While at SVAFF we were also fortunate to meet and spend time with Dr. John Kani who you may remember as King T’Chaka in the Marvel films Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther.

Kani also played Rafiki in Disney’s 2019 version of The Lion King and is set to reprise the role in Barry Jenkins’ upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King. Honored by SVAFF as a Cultural Icon for uplifting the image of Africa on a global stage, Kani co-wrote and starred in Athol Fugard’s 1972 anti-apartheid play Sizwe Banzi is Dead for which he received a Tony Award.

In 2005, the President of South Africa honored Kani with the Order of Ikhamanga Silver in recognition of his contribution to the struggle for a free South Africa, especially his contribution to a free, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa. He was subsequently appointed to serve on the Presidential Advisory Council of National Orders and Awards.

“We do our work because we believe,” Dr. John Kani told BOSSIP about being honored by SVAFF. “We do our work because we have a mission to our communities. We know that we in Africa need to regain our dignity, we need to regain and retake our culture. There’s been so much cultural appropriation. So when that work you do, not just entertaining but informing and educating, mobilizing everybody on all causes that affect the Black man and the Black woman on this earth and suddenly someone says, ‘By the way you’re doing good work,’ this is so gratifying. The award simply says, ‘Hold one second, we just wanna say thank you.’ And after thank you, there’s work to be done. That’s how I feel tonight that I’m being acknowledged and I’m being honored on something I do as my duty as a man, as an African.”

Throughout the weekend, we noticed that Kani was not just focused on racism and colonialism, but also made a point to be extremely outspoken about women’s rights.

While we didn’t have the opportunity to interview Nigerian actor Richard Mofe Damijo during the festival, we wanted to make sure to include some notes about the fourth Cultural Icon recipient because of his many accomplishments and to educate those not as aware of his work. If you’ve been sleeping on Damijo, who is popularly known as RMD, it’s time to wake up! When his name was announced during opening ceremonies, the ladies in the audience went wild.

In addition to the four Cultural Icon honorees, 21-year-old actor Ozie Nzeribe was also honored with the 2024 SVAFF Trailblazer Award.

“It feels amazing to be honored in anything, you know?” the Swagger actor told BOSSIP. “I’m jumping for joy, but this specifically because it hits close to home because I’m proud proud Nigerian man and to accept an award on behalf of my people, where I’m from, is amazing. I’m very happy.”

Nzeribe, who also goes by the artist name ZMNY, told us that he’s currently venturing more back into music, which is where his entertainment career began.

“I got a new song coming up, about to drop soon with a music video, it’s called Foreign Lady. Other than that, I have a couple of projects in the works, one with Hulu and I can’t wait for everybody to see.”

For African-Americans, the history of slavery greatly complicates many of our relationships with the continent, but when it comes to Hollywood representations of both Africans and African-Americans, we face very similar challenges in terms of the way the media often tells our stories. SVAFF serves as an incredible bridge for creators across the diaspora. What we experienced left us joyful, hopeful, and excited for what’s to come from these great talents.

Visit the SVAFF website for more information about the films shown at this year’s festival, including the winners across all categories.

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