Afrika Eye - the South West’s biggest celebration of African cinema and culture - returns in November with a packed weekend of new films, discussions, family workshops plus live music featuring Abass Dodoo, the Ghanaian master drummer best known for his collaborations with the legendary Ginger Baker.

Stunning screenings include features and documentaries from or about Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia. And to open the festival, we are thrilled to present a very special preview of A United Kingdom (not on general release until Fri 25 Nov). This is the true story of how the marriage of the heir to the throne of what is now Botswana and an English secretary defied convention, tradition, family, apartheid and Empire and inspired the world.

Several of the screenings will be followed by Q&As or panel discussions with the guest speakers including Alastair Cole, director of Colours of the Alphabet - a story about three Zambian schoolchildren; Andy Morgan, a writer with a special interest in African politics and music and members of the African Voices Forum.

Music, arts and crafts will complement the films, with Abass Dodoo leading a drumming, dance and storytelling family workshop; a ‘Who Am I?’ workshop, involving a self portrait photo booth and an illustrated talk about the history, cultural status and patterns of the stunning resist-dyed Adire cloths of south west Nigeria.

Festival director Annie Menter says:

“Afrika Eye offers audiences of all ages and interests a chance to go behind the news headlines, reach deep into the cultural, artistic and political arteries of the real Africa – its diversity, challenges, successes, histories and energy and find out why and how it exerts such a powerful influence on many more people around the world, not just those connected by family roots to the continent."

During the weekend there will be plenty to talk about, enjoy and share - we hope you can join us for what promises to be a great festival.

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