33rd Annual Festival Features a Powerful Slate of U.S. Films, Revolutionary Classics and a Virtual Pass

Presenting 70+ films from 30 countries, the festival will be held at Teachers College, Columbia University; Cinema Village and The Lenfest Center for the Arts

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, November 19, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The 33rd African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) returns to New York City from November 28 to December 14, 2025, with a powerful and essential lineup of films exploring the African-American experience. Presenting over 70 films from 30 countries, the festival will be held at Teachers College, Columbia University; Cinema Village; and The Lenfest Center for the Arts.

For audiences across the United States, ADIFF will also present a curated Mini Virtual Festival, making 20 titles accessible online for viewers in the U.S. and Canada.

This year's selection creates a vital dialogue between groundbreaking new voices and the revolutionary classics that paved the way.

Major US Highlights:
• Opening Night: The Dutchman The festival opens on Saturday, November 29, at Teachers College with the New York Premiere of The Dutchman, directed by Andre Gaines. This modern, surreal psychological thriller is a bold reinterpretation of Amiri Baraka's explosive 1964 play. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker and a VIP Reception.

• A Conversation with Leslie Harris ADIFF will host a special event with Leslie Harris, director of the 1992 landmark film Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.. Following a screening of the restored version, Harris will discuss her trailblazing role as one of the first Black women to write, direct, and produce a theatrically released feature film. The event takes place Sunday, December 7, at Cinema Village.

Revolutionary Legacies & Silenced Voices A special program, "Silenced Voices: Cinema and Censorship," revisits critical African-American films that were banned, suppressed, or censored for their revolutionary politics.
• Uptight (1968) by Jules Dassin, a thriller set in post-MLK Cleveland, was censored for decades for its sympathetic portrayal of Black militants.
• Nation Time (1972) by William Greaves, a chronicle of the 1972 National Black Political Convention, was deemed "too militant" for television.
• Within Our Gates (1920) by Oscar Micheaux, the earliest surviving feature from a Black director who directly confronted racial terror and was widely censored.

Celebrating the centennial anniversary of Frantz Fanon and Malcolm X, ADIFF presents "Pan-African Legacies," which examines revolutionary thought through Lebert Bethune's 1967 documentary "MX Struggle for Freedom" (capturing Malcolm X's Pan-African evolution) and Frantz Fanon: His Life, His Struggle, His Work. A "Censorship and Cinema" panel featuring legal scholar Tanya Katerí Hernández will be held on Friday, December 12, at Teachers College.

New Independent Features & Documentaries The festival continues its tradition of presenting vital new works from independent filmmakers:

• Who the Hell Is Regina Jones?: A new documentary that finally gives Regina Jones her due, celebrating the charismatic co-founder of SOUL Magazine, the influential publication that centered Black music and excellence in the 1960s and 70s.
• Meta Take One: A sharp, black-and-white thriller about an obsessive independent filmmaker's moral descent as he struggles to finish his movie "by any means necessary."
• Outdoor School: A transformative true story about a young boy in 1990s Portland who, finding his home life in turmoil, discovers a new world in an outdoor education program.
• Can You Stand the Rain: A warm, popular film about old friends who reunite after a death, forcing them to confront buried dreams, past feelings, and the possibility of renewal.

National Access: The ADIFF Mini Virtual Festival For audiences outside New York, the ADIFF Mini Virtual Festival makes 20 curated films available for streaming across the U.S. and Canada. The virtual pass, available for $50, includes access to documentaries like Breaking Boundaries (following a Black rhythmic gymnast), Frantz Fanon: His Life, His Struggle, His Work, and Walter Rodney: What They Don't Want You to Know.

Community & Education: The School Program Reinforcing its educational mission, ADIFF’s School Program will feature screenings of films chosen to inspire young audiences, including Ruby Bridges, directed by Euzhan Palcy; The Great Debaters, directed by Denzel Washington; and Breaking Boundaries by Dina Burlis.

The 33rd African Diaspora International Film Festival runs November 28 – December 14, 2025. Festival passes and individual tickets for in-person and virtual screenings are available now at www.NYADIIFF.org.

ABOUT THE AFRICAN DIASPORA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Founded in 1993 and based in Harlem, the African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) is a minority-led, 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to expanding understanding of the human experience of people of color worldwide through cinema. Its curated programs include socially relevant and award-winning films from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and beyond.

The 33rd Annual New York ADIFF is made possible with support from ArtMattan Films, NYSCA, The Harlem Community Development Corporation, The New York City Council for the Arts, West Harlem Development Corporation, UMEZ administered by LMCC, the Office of Community Affairs at Teachers College, the International Organization of la Francophonie in New York, the Netherlands Consulate General, and the Québec Government Office in New York.

PRESS CONTACT Nina Hay African Diaspora International Film Festival Cell: 1-347-233-1053 Email: info@nyadiff.org

Diarah N'Daw-Spech
African Diaspora International Film Festival
+1 212-864-1760
email us here

New York African Diaspora International Film Festival 2025

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