FIFDA returns to Paris Sept. 4-6 with 15 films from 13 countries and territories

The 16th Festival International de Films de la Diaspora Africaine runs Sept. 4-6, 2026, at two Paris cinemas with 15 films, premieres and filmmaker talks. The lineup centers memory, justice, transmission and repair across Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and North America.

Why it matters: - The 16th FIFDA turns Paris into a three-day hub for African diaspora cinema, with films that connect colonial history, migration, racism and cultural transmission to today’s debates about justice and repair. - The festival’s mix of premieres, award-winning titles and filmmaker conversations is designed to reach both film audiences and community stakeholders. - A closing night debate and cocktail at Café Latin extends the event beyond screenings into public exchange.

What happened: - FIFDA returns to Paris from Sept. 4 to 6, 2026, at Cinéma CGR Paris Lilas and Cinéma Saint-André des Arts. - The program includes 15 films from 13 countries and territories. - The lineup includes 4 European premieres, 6 French premieres and 3 Paris premieres. - The festival features debates with invited filmmakers throughout the weekend. - The event is built around the theme of memory, justice, transmission and repair.

The details: - The opening film is The Foolishness of God: A Forgiveness Journey with Desmond Tutu, a documentary portrait of Archbishop Desmond Tutu focused on how societies rebuild after historic violence. - The opening screening is presented with the longtime FIFDA partner Observatoire de la Diversité Culturelle. - Director Karen Hayes will attend the opening screening and take part in a public discussion. - The closing film is Music Pictures: New Orleans, with director Ben Chace in attendance. - The closing title celebrates Afro-American musical heritage through Irma Thomas, Little Freddie King, Ellis Marsalis and the Tremé Brass Band. - The Shadow of Greed, by Nigerian director Akay Mason, looks at foreign investment, political power, corruption and development promises in Nigeria. - The Dutchman updates Amiri Baraka’s play for contemporary America, focusing on race, class, desire and power. - Nail's Man won the Idrissa Ouedraogo Prize for Revelation at FESPACO 2025 and explores masculinity and dignity in Kinshasa. - Goundafa, le chant maudit won the Key of Return Award at the Cairo International Film Festival and examines Amazigh cultural resistance in Morocco’s High Atlas. - Director Ali Benjelloun will join a public discussion for Goundafa, le chant maudit. - The Wall Street Boy, Kipkemboi won Best Fiction Feature at the Roxbury International Film Festival and follows a Kenyan math prodigy whose algorithm threatens global financial markets. - Métisses — Cinq femmes contre un crime d'État follows five mixed-race women separated from their families during Belgian colonization. - Mora est Là, with director Khalid Zairi, revisits the largely erased history of thousands of Moroccan workers recruited for French mines. - La Mémoire du Manguier, by Senegalese director Nicolas Sawalo Cissé, centers on a working-class Dakar neighborhood confronting the loss of its living memory. - A four-short Caribbean program includes Quarantine, Catch a Fire, Tambu and Bongo, with a post-screening discussion led by Trinidadian director Kenderson Noray. - The Caribbean shorts trace slavery, colonialism, freedom struggles and the transmission of music, dance and traditions across generations. - Tricoté Serré Crêpu, presented with Maison d’Haïti, revisits the first wave of Haitian immigration to Quebec in the 1960s and its impact on Quebec society. - Confirmed guests include Karen Hayes, Ben Chace, Khalid Zairi, Kenderson Noray, Nicolas Sawalo Cissé and Ali Benjelloun. - The full program is available at More information.

Between the lines: - The 2026 edition leans into memory as both subject and method, using fiction and documentary to connect historical injustice with present-day identity and politics. - The geographic spread of the lineup, from West Africa to the Caribbean and North America, underscores the festival’s role as a diaspora platform rather than a single-nation showcase. - The focus on filmmakers’ presence suggests the festival is positioning conversation as part of the program, not just a follow-on to screenings.

What's next: - Festival audiences in Paris will see the opening and closing films anchor a weekend of screenings, talks and debates. - More filmmaker Q&As and public discussions are expected across the Sept. 4-6 run. - The festival ends Sept. 6 with Music Pictures: New Orleans, a debate and a closing cocktail at Café Latin. - Organizers point readers to the full program online for the complete lineup and schedule.