Africa Film Fest Australia is the first of its kind — a three-day curatorial film festival showcasing films from Africa and the diaspora. Mumbi Hinga — a proud Kenyan entrepreneur, business coach, nurse, film-maker, and now, co-director of the Africa Film Fest Australia, came up with this idea after assisting in the launch of a similar event in Nairobi. Noticing a gap in the market in Australia, Mumbi joined forces with longtime-collaborator Safia Amadou, and the Arts and Cultural Exchange (ACE) to provide a platform for African voices to be heard through film here.
Despite our Zoom meeting falling on a Saturday morning (into which many would enter sluggishly), Mumbi appeared with a poised and genuine presence that could be felt even through the artificiality of my computer screen. With knowledge about some of the reasoning for the festival’s creation, I was interested in delving into the specifics — in particular, the decision to locate the film festival in Western Sydney.
Mumbi explained that holding the event in Western Sydney made a lot of sense because of the significant African community in the area, and a desire to bring this festival directly to the people. As the first Africa Film Fest in Australia, there were also limited resources available, and drawing on existing networks established with ACE and Riverside theatres worked incredibly well.
With a clear emphasis on diversity throughout the creation of this event, I was curious to know how Mumbi’s own lived experience as an African woman in Australia influenced her passion for this kind of work. She opened up about the struggles she faced navigating the lack of multiculturalism and community when she first moved to the Gold Coast as a student. This experience made her think about the importance of belonging, which she now wants to support by ensuring that when future generations of African-Australians “look towards their screens, they are represented”.
Another big motivation behind the creation of this festival was to change people’s perspectives on Africa by showcasing its diversity. Mumbi spoke candidly about moving here as a student and having people constantly assume that she must have been happy to have left her country with all its problems. To that, she’d reply “what problems?” — because this preconception that African-Australians are running away from something like war or poverty, is a common narrative that does not reflect every person’s story.
To ensure that these stories were in fact reflective of this diversity, an African-Australian curatorial team was established. Working alongside Mumbi and Safia, who are from Kenya and Niger respectively, is their festival consultant, Paul Struthers, who is half-Scottish and Ghanian.
Directing the conversation towards the films selected for the festival, I inquired about which one moved Mumbi the most and why. She answered with the Kenyan film After the Long Rains (2024): charting the story of a young, imaginative girl called Aisha who grows up in a small village where everybody’s lives are predetermined to take over their family businesses. Despite this, Aisha’s dreams are different, and she wants to pursue acting and fishing which both defy what is deemed correct in her society.
Mumbi expressed that she was able to resonate with the desire to pursue an artistic career path, despite that journey being viewed as ‘trivial’ growing up. This perception was driven by “post-colonialism, all about financial security, and our parents could not justify supporting us down those pathways”. She ended up studying nursing, and it wasn’t until she came to Australia that Mumbi realised she could pursue whatever career she wanted.
This experience of moving to a Western country as an African woman is also encapsulated in another film screening at the festival, Girl (2023). This UK film beautifully illuminates the light and dark that shrouds the experiences of an African mother and daughter as they navigate a Westernised backdrop and everything that comes along with it — from racism to stark cultural clashes. Following on from these themes, I asked Mumbi why people should attend this event and what she hoped audiences would be able to take away from the films that would help them navigate their lived experience in Australia better.
She began by replying:
“I think everybody should come because it’s an opportunity to see a very diverse Africa that people aren’t always exposed to. For the diaspora, we want them to come and see these characters in their own big cinemas in films that reflect their own stories.”
Mumbi then emphasised the tagline that covers the website and flyers for this festival: “We are here”.
This statement is more than just three words. To Mumbi, these words are a vehicle for change:
“We want to cement that sense of belonging. We want to challenge people, because whatever it is that you want to see for yourselves here – nobody is going to come and create it for you. We are here. So it’s our responsibility to create that for ourselves.”
Looking forward, Mumbi also hopes that this festival will inspire African-Australians to start creating their own stories.
“The one thing that broke our hearts is that when we were trying to find an African Australian feature film to show at the festival, we could not find even one in Australia. Not even a bad one. So we want African-Australian storytellers to know that we are creating a platform for them to share their stories. We can’t just be consumers. Let’s be producers. Let’s be creators.”
Ending the conversation uplifted and inspired, I feel confident enough to say that the inaugural Africa Film Fest Australia is sure to connect and empower all who come along.
Africa Film Fest Australia will be held at Riverside Theatres, Corner Market & Church St, Parramatta NSW from Friday, July 19 to Sunday July 21.
