African Metropolis finally hits Europe on 26 January 2014 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The compilation of six short fiction films, set in six major African cities, is a unique partnership towards new African cinema. The films from Abidjan, Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi tell urban tales about life in African metropolises. Over 50 percent of the continent’s total population now lives in cities and vital urban cultures are forming and transforming – fast, and with growing complexity.

After its world premiere at this year’s Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), African Metropolis was critically acclaimed, leading to three of the shorts being shown at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Besides the European premiere in Rotterdam, African Metropolis will also feature at the 2014 Berlinale Talents, an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, where 300 promising filmmakers will gather for master classes and panel discussions, as well as project labs and film screenings. On top of that, the short film programme will revisit North America in 2014 as all six films have been invited to screen at this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival taking place from 30 January to 9 February in California.

The African Metropolis short film project is an initiative of the Goethe-Institut South Africa and South African executive producer Steven Markovitz, with support from Guaranty Trust Bank and the Hubert Bals Fund of International Film Festival Rotterdam.

www.goethe.de/africanmetropolis