London Edition at rich mix
This March, Matatu Film Stage comes to London for a focused UK edition shaped by conversation, atmosphere, and strong African cinema. The third edition keeps moving, and with each stop the intention remains simple: to offer cinema that feels nourishing and speaks to the soul.
We’ll be hosted at Rich Mix, a space that feels open and grounded in the kind of cross‑cultural energy this programme needs. London holds one of the largest African diaspora communities in Europe. There’s pride here, curiosity, and a real hunger for stories that feel close to home. There’s also distance. This edition exists in that space between memory and now, bringing contemporary African Short films that speak from lived experience, without softening or explaining themselves.
Alongside curated screenings, the programme includes a panel conversation and a live VJ session inspired by East Africa’s bibanda cinema culture, where narration happens in real time and the audience becomes part of the rhythm of the film. The London Edition is less about spectacle and more about connection. It’s about creating a space where African stories meet audiences directly, and where something shifts, even slightly, before everyone steps back out into the city.
FESTIVAL PROGRAM
film screening
At the centre of the London edition are the films themselves.
Over two days, Matatu Film Stage will present a curated selection of bold, original works from African and diaspora filmmakers. These are stories rooted in place but alive in the present. Films that challenge form, question identity, hold memory, and imagine new futures. Some are quiet and intimate. Others are urgent. All of them are intentional.
Each screening is followed by conversation. Filmmaker Q&As, audience reflections, and space to sit with what we’ve just watched. We are not interested in passive viewing. We want people to feel something, to argue, to connect, to recognise themselves or discover something unfamiliar.
panel discussion
Bridges, Borders, and Gatekeepers:
African Cinema in the International System
As part of the London edition of Matatu Film Stage, we’re hosting a public conversation that sits at the heart of why this festival exists.
This panel looks honestly at how African cinema travels. Who builds the bridges between filmmakers and global audiences? Who controls access to funding, festivals, distribution, and visibility? And once a film crosses borders, does that exposure actually translate into real opportunity for the people who made it?
Join us for a conversation that moves beyond celebration and into structure.
The VJ Session
One of the most anticipated moments will be the live VJ screening.
A curation of short film will be presented with live narration and interpretation, performed in the room. This format comes from East African video halls, where a VJ(Video Joker) translates and re-voices films in real time, adding rhythm, commentary, and humour.
It changes everything.
