The Bokola 2025: Dream. Now! festival is set for August 23rd at Studio Moto in Harare. In a time of political turmoil, climate change and widespread disinformation, this festival uses art as a powerful tool for action. It aims to promote truth, resistance and radical imagination.
This year’s festival theme is a direct response to a global state of emergency, a recognition that “in this age of fake news, war and climate collapse, our stories are our resistance.” The organizers have crafted an immersive experience that goes beyond traditional film screenings, inviting attendees to “dream louder” and “reimagine” futures that are constantly being erased.
The heart of the festival lies in its meticulously curated program. Over the day, film enthusiasts will be able to explore three distinct but interconnected film strands:
- Stories From The Emergency: This strand confronts head-on the most pressing issues of our time, featuring urgent narratives on climate collapse, authoritarianism and surveillance.
- Dreamers: A spotlight on unapologetically bold young African storytellers, whose work is rooted in audacity and a fresh, unyielding perspective.
- Frontlines of Change: This strand showcases the visual work of activists, Indigenous filmmakers, and global movements pushing for justice, land rights, gender equity and liberation through poetic, hybrid and genre-defying forms.
Beyond the films, the festival grounds at Studio Moto will be a creative ecosystem in itself. Visitors can step into the Radical Futures space, an immersive zone featuring virtual reality, augmented reality, and interactive installations.
There will be studio tours of Matamba Film Labs for Women, a beacon of empowerment dedicated to nurturing the next generation of female storytellers in Zimbabwe. The earGROUND studio and the Green Futures Zone, powered by Green Governance Africa, will also be open, providing a holistic view of how art and advocacy are intersecting to create a more just and sustainable world.
A special highlight will be the Studio Moto ZW Green Room, featuring the team behind Magamba Network’s acclaimed satirical show, “The Week with Cde Fatso,” offering a behind-the-scenes look at how they use humor to dissect serious political and social issues.
The AI Filmmaker Disrupting the Narrative
A major highlight of this year’s festival is the participation of Lisa Russell, a renowned Kenyan filmmaker, AI artist and Emmy-winner who will serve as a judge. Russell’s presence elevates the festival to a global stage, bringing a wealth of experience in merging art and advocacy.
The founder of ArtsEnvoy.ai, she has spent over two decades using her creative skills to amplify underrepresented voices and drive conversations around gender equality, climate justice and health equity in collaboration with the United Nations.
Russell’s work is a living embodiment of the festival’s ethos. As a pioneering creative advocate for the intersection of artificial intelligence and filmmaking, she believes that “AI filmmakers must be at the table not just in the studio.”
Her recent AI-created film, “Last Broadcast from Earth,” a haunting reflection on climate injustice, serves as a powerful example of her commitment to ethical storytelling and innovation. Her role at Bokola 2025 will not only lend her expertise to the judging process but will also inspire a new generation of Zimbabwean and African filmmakers to embrace technology as a tool for social change.
“I LOVE their mission!” Russell stated in a recent social media post, applauding Bokola’s focus on the hopes and dreams of young people. Her own career is built on the belief that art should not “sit on the sidelines,” but rather “shake the system.” This synergy between her personal mission and the festival’s vision promises to ignite powerful conversations and collaborations.
A Legacy of Truth-Telling
Bokola’s reputation as a fearless platform is well-earned. Over the past five years, the festival has showcased more than 40 powerful short films and nurtured the careers of rising filmmakers like Jabu Mudzvova and Sikhanyisiwe Sebata, one of the festival’s co-directors.
The festival’s name itself, “bokola,” a Zimbabwean slang term meaning “to truly see” or “to grasp deeply,” speaks to its core purpose. “If change begins with seeing clearly,” the organizers state, “Bokola is where we learn to look deeply.”
With a firm foundation in documentary film and a commitment to nurturing young, African and marginalized creators, Bokola 2025 stands as a festival for those who believe that even in the face of collapse, dreaming is not a luxury, but an act of resistance.
