Tag: Film Festival

Jali Collective launches Film Weekender: Edinburgh’s New Black, Africa and Diaspora Festival

Jali Collective launches its inaugural Jali Film Weekender, a new film festival celebrating Black, African and diaspora stories to be held in Edinburgh from 30 October – 2 November 2025 at the city’s newly reopened Filmhouse Cinema.

The theme of the 2025 Weekender edition is Dreams and Apparitions, which will weave through the programme’s films and events, exploring subjects such as grief, memory, imagination, new and alternate futures, and the seen and unseen in the African and diasporic experience.

The Weekender is rooted in fostering community, connection and representation, with a focus on platforming a range of voices, styles and stories from across the African continent and its global diaspora. A key ambition of the new collective and festival is to build intentional relationships with Black, African and diaspora audiences in Edinburgh and Scotland.

FILM HIGHLIGHTS

Opening Film – MEMORY OF PRINCESS MUMBI: The festival will open with the Scottish Premiere of Memory of Princess Mumbi, the groundbreaking new afro-futurist film from Swiss-Kenyan director Damien Hauser.

Fresh from its World Premiere at Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori in September (the first Kenyan film in history to do so), Memory of Princess Mumbi unfolds in a post-technological future African continent and is a joy-filled love letter to cinema, showcasing a beautifully unique, imaginative approach to filmmaking and use of AI.

Closing Film – PROMISED SKY: The festival will close with the Scottish Premiere of Promised Sky (Promis le Ciel), the acclaimed drama by Tunisian director Erige Sehiri that opened this year’s Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Promised Sky follows the intertwined fates of three women from sub-Saharan Africa living in Tunis and has drawn international praise for its humanistic storytelling and powerful portrayal of sisterhood and resilience.

Full Programme Coming Soon: Audiences can expect a vibrant mix of narrative features, documentaries, animation, shorts and archive films, each offering distinct visions from Africa and the diaspora. The full programme, to be announced 6 October, will also feature filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, workshops and other gatherings.

EXTENDED REALITY EXHIBITION

The inaugural edition will also showcase a special Extended Reality (XR) exhibition, which will run alongside film screenings. The exhibition is supported by the British Council and The Africa Centre as part of the UK/Kenya Season, a cultural programme celebrating creativity and innovation in both countries. The XR exhibition will be free to access during the festival.  It features the first Scottish presentation of two immersive works by Kenyan artists that invite audiences to engage with nature, heritage, and technology:

  • ENKANG’ ANG’ – Created by Kenyan multimedia artist Naitiemu, Enkang’ Ang’ (meaning “Our Home” in Maasai) is an immersive VR experiencethat transports viewers into a traditional Maasai enkang’ (homestead). Through virtual reality and recorded conversations, Naitiemu’s project shares the rich indigenous Maasai culture with stories collected from women of the Twala Tenebo village. Enkang’Ang’ asks the poignant question, “How do we learn from our traditions and re-imagine our future?” Audiences will be able to virtually step inside a Maasai manyatta homestead, accompanied by video interviews with Maasai women elders sharing knowledge of their history, daily life and sustainable practices.
  • ARGO– Developed by XR game designer Joanna Oluoch, in collaboration with Nairobi’s Fallohide Studio,  ARGO is Africa’s first public environmental augmented reality game. This cutting-edge AR experience transports players into the heart of Nairobi’s Oloolua Forest, allowing them to explore its serene nature trails, encounter wildlife, and discover hidden gems like a 20-foot waterfall and historic caves. Using a tablet or phone based app, visitors of all ages can take a virtual “nature walk” through digital recreations of the forest, interact with its flora and fauna, and learn about conservation. ARGO was launched in Kenya earlier this year as an innovative way to connect young people with nature, and the Jali Film Weekender will host one of its first public exhibitions outside the African continent. 

ABOUT JALI COLLECTIVE

Founded earlier this year, Jali Collective is a new grassroots collective based in Edinburgh, Scotland, with the mission to widen access to African cinema and to celebrate and elevate Black, African, and diaspora stories through film and culture. The collective curates film screenings, festivals, workshops and related events that bring Black, African and diaspora cinema to audiences. Jali Collective was founded by three core members – Tomiwa Folorunso, Isabel Moura Mendes and Carmen Thompson – each of whom are long-standing producers, programmers and cultural organisers with deep roots in the film, festival and arts sectors in Scotland and beyond.

“Our aim with Jali Collective and the Weekender is to create a welcoming space for community and conversation around Black, African and diaspora cinema,” say Tomiwa, Isabel and Carmen. “These first announcements give a sense of the vision we want to share moving forward. By bringing these incredible works to Edinburgh, we hope to inspire audiences – especially Black and African diaspora communities – and spark dialogues that resonate long after the Weekender. We can’t wait to reveal the full programme very soon!”

