The Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF) has selected 76 films from 33 countries for its 17th edition, scheduled for 8–11 October 2026 at the Historic Hoover Theatre in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The annual U.S. festival, founded by Nigerian filmmaker and arts consultant Chike C. Nwoffiah, is dedicated to cinema from Africa and its global diaspora.
The program is divided among animation, documentary features, documentary shorts, narrative features and narrative shorts. African countries represented in the announced selection include Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe, alongside films connected to the African diaspora in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Réunion, the United Kingdom and other territories.
The narrative-feature selection includes Gabonese filmmaker David Mboussou’s "AFROTŌPIA," Nigerian director Wande Thomas’s "Spiraling," Zimbabwean filmmaker Angela Zivo Gapa’s "RUSAMBO," South African director Lwazi Duma’s "THULEBONA," Ugandan filmmaker Matovu Martin Eric’s "The Unforgivable," and Rwanda’s "What a day," directed by Niyitegeka Gratien and Denis Iriniga. Kenya is represented in the section by "Beneath The Tides," credited to Mbithi Masya, Millan Tarus, Mark Wambui, Barbara Minishi and Samuel Tebandeke.
Documentary selections include Kenya’s "Fight for Life" by Robert Asimba and Ras Mutabaruka, Tunisia’s "Our Seed" by Anis Lassoued, Nigeria’s "40 Years of Crafting AFRICA" by David Akwara, Uganda’s "The Blind Family" by Denis Israel, and "The Erasure of Black Brazilian Painters" by Brazilian filmmaker Paula Neto. The animation program includes Madagascar/Switzerland production "Fara 'The Sacred Mask'" by Louisette Ismaël Ratsivahiny, Benin’s "Heart of Gold" by Destin Junior Gnonlonfoun, and Ugandan selections "Opolot and Magujja" by Jay Joseph Vijay and "Queen Kitami" by Arnold Abayo.
The large narrative-short section includes work from Angola, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe, as well as diaspora filmmakers based outside the continent. Titles include Ghanaian filmmaker Akua Agyekumwaa’s "Unread," Kenyan filmmaker Judith Nini Kibinge’s "GOAT," Angolan director Paulo Idalécio’s "Do You Know Who I Am?," Burkinabè filmmaker Rabia Joy Danladi’s "Myriam and herself!," and Ivorian director Nelly Behanzin’s "The Lantern."
SVAFF has published the complete 76-film catalogue, although individual screening dates and times have not yet been posted. Film pages currently state that schedules will be confirmed before the festival.