Every year we do this festival we make it the best experience we can for our film makers because we, as fellow artists, and production personnel, understand that it is important to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, time and energy for the work you do. Also to reflect on the work that was accomplished and to see where, as artist, there is room to grow, to try new things, take more risks, go for new goals. Growth is crucial as artists, because without it remain stagnant. Art can not survive in a stagnant environment. So we created this to not only acknowledge the hard work that is done by artists, but to provide an environment to network, and polish the craft we love very much.

The African World Festival is an annual celebration of the African diaspora’s diversity, shared heritage and cultures. The festival is hosted by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, MI, one of the world’s largest museums dedicated to the African-American experience, which houses over 35,000 artifacts and archival materials. The festival features spoken word performances, live traditional and folk music, dance troupes, arts & crafts and a plethora of food options and other activities for attendees of all ages. Spanning the course of three days with past attendance of over 50,000 people, the festival provides a delightful weekend of educational entertainment and enriching performances.

The African World Film Festival is used to showcase the work of talented independent filmmakers local to Detroit and across the nation. We encourage people from all backgrounds to submit their films focused on people of African descent.

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: @africanworldfilmfestival AND TWITTER: AfricanWorldFF

Awards & Prizes

- InkTip publishing opportunity to winner
- 3 month publishing opportunity to iPitch.tv to ALL accepted AWFF filmmakers
- 1 year publishing opportunity to iPitch.tv to winner of AWFF

Rules & Terms

1. Short Films must not exceed 20 minutes in length, or less than 3 minutes including credits. Feature films must not be less than 45mins and more that 2 hours in length, including credits.
2. All non-English language films MUST have English subtitles or no dialogue.
3. A separate non-refundable entry fee is required for each submission.
4. Submissions may NOT be withdrawn from the Festival once they have been entered, except at the sole discretion of the Festival.
5. All selected films may be excerpted (up to 2 minutes) for publicity purposes.
6. After selection, notification letters will be sent electronically: all acceptance letters will be accompanied by a telephone call: please provide an email address, and telephone number.
7. A DVD copy will need to be sent to the film festival before August 12, 2019.
8. Projects MUST be completed after January 1st
9. Filmmaker MUST have proper license to all copyrighted music, video, and images projected in their short film.
10. All accepted films will be screened. Please note we do not screen Blu-Ray DVDs.
7 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Paisley Sutton

    Amazing film selection during the exciting African World Festival! Everyone was so welcoming and kind, it was awesome to network and talk with the other filmmakers. Will definitely submit again.

    September 2019
    Helpful
  • Lorenzo Menakaya

    Here is a festival that only looked out for good films, they didn't care whether it came from established or burgeoning filmmakers, they gave everyone a chance. AWFF is a festival for every filmmaker with great artistry and quality. My film ORDINARY FELLOWS screened here and it was a glorious experience for me and my crew. Thank you to the organizers and I hope to submit more films in the future. See you at AWFF2020

    September 2019
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  • Lightning N Mitchell

    The African World Film Festival was one of the greatest film I have attended. The support from the AWFF team was one out of this world. They made you feel right at home and done everything they could to make your project seem very special. These guys deserve five stars and if I could I would give them six. I encourage all film makers if you hadn't never sent your film to AWFF. If I were you, I wouldn't hesitate in getting it in their next festival.

    August 2019
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  • Tewodross Melchishua Williams

    Dope Festival! Very much enjoyed being apart of this.

    December 2018
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  • Esther Duran

    This festival has a lot of promise both as a national and an international venue for films about Black culture in the US and around the World. It is a unique platform in a unique space (The African_American History Museum). It is also wonderful to be able to share your film with audiences from Detroit. I commend the organizers for such an important initiative and I wish them the best in their effort to continue the festival for many years to come.

    September 2018
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