Aspettando Balafon Film Festival 2026

Balafon Film Festival: “Looking Ahead to” the 36th Edition Begins
In Bari, cinema, music and discussions explore the cultures of the African diaspora
From 17 October to 21 November 2026, a city-wide program of screenings, concerts and talks will lead audiences toward the 36th edition of the Balafon Film Festival, taking place from 24 to 28 November 2026 at Cinema ABC in Bari.

Bari is preparing for the 36th edition of the Balafon Film Festival with Looking Ahead to Balafon, a cultural program that will run from 17 October to 21 November 2026, taking place throughout the city through cinema, music and public discussion. The program expands the festival’s perspective beyond the screen, involving cinemas, bookstores, independent venues and live-music spaces in an exploration of African and Afro-descendant cultures, migration and contemporary identities.

The program develops along two main lines. On the one hand, it brings back several films presented during previous editions of the festival, selected for their ability to portray the stories, contradictions and transformations of African societies and their diasporas. On the other, it offers a city-wide program of concerts and discussions that connects different artistic languages, personal experiences and cultural journeys.

The diaspora is not portrayed as a distant phenomenon, but as a presence woven into everyday life—one that influences music, reshapes senses of belonging and contributes to the formation of contemporary identities. Individual stories thus become opportunities to reflect on the ties between Africa and Europe, second generations, migration and forms of exclusion, as well as on the possibilities of encounter and transformation.

The film program will take place at the Teatro dei Missionari Comboniani, 101 Via Giulio Petroni. Admission is free until capacity is reached, with screenings beginning at 6:30 p.m. Alongside the films, talks and concerts will enliven various venues in the Murattiano district, with the participation of musicians, journalists, scholars and cultural practitioners.

THE PROGRAM
CINEMA

Teatro dei Missionari Comboniani
101 Via Giulio Petroni, Bari
Free admission until capacity is reached
Screenings begin at 6:30 p.m.

17 October

Le Départ – Saïd Hamich Benlarbi
Morocco, France | 2020 | 25 min.

Morocco, 2004. Adil is eleven years old. He plays with his friends and awaits the final Olympic race of his idol, middle-distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj. The sudden arrival of his father and older brother, who have returned from France for a few days, interrupts his daily life and marks a transition toward a new awareness. The short film was nominated for the 2021 César Awards.

Yomeddine – Abu Bakr Shawky
Egypt | 2018 | 97 min.

Beshay, a Coptic man who has recovered from leprosy, has spent his life in a colony in the Egyptian desert, where he was abandoned as a child. After his wife’s death, he decides to leave the place for the first time and set out in search of his origins and his father. Presented in competition at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and selected by Egypt as its candidate for the 2019 Academy Awards, the film tells the story of the possibility of choosing one’s own path even when society seems to have already decided who we are.

24 October

Tangente – Julie Jouve and Rida Belghiat
Réunion Island, France | 2018 | 27 min.

Set on Réunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, this short film explores an island reality suspended between different forms of belonging, identities, and geographical and cultural distances. It received awards at the African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival of Milan and at the African Film Festival of Verona.

Wallay – Berni Goldblat
France, Burkina Faso, Qatar | 2017 | 84 min.

Ady, a thirteen-year-old raised in France and of Burkinabé origin, is sent to Burkina Faso after a conflict with his father and entrusted to his uncle Amadou. What he initially experiences as a forced separation becomes a journey of discovery into his origins. A coming-of-age story about the relationship between Africa and Europe and the possibility of belonging to more than one world.

7 November

Kinshasa Kids – Marc-Henri Wajnberg
Belgium, France | 2012 | 85 min.

In Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a group of children lives on the streets after being accused of witchcraft by their families. José and his friends respond to their marginalization through music, forming a hip-hop group with the help of an eccentric music promoter. Blending fiction and documentary, the film gives space and a voice to young people who have direct experience of the reality it portrays.

The screening will be followed by an in-depth discussion with Father Samuel, a Comboni missionary, on marginalization, stigma, exclusion and the ability to transform one’s experience through creativity.

14 November

The Long Way Down – Yasser Howaidy
Egypt, United Arab Emirates | 2012 | 13 min.

Two young businessmen find themselves in an elevator in a skyscraper in Abu Dhabi and begin arguing, exchanging offensive remarks about each other’s cultural backgrounds. Meanwhile, a rumor spreads through the building that two terrorists are inside the elevator. A comedy about mutual perceptions, prejudice and cultural tensions.