Jali Film Weekender 2025 is supported by Screen Scotland and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of Screen Scotland and the BFI National Lottery), as well as British Council, the Africa Centre and other partners.

Sambrooke Scott, Head of Audience Development at Screen Scotland said: “We are very excited to support the launch of the Jali Film Weekender – a thrilling addition to Scotland’s film exhibition calendar, bringing bold, imaginative and deeply resonant Black, African and diaspora stories to communities in Edinburgh.

“At Screen Scotland we’re committed to ensuring that Scotland’s screen culture is representative of the richness and diversity of our communities, and Jali embodies that vision. It’s exciting to see such a dynamic new event create space for connection, conversation and discovery, delivered by the passionate and talented people who make up Jali – and we look forward to this edition, and the future of the Collective.”

Ilia Ryzhenko, Manager at Film Hub Scotland, says: “Our team at Film Hub Scotland is proud to support the inaugural edition of the Jali Film Weekender — a much-needed project delivered by an extremely experienced and knowledgeable team of programmers.

“We cannot wait for the full reveal of the programme, which comprises several art forms and includes many enhanced screenings and discussions.”

The full programme will be announced 6 October 2025 at www.jalicollective.co.uk.

EAST AFRICAN SHORT FILM PROGRAMME: MANYATTA MENGI MASHARIKI

Manyatta Mengi Mashariki is a short film programme spotlighting exciting new voices from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Reunion Island. Curated by filmmaker Hawa Essuman, producer Fibby Kioria and filmmaker Wanjeri Gakuru the programme offers fresh perspectives on the human condition across the genres of comedy, action and drama.

The 7 selected short films are Rolex (2020), Benon Mugumbya (Uganda); Scalp Deep (2020), Naseeba Bagalaaliwo (Uganda), Love & Brain (2020), Semagngeta Aychiluhem (Ethiopia); Stero (2022), Tevin Kimathi & Millan Tarus (Kenya); Transaction (2025), Wanjeri Gakuru (Kenya); An Ode To The Time I Loved Bread (2021), Neema Ngelime (Tanzania);  Set Lam (2023), Vincent Fontano (Reunion Island).

Taking place at Filmhouse on 14 October, tickets will be on sale on 1 October, the screening will be followed by a discussion with Hawa Essuman (Manyatta Mengi Mashariki) and Carmen Thompson (Jali Collective).

The Manyatta Mengi Mashariki screening is supported by the British Council and the Africa Centre as part of the British Council UK/Kenya Season 2025, of which Jali Collective are the Scotland regional partner.

Hawa Essuman, Wanjeri Gakuru and Fibby Kioria of Manyatta Mengi Mashariki say, “This showcase provides a snapshot of the current voices of the makers and watchers emerging in eastern African cinema.

“As members and champions of this ecosystem  we’re incredibly pleased and proud to present the topics and visual language representative of the region. It’s been a joy to create and we can’t wait to share it with UK audiences”.

Edinburgh to experience CURIOUS film event this weekend

Summer season of curious film experiences gets underway

All events as part of Film Feels: Curious, a nationwide celebration of curiosity and cinema officially launched by comedian Joe Lycett, have now been confirmed.

An event is taking place in Edinburgh this Saturday as part of CURIOUS, a film festival partnership between Film Feels and Changing Times supporting independent programming.

Edinburgh-based Cinetopia is collaborating with The Debutante (a feminist-surrealist magazine), and musician-composers Aurora Engine (Deborah Shaw), and Bell Lungs (Ceylan Hay) to bring audiences Electric Muses: a women-led evening of surrealist film.

Electric Muses celebrates women working in creative technology spanning across two centuries, bringing their overlooked input into the public eye. Since the birth of cinema, women filmmakers have used this “electric” art form to tell their stories. With Electric Muses Cinetopia will merge cinema and live, technologically enhanced music to highlight the profound contributions women have made in creative technology art forms.

The main feature will be ‘The Seashell and the Clergyman’ (1928) by Germaine Dulac, a female surrealist filmmaker and director active during the 1920’s. This will be accompanied by a live soundtrack composed and performed by Aurora Engine and Bell Lungs. In addition, audiences will experience a newly commissioned score of Maya Deren’s experimental short, ‘Meshes of the Afternoon’ (1943) composed and performed by the same musical team. Two additional short films will be screened curated by The Debutante.

Electric Muses takes place at the Old Royal High School and details can be found at https://filmfeels.co.uk/venues/old-royal-high-school/173/

Curiosity is the theme of this year’s FilmFeels season from the BFI Film Audience Network, made possible with National Lottery funding, taking place at independent cinemas across the UK following its launch by Joe at Flatpack Festival 2022.

For the first time since 2018’s inaugural Film Feels, event organisers have also partnered with the Screen Heritage programme Changing Times under the unifying theme for this year of CURIOUS.

