Jali Collective launches its inaugural Jali Film Weekender, a new film festival celebrating Black, African and diaspora stories to be held in Edinburgh from 30 October - 2 November 2025 at the city’s newly reopened Filmhouse Cinema.
The theme of the 2025 Weekender edition is Dreams and Apparitions, which will weave through the programme’s films and events, exploring subjects such as grief, memory, imagination, new and alternate futures, and the seen and unseen in the African and diasporic experience.
The Weekender is rooted in fostering community, connection and representation, with a focus on platforming a range of voices, styles and stories from across the African continent and its global diaspora. A key ambition of the new collective and festival is to build intentional relationships with Black, African and diaspora audiences in Edinburgh and Scotland.
The full programme will be announced 6 October 2025 on the Jali Collective website.
Film Highlights
Opening Film
Memory of Princess Mumbi: The festival will open with the Scottish Premiere of Memory of Princess Mumbi, the groundbreaking new afro-futurist film from Swiss-Kenyan director Damien Hauser. Fresh from its World Premiere at Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori in September (the first Kenyan film in history to do so), Memory of Princess Mumbi unfolds in a post-technological future African continent and is a joy-filled love letter to cinema, showcasing a beautifully unique, imaginative approach to filmmaking and use of AI.
Closing Film
Promised Sky: The festival will close with the Scottish Premiere of Promised Sky (Promis le Ciel), the acclaimed drama by Tunisian director Erige Sehiri that opened this year’s Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. Promised Sky follows the intertwined fates of three women from sub-Saharan Africa living in Tunis and has drawn international praise for its humanistic storytelling and powerful portrayal of sisterhood and resilience.
About Jali Collective
Founded earlier this year, Jali Collective is a new grassroots collective based in Edinburgh, Scotland, with the mission to widen access to African cinema and to celebrate and elevate Black, African, and diaspora stories through film and culture. The collective curates film screenings, festivals, workshops and related events that bring Black, African and diaspora cinema to audiences.
Jali Collective was founded by three core members – Tomiwa Folorunso, Isabel Moura Mendes and Carmen Thompson – each of whom are long-standing producers, programmers and cultural organisers with deep roots in the film, festival and arts sectors in Scotland and beyond.
Jali Film Weekender 2025 is supported by Screen Scotland and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of Screen Scotland and the BFI National Lottery), as well as British Council, the Africa Centre and other partners.
Sambrooke Scott, Head of Audience Development at Screen Scotland said: “We are very excited to support the launch of the Jali Film Weekender - a thrilling addition to Scotland’s film exhibition calendar, bringing bold, imaginative and deeply resonant Black, African and diaspora stories to communities in Edinburgh. At Screen Scotland we’re committed to ensuring that Scotland’s screen culture is representative of the richness and diversity of our communities, and Jali embodies that vision. It’s exciting to see such a dynamic new event create space for connection, conversation and discovery, delivered by the passionate and talented people who make up Jali - and we look forward to this edition, and the future of the Collective.”
Ilia Ryzhenko, Manager at Film Hub Scotland, says: “Our team at Film Hub Scotland is proud to support the inaugural edition of the Jali Film Weekender — a much-needed project delivered by an extremely experienced and knowledgeable team of programmers. We cannot wait for the full reveal of the programme, which comprises several art forms and includes many enhanced screenings and discussions.”
More information
Image credits: Still from Memory of Princess Mumbi, courtesy of Jali Collective