KIFIFE Kidsfilmfestival – May 27 to 31, 2025

27.05.2025

With great joy, we announce the next edition of our KID‘S FILMFESTIVAL KIFIFE at the Opera Village, which will take place from May 27 to 31, 2025. The festival is an important platform that offers young people the opportunity to engage with the fascinating art of cinema and to discover the stories, challenges, and dreams of their peers across the African continent. At a time when the media landscape is increasingly globalized and shaped by Western narrative structures, KIFIFE provides a space where African children and youth can see themselves reflected in their own stories and cultures. By fostering creativity, critical thinking, and cultural identity, the festival helps strengthen the self-confidence of young people and promotes intercultural exchange. KIFIFE presents a carefully curated selection of films that reflect the everyday realities of young people on the African continent. The program includes feature films, documentaries, short films, and animations from various African countries. Special focus is placed on topics such as family, the environment, social responsibility, and cultural identity.

Highlights of this year’s edition include the Franco-Ivorian film Bal poussière (1989), in which wealthy pineapple farmer Alcaly throws his family life into disarray when he falls in love with the rebellious student Binta (directed by Henry Duparc, Côte d’Ivoire). In the animated film Begho (2022), viewers travel through 16th-century historical West Africa and experience the story of a bustling marketplace through the eyes of a young girl (directed by Victoria Aryee, Ghana/France). The poetic short film Butter Fly (2024) from Togo explores the dilemma between kindness and danger through the encounter of a butterfly with a spider’s web (directed by Madina Alexandre N’Falle, Togo). Other festival highlights include the touching family drama Le mouton de Sada (2023) from Senegal, which tells the story of a friendship between a boy and a sheep, and the environmental documentary L’homme qui plantait des baobabs (2024) from Burkina Faso, portraying the inspiring story of a man who planted over 4,600 baobab trees to give back to nature. Also featured is Mofiala (2020) from Togo, a story about a young woman who, against her father’s will, moves to the city to study and later returns as a doctor to fight a mysterious epidemic (directed by Boris Kpadénou, Togo). The documentary Omi Nobi (2020) from Cape Verde follows an elderly fisherman who survives by hunting sperm whales and sheds light on the merciless forces of nature in a remote part of São Nicolau island (directed by Carlos Yuri Ceuninck, Cape Verde).

In addition to the film screenings, the KIFIFE Children’s Film Festival offers a diverse range of hands-on workshops, where participants can bring their own film ideas to life, direct, act, and take their first steps in the world of animation. These creative activities not only spark imagination and creative thinking but also foster teamwork, communication skills, and self-confidence among young participants. This year’s program featured a virtual reality workshop led by Belko Salman Diallo from Burkina Faso, giving children an exciting glimpse into immersive digital worlds. Bonface Wahome from Kenya introduced participants to the magic of animated photo stories in his stop-motion workshop, showing how powerful storytelling can be achieved with simple means. Saran Sidibé from Mali guided the children into the world of AI-powered animation, opening new creative horizons. In the acting workshop with Chairmaine Ruvimbo Mujeri from Zimbabwe, children were able to discover and develop their performing talents. Another special highlight was the puppet-making workshop with Ousséni Zongo from Burkina Faso, where children crafted imaginative characters and gained their first experiences with self-made puppets.

KIFIFE is a festival of cultural encounter and exchange, promoting dialogue among young people and artists from across the African continent. We are thrilled to offer this unique space for creativity and intercultural connection and look forward to welcoming many enthusiastic young film fans and creative minds to the Opera Village Africa.

A heartfelt thank you goes to our sponsors and supporters, whose generous contributions made this year’s edition of the Festival possible: Tales of Us, Stormig Donkey Productions, Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation, Jutta Vogel Stiftung, Norbert W. Großklaus (evangelischer Pfarrer / Stadtrat Offenburg) & Planbar 3 Gbr