Afro Algorithms

The Burden

2023

When culture vultures apply for citizenship on a new planet colonized by Black people, three judges must decide how to deal with folks who want everything but the burden.

The Last Angel of History

1996 · ★ 7

An examination of the hitherto unexplored relationships between Pan-African culture, science fiction, intergalactic travel, and rapidly progressing computer technology.

Claustrophobia

2024

A young black man wakes up chained in a dark room and is hypnotized by the static of a TV.

Neptune Frost

2022 · ★ 5.8

In the hilltops of Burundi, a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region's natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry.

Space Is the Place

1974 · ★ 5.8

Sun Ra and his Solar Myth Arkestra return to Earth after several years in space. Ra proclaims himself "the alter-destiny", meets with inner-city youths and battles with the devil himself to save the black race.

To the Moon

In a vibrant Afro-futuristic village powered by invention and imagination, two inseparable friends, Aisha and Neumy, set out on one last daring adventure before life pulls them in different directions. When a sudden power outage threatens to ruin their cosmic plans, Aisha’s determination sparks a bold idea that tests the limits of friendship, courage, and creation itself.

2044

2024

Aida Ra Mana invites you to explore a sci-fi universe set in the year 2044. In this imagined future, the story revolves around three aliens whose deep friendship unfolds in a world dominated by military rule and stringent restrictions. Through this work, Aida Ra Mana poses profound questions about resilience and the human spirit. How do we create joy and humor when faced with pervasive limitations and diminished opportunities? What does it mean to nurture friendship and creativity in an environment where one must constantly conceal their magic and beliefs from an authoritarian regime? By blending elements of science fiction with poignant social commentary, Aida Ra Mana's universe serves as a mirror to our own society's challenges and a testament to the enduring power of joy and laughter in the face of adversity.

White Mirror

2023

A young Black game designer comes face to face with covert racism after he’s transformed to look like a white man.

HARLEM FRAGMENTS

★ 10

Harlem Fragments is an Afro-futurist scrapbook storytelling of a Harlem Black family's beautiful destruction during the 2008 recession. A natural disaster so mesmerizing you can't look away from the tragedy. Based on true events- The film explores the haunting societal pressures of achieving the Black American dream, told in the POV of 10 year old TJ revisiting his family's home that's up for sale. By empowering this Black boy in this film with the agency to imagine, TJ, through his own journey, finds a way to process and come to terms with his family's divorce. It's important for every Black child out there enduring the same foreign emotions to know that it's okay to feel them, and affirm that there is a future trajectory forward out of the initial destruction.

Departure

2017

An alien couple named Addem and Efa live on Earth as human beings in order to determine if it has proper living conditions for their race. They are suddenly called back to their mothership and must face a disgruntled Special Agent and growing, uncontrollable human urges to stay on Earth before it's too late to return.

Crocodile Dance

When an ancient water goddess threatens her town, Roukia, a silenced musician must reclaim her voice to break a generational curse and save herself and her family.

They Charge for the Sun

2016

In a dystopian future where people live nocturnally to avoid the harmful rays of the sun, a young black girl unravels the lie that has kept her and her sister in the dark.