Tigritudes: A pan-African film cycle

Originally launched in France, before touring across the African continent, TIGRITUDES is a subjective and chronological anthology of Pan-African cinema, offering a broad, accessible, and eclectic programme to share the range, inventiveness, and vitality of a moving image culture afflicted by chronic international under-distribution.

Throughout June and July, BFI Southbank presents a selection of films from the vast anthology (the complete project comprises 128 films from 42 countries), chosen by curators and filmmakers Dyana Gaye and Valérie Osouf.

The season features works from critically acclaimed directors such as Julie Dash, Med Hondo and Souleymane Cissé, as well as artists whose names are less recognisable, but whose work contributes to the myriad of richly diverse and powerful film cultures across Africa and its diasporas.

Themes explored in the films chosen for the season are as varied as the African countries themselves, ranging from stories of forbidden love, conflict, liberation, family, resilience, identity, migration, power, forgiveness, tradition and mysticism.

The two-month long season includes a number of introductions, Q&As and discussions, beginning with a season introduction from Valérie Osouf, taking place on 3 June after a programme of Early Archive Shorts.