Venue Jones

USA

 

SVAFF 2023 Animation - Special mention:

Gromonmon

Director: Laurent Pantaléon

Réunion