Une Saison en France – Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Chad | 2017 | 100 min.

Abbas, a Central African teacher who has fled his country, tries to rebuild his life in France with his children while waiting for a response to his asylum application. His meeting with Carole opens up the possibility of a new relationship, but uncertainty about the future continues to shape the family’s everyday life. The film explores exile through family ties and emotional relationships.

21 November

Un Enfant Perdu – Abdou Khadir Ndiaye
Senegal | 2016 | 19 min.

A child from a wealthy family becomes lost in the streets of Dakar and encounters a reality that had previously been unknown to him. Thus begins a journey of discovery through the city and the deep social differences that run through it. The film received the award for Best African Short Film and the CINIT – Cineforum Italiano Award.

Muna – Warda Mohamed
United Kingdom | 2023 | 19 min.

Muna is a second-generation teenager who constructs her identity through rap music, clothing and symbols of African-American culture. The death of her grandfather, thousands of miles away, creates a rupture and brings her into contact with a cultural heritage she had not yet fully acknowledged. It is her grandfather’s oud music that enables her to rediscover a world and a part of herself. Selected for FESCAAAL 2024, the short film won the CINIT – Cineforum Italiano Award.

Interview with Fanta Régina Nacro on The Night of Truth
2007 | 16 min.

An interview with Fanta Régina Nacro, a leading figure in African cinema and one of the first female directors from Burkina Faso to establish herself on the international stage. Her work addresses issues such as the status of women, the relationship between tradition and modernity, and the transformations of African society, using cinema to challenge stereotypes and conventions.

TALKS AND CONCERTS
In collaboration with SCIAMM, a cultural organization co-founded by Gaia Daria Miolla, with the support of Giovanni Lucatorto.

22 October – 9:00 p.m.
Griot Talks – The Legacy of the Diaspora | Talk and concert
Cabaret Voltaire, 35 Via Alessandro Volta

Curated by Habbàsh Podcast, with Alessio Intini and Marco Mattioli, this discussion explores the legacy of the African diaspora through the voices and experiences of artists, connecting memory, identity and cultural cross-pollination.

The discussion will be followed by a concert by Giorgio Consoli, accompanied by guitar and backing vocals from Davide Esposito. He will present a performance built around the image of the Great Bear. The seven stars correspond to seven words—Care, Kindness, Water, Being, Hatred, Struggle and Farewell—which take shape through stories, poems and songs by great authors.

23 October – 6:00 p.m.
Under the Surface – A Journey Through the Roots of Contemporary Music | Talk and DJ set
Talomedz Records & Bar, 28 Via Quintino Sella

A discussion devoted to the roots of contemporary music, moderated by Jonatan Cuccaro and Gionata Valerio, with Alessandro Patruno, in collaboration with Trame&Incontri. Followed by a DJ set by Mr Cook.

29 October – 9:30 p.m.
GFOXXX – Concert
La Iosa, 100 Via Francesco Saverio Abbrescia

Gianluca Volpe, performing as Gfoxxx, presents an intimate and dynamic piano-and-voice set enriched by sound-design elements and effects managed through Ableton Live. The repertoire moves through soul, R&B and urban sounds, alternating original songs, previously released compositions and personally reinterpreted covers.

30 October – 9:30 p.m.
Sonido Estelar – Concert
Panificio Signorile, 6 Corso Sidney Sonnino

Born among Bari’s alleyways and along transatlantic routes, Sonido Estelar is a musical project that weaves together urban electronica and rhythms from the Global South. Colombian cumbia, Afro-disco, tropical bass and dub meet in a hybrid, hypnotic performance, creating a sonic bridge between different geographies and traditions.

1 November – 9:00 p.m.
Tukurù Project – Concert
Dolce Vita Live, 41 Via Giuseppe Albanese

Brousse hip-hop, desert blues, afrobeat and funk merge in a project that brings together African, Mediterranean and electronic sounds. On stage: Williams “Sundjah” Sassene on vocals, Giovanni Ceresoli on guitar and Diego Catalano on percussion. The music is accompanied by lyrics denouncing social injustice and asserting human rights.

3 November – 6:30 p.m.
Diaspora and Migration in the Mediterranean Basin: Bodies, Objects and Cults | Talk
Libreria Mondbook – Mondadori Point, 13 Via Scipione Crisanzio

Paola Pistone moderates a discussion with Laura Carnevale, associate professor of History of Christianity and the Churches at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, and Andrea Ferrante, a director, author and screenwriter from Puglia. The discussion addresses migration and diasporas through the material, symbolic and religious traces that accompany people’s movements.

