The Yasuke Reclamation: Moving the African Samurai From Colonial Novelty to Global South Hero
Animation Oct 14, 2025
The story of Yasuke, the African samurai, has become a global Rorschach test. For Hollywood, he is a box-office premise. For gamers, a controversial character.
But for those of us engaged in global Black cinema, he represents a far more urgent question: Who has the right to tell our stories — and from what soil must those stories grow?
The Yasuke Reclamation: Moving the African Samurai From Colonial Novelty to Global South Hero
AnimationBFM News and UpdatesCommunityDramatic FeatureFeaturesFilm HistoryInternationalJapanReflectionsSouth AfricaUnited StatesWorks-in-Progress October 14, 2025
The story of Yasuke, the African samurai, has become a global Rorschach test. For Hollywood, he is a box-office premise. For gamers, a controversial character.
But for those of us engaged in global Black cinema, he represents a far more urgent question: Who has the right to tell our stories — and from what soil must those stories grow?
Read more
INTERVIEW: Walking the Path with Mandla Dube: Kalushi/Makeba/Yasuke
AnimationDirectorsFilm HistoryFilm ShowcaseIn-ProductionInternationalInterviewsMixed BagProductionReflectionsSouth AfricaTrailers October 12, 2025
“That’s the thing about Mandla: his life is always rooted somewhere in the land, history, and struggle, even when he’s jetting between Johannesburg, Bologna, and Tokyo.”
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Niyah’s Multiverse: Chicago’s Afrofuturist Lineage from Sun Ra to Adler Planetarium
AnimationExhibitionFeaturesReflectionsShowcaseTrailersWomenWriting September 23, 2025
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, brother, partner and uncle Menelik Shabazz, age 67.
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