Kicks off with Hawai‘i premiere of Ghanaian feature 'The Fisherman,' includes documentaries on renowned artist Faith Ringgold and dancehall queen Sister Nancy

“For the 15th festival we have developed a program that features a strong mix of documentaries and narratives that address justice—and joy,” says festival committee member Daphne Barbee-Wooten, a civil rights attorney. “Equality and justice are so important in these times of pushback and attempted elimination of civil rights that people have fought so hard to achieve. At the same time, it is essential to share uplifting stories to keep hope alive. It is important for us to bring these films to Honolulu.”

From a documentary about the salvaging of an American masterpiece painting to a gentle narrative film about a young boy finding joy in nature, the festival reveals how wide-ranging the issue of justice is. The films also offer insight into different worlds, from the life of a Ghanaian fisherman to a surf community in rural Liberia, and strong women, with documentaries on the work of artist Faith Ringgold, performer Sister Nancy and Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. 

The opening reception, on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m., will have a West African feel in honor of the film The Fisherman, filmed in Ghana. The evening includes a buffet dinner, live music, a cash bar and the Hawai‘i premiere of The Fisherman.

The festival features insightful post-screening discussions, which are being developed and will be added to the film descriptions online as they are confirmed.

Key to the festival’s long-running success is its dedicated volunteer committee comprised of Daphne Barbee-Wooten, Ethan Caldwell, Tadia Rice and Sandra Simms.

This year’s festival is made possible by major support from Robert and Jean Steele.

The Fisherman
Directed by Zoey Martinson, 2024, Ghana, 105 min.
Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m., Mar. 1 at 2 p.m.
The Fisherman is a tale of family and resilience. It takes place in rural Ghana and focuses on Atta Oko, a proud traditional fisherman. When he is suddenly forced into retirement, his life takes a whimsical turn as he is partnered with a modern, bougie talking fish. As fishy chaos ensues, Atta and his three quirky “associates” navigate the vibrant streets of Accra, chasing their shared dream of owning a fishing boat.  

The film is the feature debut of American filmmaker Zoey Martinson, who lived in Ghana, where she worked as a teacher and humanitarian aid worker in a Liberian refugee camp. “Ghana is one of the funniest places on earth,” Martinson said in a past interview. “I wanted audiences to see that joy and wit are as integral to African storytelling as drama or tragedy. Comedy allows us to talk about serious things like ageing, technology, and climate change without losing hope.” Filled with laughter, magic, and the rich culture of Ghana, The Fisherman illustrates how powerful stories of joy can be.  See the trailer.

Outdoor School
Directed by Ime N. Etuk, 2025, USA, 84 min.
Feb. 7 and 13 at 2 p.m., Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.
The autobiographical feature film Outdoor School is a survival story: the tale of how 12-year-old Melvin Shambry survived his own childhood. It’s Portland, Oregon, 1994. Racial tensions are high. Melvin’s mother, needing to escape yet another domestic-violence episode, brings Melvin and his little sister, Miaya, to the shelter of a huge pine tree in a city park for at least one night of silent sleep. Director Ime N. Etuk focuses on the value of emotional resources, and how Melvin’s experience during a single week of the real-life environmental learning program Outdoor School—a week in the wilderness that allows Melvin to just be a child—transformed his life. The real-life Melvin Shambry is an actor, writer, storyteller (this film began as a story on the radio program The Moth) and producer of this film. See the trailer.

Paint Me a Road Out of Here
Directed by Catherine Gund, 2025, USA, 90 min.
Feb. 6 at 7 p.m., Feb. 12 and 21 at 2 p.m.
A great painting tells a compelling story. When its provenance deepens that story, it becomes an extraordinary and impactful performance piece. Documentarian and activist Catherine Gund tracks the labyrinthine ordeal borne by Faith Ringgold’s 1971 painting For the Women’s House, which was created for the women incarcerated on Rikers Island, then relegated to mishandling, defacing, and deep storage. Artist and rapper Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter, herself formerly incarcerated, is commissioned to create a new work for the Rikers women. She bands together with Ringgold, politicians, philanthropists, and corrections officers against Kafkaesque bureaucracy to liberate Ringgoldʻs painting from the prison and, more profoundly, Black women from mass incarceration. 
NOTE: HoMA's collection includes prints by Faith Ringgold, and some of her work will be on view in Gallery 28 at the time of the Honolulu African American Film Festival.
See the trailer.

The Eyes of Ghana
Directed by Ben Proudfoot, 2025, USA, 90 mins.
Feb. 7 at 7 p.m., Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.
An inspirational chronicle of reclamation and renewal, The Eyes of Ghana follows Chris Hesse, a film pioneer in Ghana who in the 1950s and 1960s documented pan-African leader Kwame Nkrumah’s run, win, and work as the young nation’s first president. Hesse, now in his nineties, is on a new quest to restore never-before-seen footage of Nkrumah’s endeavors—which were thought to have been destroyed—and recover a history of post-colonial struggle that has long been suppressed. 

