The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) celebrates its 30th anniversary from November 25 to December 11, 2022 with 89 narratives and documentaries from 44 countries to be presented in seven different venues in Manhattan.

Opening night film is The Woodstock of House by Chicago filmmakers Senuwell Smith and Rodrick F. Wimberly and closing night film is A Brother’s Whisper by New York based award winning actor turned filmmaker Jacinto Taras Riddick.

ADIFF NYC will also present a retrospective of past Winners of The Public Award for the Best Film Directed by a Woman of Color including the landmark documentary and 2021 winner She Had a Dream by Raja Amari, a film that explores what it means to be a young Black woman in a North African society.

Of note this year is a free community screening of Sydney by Reginald Hudlin about the life of Sydney Poitier; a spotlight on Afro-Brazilian Cinema; and the Afro-European Actors Program.

Other highlights include the premiere screenings of:

Dancing the Twist in Bamako by Robert Guédiguian set in 1962 Mali, when the youth of Bamako dance the twist and rock and roll music newly imported from the West and dream of political renewal.

As Far As I Can Walk by Stefan Arsenijević (Serbia) a love story between Strahinja and his wife Ababuo, two refugees in Serbia who left Ghana with a dream of a better life in Europe

Angels on Diamond Street by Petr Lom (USA) about three women fighting for social justice in an African-American church in Philadelphia; Loimata, The Sweetest Tears by Anna Marbrook (New Zealand), a poignant yet tender story of a family’s unconditional love for each other as they confront intergenerational trauma.

Executive Order by Lazaro Ramos. In a dystopian near future in Brazil, an authoritarian government orders all citizens of African descent to move to Africa – creating chaos, protests, and an underground resistance movement that inspires the nation.