The Afda Experimental Festival is an annual event orchestrated by our third-year students.
The primary purpose of the festival is to celebrate and exhibit the ingenuity of young African creatives who dare to explore unconventional and avant-garde approaches across various disciplines, including filmmaking, live performance, creative writing, and innovative high-tech business concepts. The festival provides a platform for our students to present their experimental work and encourages them to challenge established norms within the creative economy.
This year’s festival, held across our Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Gqeberha campuses, promises audiences an array of thought-provoking experiences. Our Business and Innovation School students will pitch cutting-edge and financially viable business ideas, while our Film School students showcase offbeat films and documentaries. Live Performance School students will bring captivating theatre productions and musical performances to life, and Creative Writing students will present original screenplays, plays, and short stories.
Afda student productions have a proud history of success, captivating audiences both locally and internationally. The film Elalini won the prestigious Best Foreign Student Film Oscar in 2006, while Kanye Kanye earned over 20 international awards and was a finalist at both the Oscars and Cannes in 2012. In addition, student films such as Die Windpomp and Hollywood in my Huis transitioned into full-length feature films. Afda's creative excellence is further reflected in the nine Best Student Film awards received at the South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas).
As we look forward to Afda Experimental Festival 2025, we invite audiences, industry professionals, and fellow creatives to witness the next generation of African storytellers and innovators in action. This festival is more than a showcase, it's a celebration of risk-taking, boundary-pushing, and the bold creative spirit that defines Afda. Join us as we continue to shape the future of Africa’s creative industries.
The Experimental Festival will take place on all four Afda campuses.
- Johannesburg – 11 to 14 June
- Cape Town – 8 to 14 June
- Durban – 14 June
- Gqeberha – 14 June
