Five African Films To Premiere At The 82nd Venice International Film Festival 

The 13th edition of the Final Cut in Venice, a special programme of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival (August 27th – September 2nd) which supports films from African countries and Middle East territories such as Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen and Syria, has unveiled its  2025 selection. This year’s edition, which is scheduled to run from August 31st – September 2nd, will offer filmmakers the platform to present film projects that are still in development  to international film professionals, with the aim of securing access to co-production, post-production, marketing and distribution opportunities. At the three-day event, provisional copies of selected films are introduced to producers, distributors, post-production companies, film festival programmers and other media professionals in attendance.

Five final African narratives are confirmed to premiere at Venice 2025. The selected films and filmmakers are The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia), My Father and Qaddafi by Jihan K. (Libya), Calle Malaga by Maryam Touzani (Morocco), Saint Simeon by Olubunmi Ogunsola (Nigeria), and Boomerang Atomic by Rachid Bouchareb (Algeria).

The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania will compete in the Main Competition, My Father and Qaddafi in Out of Competition (Non-Fiction), Saint Simeon in the Orizzonti Short Films International Competition, Boomerang Atomic in Out of Competition (Short Films), and Calle Malaga in the Venice Spotlight section.

The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania is based on the death of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who lived in the Gaza Strip and was killed by Israeli forces during the ongoing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. My Father and Qaddafi takes the audience on a raw and reflective journey as Jihan pieces together a father she barely remembers, while uncovering the troubled history and politics of Libya.

Calle Málaga, which marks Maryam Touzani’s Spanish-language directorial debut, follows María Ángeles, a woman fighting to preserve her childhood home in Morocco when her daughter decides to sell it. Saint Simeon by Olubunmi Ogunsola, Nigeria’s Orizzonti Shorts Competition entry starring Nollywood legend Kanayo O. Kanayo, weaves a vibrant tale of tradition, identity, and generational transformation. Boomerang Atomic by Rachid Bouchareb is an evocative short film delving into the scars of post-colonial trauma and the enduring impact of historical violence.