Important Dates

Cinema Africa returns in January 2026 for the concluding chapter of its 2025/26 edition, curated by Prof. Dr. Ute Fendler and presented by the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth. Now in its 17th year, the festival celebrates the artistic vitality and narrative richness of African cinema through a curated selection of films that span genres, regions, and histories. Across November and December 2025, audiences have already engaged with remarkable works such as Ar condicionado and Our Lady of the Chinese Shop (with filmmaker Erivaldo Claver) as well as the biographical feature Fanon (with filmmaker Jean-Claude Barny), each accompanied by discussions that deepen understanding and dialogue.

In January 2026, Cinema Africa culminates in a programme of four screenings that foreground innovative voices and compelling stories from the continent, inviting audiences to explore diverse perspectives through film and conversation. More than a film series, Cinema Africa fosters cultural exchange, critical engagement, and community interaction - advancing the Cluster’s mission to bring African narratives into scholarly and public conversation.

25.01.2026 / 8pm

Sol de Carvalho: The Anchorage of Time (Mozambique)  

(105 min, Mozambique/Portugal, 2024), Portuguese, Makua, English subtitles

Opening with music by the film's actor Stewart Sukuma (accompanied by Matchume Zango)

Izidine, a recently promoted Police Detective, is called to an elderly home set in a former colonial fortress to investigate a crime: Vasto Excelêncio, the home’s director has been murdered. Marta, the home’s nurse tries to steer the investigation to the real crime, the home’s very own existence. Izidine is confronted with a surprise: all the residents confess that they are the murderer. Their motives going from the way the director treated the elderly, beating them, the domestic violence perpetrated by the director on his own wife, or the nurse confessing a love affair with the deceased who forced her to have an abortion. The detective will slowly discover that the real crime was a revenge.

The film is based on the novel “Under the Frangipani” by the internationally renowned writer Mia Couto.

26.01.2026 / 8pm

Dani Kouyaté: Katanga - The Dance of the Scorpions

(Burkina Faso, 2025), Mooré, English subtitles

Guest: Dani Kouyaté, filmmaker

In the imaginary kingdom of Ganzurgu, King Pazouknaam narrowly foils a plot to overthrow him. To consolidate his power, he appoints his cousin Katanga as head of the army. Faced with the magnitude of his mission, Katanga consults a fortune teller. The prophecy is unequivocal: one day, he will ascend to his cousin’s throne. With KATANGA, LA DANSE DES SCORPIONS, director Dani Kouyaté offers a dreamlike reinterpretation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, adapting the classic Western drama into a universal political tale set on the African continent. The film won the Yennenga Golden Stallion at FESPACO 2025.

27.01.2026 / 8pm

Zoey Martison: The fisherman (2024) 

(Comedy, 100 min, Ghana/USA 2024), English, English subtitle

Guest: Kofi Owusu-Afriyie (producer)

The comedy film follows Atta Oko, a Ghanaian fisherman, who teams up with a talking fish and his young colleagues Shasha, Kobina, and Emmanuel to go to Accra and chase their dreams of owning a boat. THE FISHERMAN is a criticism of Accra`s urbanism, a warning on the loss of fishing culture in Ghana, a reminder of the ways we destroy our environment and a caution on technology’s erosion of tradition. Overflowing with laughter, magic, and the rich culture of Ghana, THE FISHERMAN is a heartwarming tale of family, resilience, and the enduring spirit of a true fisherman.

28.01.2026 / 8pm DOUBLE FEATURE

Guest: Ottis Ba Mamadou (director of 2nd film)

Ottis Ba Mamadou: Dent pour Dent (Tooth for Tooth)

(84 min, Senegal, 2023) French, Wolof, English Subtitles

Augustin lives in the suburbs of Dakar, Senegal. He lost his job as a civil servant as a result of budget cuts ordered by the IMF. The day his redundancy money runs out, he is forced to live off his wife Viviane. He then searches by all means for a way to regain his pride as a man that he thinks he has lost ...