Directed by two-time Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot (A Concerto Is a Conversation), executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, and featuring an original score by much-lauded composer Kris Bowers (The Color Purple), the film follows Hesse and his young ally, director Anita Afonu, as they work together to preserve the cultural richness, societal complexities, and everyday resilience of the Ghanaian people through their own lens. The Eyes of Ghana poses provocative questions about how history shapes the present and who gets to tell a country’s story. 

Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story
Directed by Alison Duke, 2024, Canada, 98 mins.
Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.
Sister Nancy’s dancehall anthem “Bam Bam,” released in 1982, is said to be the most sampled reggae song of all time, but what do we really know about her? 

This fun, inspirational documentary showcases the Jamaican performer's resilience through dynamic tour performances, interviews, archival footage, and reenactments. Bam Bam isn’t just a celebration of Sister Nancy’s career. It's also a story of her fight for the rights to her work. For all the popularity of "Bam Bam," Sister Nancy didn't see a dime in royalties for decades. In an industry notorious for silencing female artists, Sister Nancy is hell-bent on empowering others with her music and knowledge to make a difference—proving that good music can't be stopped! 
Side note: Sister Nancy performed at the Blue Note in Honolulu in September!  See the trailer.

The Inquisitor
Directed by Angela Lynn Tucker, 2025, USA, 98 mins.
Feb. 6 at 2 p.m., Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
As a young girl in Houston’s Fifth Ward, Barbara Jordan was taught to defy expectations. She understood that to succeed, she would need to forge her own path. With relentless determination and unyielding tenacity, Jordan made history as Texas’s first Black state senator and the first Southern Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In a world dominated by white men, she moved with deft skill, earning their respect and their fear. At a time when the idea of a Black woman holding power seemed inconceivable, Jordan created a roadmap for change. The Inquisitor chronicles the life of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, whose electrifying voice and moral clarity during President Richard Nixon’s impeachment captivated the nation, earning her the moniker “The Inquisitor.” See the trailer.

HAAFF 2026 Shorts
Feb. 13 at 7 p.m., Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.
For the first time, HoMA put out a call for submissions to HAAFF, specificaly for short films. The results will be screened on Feb. 13 and 28. Experience the next generation of Black voices and perspectives in this selection of short films by up-and-coming filmmakers. Here is the lineup:

Sugar Dumplin
Directed by Tristan Barrocks. 2025. Canada. 20 min. 
The film follows a daughter as she attempts to reconnect with her estranged father through the flavors of his Caribbean childhood. 

Moving Mountains 
Directed by Jessa Williams. 2025. USA / Hawaiʻi. 21 min.
Tre'lan, a young Black man from Tulsa, Oklahoma, seeks a new life. He travels to Kaua‘i where for the first time he finds peace, through connection to nature, and meaning, through a newfound love of the ocean and big wave surfing.  

Newbies 
Directed by Kimiko Matsuda Lawrence + Megan Trufant Tillman. 2025. USA. 17 min. 
Two broken strangers wrestling with their queer identities meet on the subway just after midnight. A poignant, poetic journey through the past few hours of their night reveals how they got here, and what broke them. Note: Kimiko Matsuda Lawrence is from O‘ahu.

We the Surfers
Directed by Arthur Bourbon, 2024, France/Liberia, 51 min.
Feb. 19, 22, 27 at 2 p.m.
In Robertsport, a fishing village in Liberia, the West African country scarred by twenty years of civil war that ended in 2003, local surfers try to change their destiny and that of their village by creating a surf club. Five years after making the documentary Water Get No Enemy, about former child soldiers turned surfers, director and surfer Arthur Bourbon returns to Liberia to see his friends and document the evolution of surfing in the  village. What started as a one-time trip to witness and document the emerging West African surf scene evolved into a deep connection with  Robertsport for Bourbon. As in other places that have endured conflict and hardship, the act of surfing has become far more than a sport—it offers people sanctuary, freedom, and healing. Although the generational trauma is still very real, the joy made possible by surfing is having a profound impact. See the trailer.
Official Selection – Honolulu Surf Film Festival 2025 

Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round
Directed by Ilana Trachtman, 2024, USA, 90 min.
Feb. 20 at 2 p.m., Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
In the summer of 1960, five Howard University students sat down on the gilded horses of a whites-only carousel in Bethesda, Maryland. When members of the white community near Glen Echo Amusement Park joined the Black students en masse and set up picket lines, an unprecedented collaboration was born. The pickets attracted Nazis, Congressmen, and a press avalanche. Picketing together led to partying together, and union organizers mentored student activists, ultimately producing ten 1961 Freedom Riders, including Stokely Carmichael, and a Supreme Court case. With never-before-seen footage and immersive storytelling from Emmy®-award winning director Ilana Trachtman, this documentary features four living protesters who rescue this untold story, revealing the price—and the power—of heeding the call to activism. 

Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round includes voiceover by noted actors Jeffrey Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Bob Balaban, Lee Grant, Peter Gallagher, Dominique Thorne, Alysia Reiner, and Tracie Thoms. 
See the trailer.