2024 gave Afrika Eye the opportunity to develop new partnerships and strengthen existing ones. Our season of films and activities started in October and ran through until mid-November. Our partners for 2024 included Watershed Media Centre, The Pickle Factory, and Trinity Arts. The Pickle Factory was a new venue for us and offered us an opportunity to connect with younger members of the communities in Easton. We were invited to co-present the premiere of a ground-breaking film, ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ by the renowned Dahomey director, Mati Diop. This was an important film to screen as it dealt with the repatriation of African artefacts from the Quai de Branley in Paris to their original home in Dahomey. It keyed into the zeitgeist and news reports at the time regarding the repatriation of artefacts from museums across the world to their country of origin. We had a full house with a lively post-screening discussion with an informed and engaged audience. We partnered with The Pickle Factory, a recently established community hub in Easton, with the intention of linking with groups of young people to assist in raising the profile of the hub and with the aim of connecting with a hard-to-reach demographic. Our Halloween special brought a full house, and young families came to enjoy hot chocolate & marshmallows, plus Halloween stickers and treats as part of the film offer. 50% of the audience were new to Afrika Eye. Reaching new communities has always been an important aim of Afrika Eye, and each year we endeavour to find ways to include and involve marginalised communities. In 2024, the cost of living crisis hitting lower-income families was a reason to keep our ticket prices as low as possible for these groups, and the offer of ‘pay it forward’ gave those with more income to spend a chance to support a wider cinema audience. Through all our events, we aim to broaden and strengthen understanding and respect for the many different aspects of culture within the continent of Africa and its diaspora communities. We offer opportunities for a wider debate on the valuable role they play within a global perspective, as well as locally, through black British communities and organisations. Our evening of archive screenings at Trinity Arts was accompanied by a Dahomey cocktail (devised by a local mixologist), and West African street food was provided by a local food outlet, thus keying into a wider local network. Post-screening discussions were carried on with further refreshments. This evening felt inclusive and again brought new audience members to Afrika Eye. Our final screening at Watershed, Rungani Nyoni’s ‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’ brought an enthusiastic African film crowd, who went on into the Cafe Bar to enjoy the sounds of ‘Linga Linga’, a four-piece group starting out on their music career, who brought a great party vibe to the final night of Afrika Eye.

Each year, we come together as a board and reflect on how we have met and might continue to meet the aims of the organisation. As individual board members, we reach out to different communities and personal networks to connect with diaspora communities within the region and make contact with those who, with the right opportunity, would like to be part of the Afrika Eye community. With less funding available to us in 2024, we had to deliver a less diverse programme of arts than we have in the past, and so needed, where possible, to increase our offer alongside the films (food and drink), to encourage audiences to be part of the film experience. The Pickle Factory was a great potential area for attracting a new demographic, and following discussions with their youth officer and venue manager, we devised a programme which hooked into their half-term activities and developed a new strand to their offer. There was much discussion around our co-presenting ‘A Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ at Watershed, and together with their programmer, Steph Reid, we researched and contacted the relevant speakers to lead the post-screening discussion. All films screened at Watershed are the result of early consultations in the year to put forward suggestions and ideas towards our overall programme. These take place with members of the Film Hub South-West, representing the BFI, who make the awards, which enable small film creatives throughout the south-west to present screening events. Our core team is made up of a director, producer, social media marketing manager and web/programme designer, plus volunteers who work over the festival period. This volunteer team is drawn from film and art students and individuals in the community who have a specific interest in the arts of Africa, its diaspora and diversity within the city of Bristol.

The total amount paid or receivable by directors in respect of qualifying services was £1,800. There were no other transactions or arrangements in connection with the remuneration of directors, or compensation for directors’ loss of office, which require to be disclosed.

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration