Silicon Valley African Film Festival Sets 2026 Lineup With 76 Films From 33 Countries

The 17th edition of SVAFF will run October 8–11 in San Jose, bringing together narrative features, documentaries, shorts and animation from across Africa and its diaspora, with a strong showing from Nigerian filmmakers.

The Silicon Valley African Film Festivall (SVAFF) will return to San Jose from October 8 to 11 for its 17th edition, bringing 76 films from 33 countries to the Historic Hoover Theater.

This year's programme spans narrative and documentary features and shorts, as well as animation, continuing the festival's stated commitment to presenting Africa and its diaspora “through the African lens.”

Among the Nigerian selections are James Kalu Omokwe's narrative feature Osamede; Omotola Jalade Ekeinde's Mother's Love; Holmes Okechukwu Awa's Soft Love; and Bibi Shasore's documentary Loot and the Lost Kingdoms of Africa. The Nigerian programme also includes Abbesi Akhamie's The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí, Ella Ogechi Chikezie's In Her Shoes, Shedrack Salami's Beyond Olympic Glory and Silas Ese Abada's animated short Reach For The Stars.

The selection extends across the continent and its diaspora. From Guadeloupe, Pascal Frederic Archimède and Dimitry Zandronis' documentary Sisters in Destiny: Angela Davis and Gerty Archimède traces the intertwined political legacies of Gerty Archimède and Angela Davis.

British filmmaker Florence Itale Ayisi's A Beacon of Resilience: St Joseph's Boxing Club travels to Newport, Wales, where the documentary examines a boxing gym serving young people from Black, African diasporic and socially underserved communities.

The narrative short programme includes Akua Agyekumwaa's Ghanaian film Unread, about a successful young woman whose carefully managed online persona conceals an escalating emotional crisis. Tunisia is represented by Mohamed Trabelsi's The Committee, a political satire about five people summoned to choose their country's next president before discovering that the decision has already been made.

Animation features prominently in the programme. Morocco's INVESTIGATION, directed by Marwan Chiguer, turns a suspicious chicken leg into the centre of a comic neighbourhood noir involving a stray cat, a grumpy dog and two conspiracy-minded pigeons. Hope, directed by Randresy Kanto, Laouer Oualid, Jean Lucie Mbouem Mbeck Henry and Pitrou Maxime, follows a Central African child whose life is upended by war and displacement.

Other selections include Rabia Joy Danladi's Burkinabè short Myriam and herself!, Bamar Kane's French short Café?, and the Rwandan narrative feature What a day, directed by Niyitegeka Gratien and Denis Iriniga. The latter follows a struggling motorcycle taxi driver whose theft of a passenger's bag sets off a chain of increasingly disturbing events.

SVAFF's programme also extends beyond screenings, with filmmaker talkbacks, panel discussions, workshops, live performances, fashion and an African market scheduled as part of the festival's wider cultural programme.

The 2026 edition will take place at the Historic Hoover Theater in San Jose from October 8 to 11. SVAFF describes its annual festival as a forum for cultural exchange between African filmmakers, the continent's diaspora and audiences in the Bay Area.