4 November – 7:30 p.m.
Cesare Pastanella presents Lilith’s Poems | Talk
Estrelas – Ana Estrela’s Bread&Food, 11/A Via Giuseppe Re David

Journalist Carlo Chicco interviews percussionist and composer Cesare Pastanella on the occasion of the presentation of his fourth solo album, Lilith’s Poems, released by Angapp Music. They will be joined by Luisa Varesano, author of the lyrics that inspired the songs, and Giancarlo Consenti, the guitarist featured on the album.

5 November – 9:00 p.m.
Winstoned – Concert
Taverna del Maltese, 67 Via Domenico Nicolai

The Bari-based band, founded in 2021, presents its own “flâneur rock”—a blend of rock, blues, funk and R&B, accompanied by spoken-word segments on the African diaspora. On stage: Niko Ladisa (vocals), Elvio Carrieri (guitar), Pablo Procacci (bass), Lorenzo Scillitani (drums) and Antonio Argentieri (keyboards). Elvio Carrieri is also the author of the novel Poveri a noi, which was included among the twelve finalists for the 2025 Strega Prize.

6 November – 9:30 p.m.
Rahma – Concert
Panificio Signorile, 6 Corso Sidney Sonnino

Born in 2001 to an Italian-Tunisian family, Rahma is developing a musical project inspired by 1970s soul and 1990s R&B. The concert alternates original songs and covers, with a repertoire performed in English. In 2024, she released her debut album, Love Tales.

12 November – 9:00 p.m.
Catáno + Paride – Concert
Taverna del Maltese, 67 Via Domenico Nicolai

An evening bringing two musical projects together. Catáno, the stage name of Alessandro Catano, presents a piano-and-vocal live set moving through conscious rap, R&B, soul, indie and jazz. Paride Leon Procacci, meanwhile, presents an acoustic version of his indie singer-songwriter work.

13 November – 6:30 p.m.
Music on the Move – Talk and musical performance
Feltrinelli, 119 Via Melo da Bari

From historical migrations to contemporary diasporas, this discussion reflects on how people, instruments, rhythms and songs cross borders and contribute to the birth of new communities. Moderated by Alceste Ayroldi, journalist and music critic, with Koblan Amissah, artistic director of the Balafon Film Festival. The program includes a musical performance with a rhythmic percussion demonstration by Roberto Lella.

16 November – 6:30 p.m.
Talk with Williams “Sundjah” Sassene and Giovanni Ceresoli
Libreria Laterza, 53 Via Dante Alighieri

Carlo Chicco speaks with Williams “Sundjah” Sassene, cultural mediator and singer with Tukurù Project, and Giovanni Ceresoli, sociologist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. The discussion connects musical experience, cultural mediation and life journeys shaped by encounters between cultures.

19 November – 9:30 p.m.
Giorgio Scodanibbio – Concert
Cabaret Voltaire, 35 Via Alessandro Volta

Scoda presents a guitar-and-vocal set spanning pop singer-songwriter music, funk and soul. The program includes original songs in Italian and English.

20 November – 9:30 p.m.
Operazione Camarillo – Concert
Panificio Signorile, 6 Corso Sidney Sonnino

The Lucanian singer-songwriter duo formed by siblings Gabriele and Claudia Nigro, born in 1999 and 2004, presents a project in which two different musical sensibilities meet through singer-songwriter music and jazz training.

24–28 NOVEMBER: THE 36TH EDITION OF THE BALAFON FILM FESTIVAL

The Looking Ahead to Balafon program will culminate at Cinema ABC in Bari, where the 36th edition of the Balafon Film Festival will take place from 24 to 28 November. The festival will continue its work of researching and promoting African cinema and the cinema of the Global South, giving space to works and filmmakers capable of portraying the complexity of contemporary societies through often underrepresented perspectives.

Organized by

Comunità di Corte Altini

With the patronage and support of

Regione Puglia
Initiative funded by the Puglia Region through resources from the POC Puglia 2021–2027 (Action Line 6.2), as part of the 2026 Annual Programs in the film and audiovisual sector.

City of Bari – Department of Culture and Youth Policies

In collaboration with

University of Bari Aldo Moro, Comboni Missionaries, CGIL Bari, Caritas Italiana, Associazione Murattiano, Fondazione Migrantes, Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto.

Organizational secretariat

Abusuan – Intercultural Center
Web: www.abusuan.com