"Originally from Nigeria, Chike Nwoffiah, the founding director of the SVAFF, started the festival in a classroom 16 years ago. After living in the United States for several decades, Nwoffiah continued to be met with two myopic stereotypes about Africa. In a recent telephone interview, he described them as the "Tarzan" and the "National Geographic" narratives. Encountering them in the infotech capital of the world was a shock."
"From his perspective, they presented a flattened view of a continent with 54 countries and 1 billion people. While Nwoffiah was teaching at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View, he asked his students where they were receiving their ideas about Africa. Media, whether in film or via the news, was the most common response. To counter the misinformation, one Saturday morning he curated a handful of films from different parts of the continent."
"BREAKING THE NEWS The documentary 'Beyond the Headlines,' screening at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival, tells the story of the National Association of Black Journalists. PHOTO: Courtesy SVAFF About 50 people showed up. "We had food and we watched these films," Nwoffiah recalled. "The conversations were so rich and literally everybody asked, 'When can we have this again?'" From that humble beginning, this year's festival will showcase 92 films from 32 countries. They tell stories of Africa through African lenses."
October features several Silicon Valley film festivals, including the African, Short Film, Asian Pacific and Jewish festivals. Chike Nwoffiah, originally from Nigeria, founded the Silicon Valley African Film Festival 16 years ago after encountering reductive stereotypes about Africa. Nwoffiah observed that many students formed impressions of Africa from media portrayals and decided to curate films that reflected African perspectives. An initial screening drew about 50 people and sparked rich conversation. The festival expanded significantly and now presents 92 films from 32 countries, emphasizing stories told through African lenses and showcasing documentary and narrative work such as Beyond the Headlines.
Read at Metro Silicon Valley | Silicon Valley's Leading Weekly
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