MURMURES (2025) and UNDER THE HANGING TREE (2023) with filmmakers KIVU RUHORAHOZA and PERIVI KATJAVIVI
DATE: FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2026
TIME: 6:30PM
LOCATION: TIFF Lightbox (100 King St W, Toronto)
The series opens with the North American premiere of Murmures, an experimental short film by acclaimed Rwandan filmmaker Kivu Ruhorahoza and visual artist Christian Nyampeta. Inspired by Birago Diop’s 1947 poem “Les Souffles”, Murmures explores the ancestral hauntings that breathe life into contemporary Africa. Wandering through the streets of Dakar speculating on the past and present lives of its inhabitants, Murmures offers a meditation on memory, ritual, diasporic longing, and symbolic heritage.
This short will be followed by the Canadian premiere of Under the Hanging Tree. Namibian filmmaker Perivi Katjavivi sets a gritty, supernatural thriller against the backdrop of Namibia’s genocidal past. An investigation into a mysterious murder on a remote German farm in the Namibian desert forces police officer Christine Mureti to confront the haunted depths of her country’s colonial past.
Filmmakers in Attendance for Q&A
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COLETTE AND JUSTIN (2022) with filmmaker ALAIN KASSANDA
DATE: SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2026
TIME: 3:00PM
LOCATION: Innis Town Hall Theatre (2 Sussex Ave, Toronto)
In Colette and Justin, Alain Kassanda reconsiders the turbulent years of Congo’s decolonization through an intimate portrait of his grandparents. Using archival fragments and personal memories, this evocative and deeply curious debut film offers a thoughtful meditation on the intersections of colonial legacies and family histories.
Filmmaker in Attendance for Q&A
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OUR LAND, OUR FREEDOM (2023) with filmmakers ZIPPY KIMUNDU and MEENA NANJI
DATE: SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2026
TIME: 3:00PM
LOCATION: TIFF Lightbox (100 King St W, Toronto)
In the award-winning documentary Our Land, Our Freedom, co-directors Zippy Kimundu and Meena Nanji explore the legacies of colonial violence, liberation struggles, and postcolonial corruption in Kenya. Through one woman's struggle to find her father's remains, this film recounts the struggles of liberation veterans to receive recognition, reparations, and land.
Filmmakers in Attendance for Q&A
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RECLAIMING HISTORY: COLONIAL ROOTS OF THE GENOCIDE IN RWANDA (2024) with filmmakers SAMUEL ISHIMWE and MATTHIAS FRICKEL
DATE: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2026
TIME: 7:00PM
LOCATION: Innis Town Hall Theatre (2 Sussex Ave, Toronto)
In Reclaiming History, Samuel Ishimwe, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide, self-consciously takes on the role of historian as he explores the remains of Rwanda’s colonial history in archives spread across Rwanda and Europe.
Filmmakers in Virtual Attendance for Q&A
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NOME (2024)
DATE: FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2026
TIME: 7:30pm
LOCATION: TIFF Lightbox (100 King St W, Toronto)
In Nome, veteran filmmaker Sana Na N’Hada revisits his youth during Guinea-Bissau’s liberation struggle against Portuguese colonial rule. A magical realist coming-of-age tale, Nome blurs the lines between memory and history through docu-fictional narration, surrealist imagery, and personal archival footage.
For more information and ticketing, click here.