A total of 27 projects have been funded across all the regions of the UK, including a curated programme of classics by The Place Bedford throughout June and July, a programme as part of London Short Film Festival on July 30th and 31st, and from July 8th, a three-day update of Cinetopia’s Electric Muses programme in partnership with feminist magazine The Debutante – a women-led evening of surrealist film and technologically-enhanced live music in Edinburgh.

In addition, throughout July, the charity Birds’ Eye View, which supports films by women and non-binary people, is touring Queerious both across the country and via streaming on BFI Player. Events will be accompanied by curated live or participatory events in select cinemas to explore the themes of sexual awakenings and re-awakenings, and queer love through a feminist lens.

Venues and organisations including Chester’s Story House, Fabrica of Brighton, Hove and Lewes, Birmingham’sVictoria Park Productions, Derby QUAD and Cornwall Film Festival are also taking part, with events touching upon the forgotten films of the 1990s and 2000s, Queer culture, Filmosophy for Families and more, all of which are designed to connect people through film.

Manon Euler is Major Programmes Manager at Film Hub Midlands, part of BFI FAN. She said: “With CURIOUS, we wanted to take audiences out of the ordinary and down the wonderful rabbit hole of cinema, with intriguing, exciting film programmes that will stimulate the mind and the senses and allow everyone to (re)connect with their wondrous selves.

“There’s absolutely no doubt that these projects will deliver exactly that, with both in-person and virtual options. We’ve been so impressed by the imagination that has gone into the creation of such a varied and intriguing season by programmers at all levels of experience, including young people. We can’t wait to hear what audiences think.”

CURIOUS was chosen as the theme for this celebration as it’s clear as we continue to recover from the worst of the pandemic that bringing people together to experience art collectively and learn more about the people and things around us, is more important than ever.

Over the past four years, Film Feels has funded more than 150 projects and more than 1,000 screenings have taken place across the festival seasons nationwide, with around 40 per cent of increasingly diverse audiences each year being new to the festival. Previous themes have included obsession, uprising, hopeful and connected, with almost £400,000 given to participating programmers in total so far.

Screen Heritage Producer Andy Robson added: “Inspired by our theme and our collective experience of multiple lockdowns, which gave many a new awareness of our communities as well as the wider world around us, this year’s programmers are helping us to both better understand the unfamiliar, and seek solutions.

“Through film’s ability to transport us, illuminate ideas and spark conversation, we can recognise things we may have missed or never considered before, and find new passions together.”

Find more information about the full nationwide programme for CURIOUS, including all participating venues and exhibitors, at filmfeels.co.uk. 

Support for screen heritage screenings and events is also still available through Changing Times: Curious.

A Scottish Film Festival success story returns to aupport Scottish cinemas

In a year that has proven challenging for films and the venues that show them, the Screen Anime channel is delighted to announce that it will host ​the digital line-up of Scotland Loves Anime​, a celebration of Japanese animation that has attracted tens of thousands ofvisitors over 11 years, ​and help to support the local cinemas that host it​.

Andrew Partridge, CEO of Anime Ltd and founder of Scotland Loves Animation explains, “​Supporting cinemas through what has been a tough year is something really important to all of us at Anime Limited and Scotland Loves Animation. ​

“We can’t wait to show off what the festival has to offer on Screen Anime and help out our friends at both the Filmhouse and the Glasgow Film Theatre as much as we can​.”

From ​25th October until 25th November 2020​,enjoy a celebration of two iconic franchises – Monkey Punch’s charismatic master thief ​Lupin III​,and the J-Pop infused ​Love Live! ​Series with ​a line-up over twice the size of our usual selections.

Scotland Loves Anime will also be offering ​exclusive work-in-progress previews of hotly anticipated anime movies to come​, including ​Josee, the Tiger and the Fish​,a moving romance from Studio BONES (​My Hero Academia​).

Scotland Loves Anime will also see the return of Screen Anime favourites ​Weathering With You​,​ Penguin Highway​​and​​Patema Inverted​.​ Weathering With You​​will also be availablewith an​ exclusive commentary track by Festival Jury Chairman Dr. Jonathan Clements​,who will also be introducing all of the films, which are as follows:

  • Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo​(15)​- Plans to pilfer a pyramid are complicated byfaked deaths, double-crosses and world-ending schemes in this 1978 adventure that endures as a celebrated yet polarising part of the master thief’s long history.
  • Lupin III vs Detective Conan: The Movie ​(N/C 12)​- One of the most ambitious crossovers in anime history sees the master thief on the run from Conan Edogawa, protagonist of the equally iconic ​Detective Conan ​(​Case Closed​) franchise.
  • Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine​(TV Series, 15)​- A 13-episode series withmind-bending visuals that recontextualizes the world’s deadliest femme fatale, and aims to uncover what thoughts lie behind her pretty face. ​Directed by Sayo Yamamoto (​Yuri!!! On Ice​), with series composition by Mari Okada (​Maquia: When
  • Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine – Jigen’s Gravestone​(N/C 15)​- When Lupin III’s trusted marksman stumbles upon his own grave, Daisuke Jigen must find out why he’s in the crosshairs of a hitman with such a chilling calling card. ​Directed by Takeshi Koike (​Redline​).
  • Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine – Goemon’s Blood Spray ​(N/C 15)​- When the modern day samurai Goemon Ishikawa fails to protect his yakuza client from the powerful “Ghost of Bermuda”, he must team up with Lupin III and Jigen to preserve his honour – with blood.
  • Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine – Fujiko’s Lie ​(N/C 15)​- The famed femme fatale has made a living from lies, but when she’s asked to save the son of an embezzler whose fortune she’s after, will she get caught up in her own deception?
  • Love Live! The School Idol Movie​(N/C 12)​- With their senior members’ graduation approaching, an exciting concert opportunity leads the girls of school idol champions μ’s to find meaning in their remaining together, performing in their biggest show yet!
  • Love Live! The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow​(N/C 12)​- The members ofAqours are preparing for life at their new school when word of their upperclassmen going missing leads them on a journey not just to Italy, but to the realisation of how much they mean to one-another, and what they must do to take that next step forward.
  • Patema Inverted ​(PG)​- Fall into the sky with the sheer escapism of a topsy-turvyfantasy that will challenge your perceptions. ​Winner of the 2013 Scotland Loves
  • Penguin Highway​(12)​- When cute penguins start waddling into a rural Japanesetown, it piques the interest of the ever-curious schoolkid Aoyama in this cute coming-of-age story with dashes of science fiction. ​Based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi.
  • ●     Weathering With You​(12)​- Makoto Shinkai’s beautiful storm of teen love returns toScreen Anime, this time with an exclusive optional commentary track featuring Dr. Jonathan Clements. ​Winner of the 2019 Scotland Loves Anime Audience Award.
  • Production I.G. Short Film Collection (12) ​- A collection of five award-winning short films from Production I.G., the studio behind ​Ghost in the Shell​,directed by some of the best animators in Japan.
  • Work in Progress: ​Josee, The Tiger and the Fish​(rating TBC)​- Dr. Jonathan Clementsand BONES’ president Masahiko Minami talk with staff of this moving film that’s still in production.
  • Work in Progress: ​Inu-oh​(rating TBC)​- an early glimpse at the latest film by Science

SARU and celebrated auteur Masaaki Yuasa (​Night is Short, Walk on Girl​).

Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo​,​Lupin III vs Detective Conan: The Movie​,the Production I.G.short films and the Work in Progress features, will only be available in Japanese with subtitles.

New and current Screen Anime members will receive full access to the Scotland Loves Anime library.​ Screen Anime will also be supporting the festival’s crowdfunding efforts, ​donating two-thirds of all proceeds made during the festival to its usual hosts, the Edinburgh Filmhouse and Glasgow Film Theatre cinemas.

To donate to Scotland Loves Anime’s crowdfunder, or to find out more about the campaign rewards, please visit:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/scotland-loves-anime-2020

Screen Anime is available in the ​UK & Ireland​for ​only £3.98/mo ​or ​£39.98/year.

Members can take advantage of benefits including discounts at Anime Limited’s online store and more.

Screen Anime is currently available via your web browser, and supports Chromecast. Apps for TVos, iOS, Android & Amazon coming soon.

Join the curated online anime film festival channel at ​​screenanime.com

Follow us on social media at:

www.twitter.com/ScreenAnimeUK

www.instagram.com/ScreenAnimeUK

www.facebook.com/ScreenAnimeUK

About Scotland Loves Anime

Conceived in 2010, and now in its eleventh year, Scotland Loves Anime is the UK’s biggest film festival celebrating the diversity and originality of Japanese animation in all of its forms, while also exploring the creative talents behind such works from rising stars through to established directors.

Scotland Loves Anime was founded with a simple goal: To show people that the nature of Japanese animation is more than just the perceived stereotypes of content aimed towards young adults. This is achieved via the combination of an attractive programme, talks before each screening to contextualise and educate, and guests from Japan to share their knowledge.

About Anime Ltd.

Based out of Glasgow, Scotland – Anime Limited brings a fresh approach to distributing the best in anime direct from Japan. As an independent company the emphasis is both breathing new life into much loved classics and introducing the cutting edge of theatrical offerings. With a focus on bringing more anime to the big screen, releasing beautifully packaged collector’s editions and trying new ways to reach fans digitally, Anime Limited is committed to offering a wide range of experiences for UK audiences.