Ifeoma Chukwuogo’s Phoenix Fury will make its next festival stop at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF), taking place in California, from October 9 to 12, 2025. The selection comes after what has been a surprisingly quiet run on the festival circuit since the film’s Best Film and Best Director wins at the Africa International Film Festival 2024.
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Phoenix Fury, a debut work, boasts strong performances and was praised for the assured touch of a seasoned director in our review. Starring Onyinye Odokoro, Uzoamaka Power, Joseph Momodu, Richard Mofe-Damijo and Ama K. Abebrese, the film tells the story of Ewura-Ama, a recently widowed woman who inherits a luxury resort in Ghana. Her life takes an unexpected turn when Yali, a newly elected governor in Nigeria, arrives at the resort and disrupts her world.
Now in its 16th edition, the Silicon Valley African Film Festival continues to screen African stories and talents from across the continent and its diaspora. This year’s line-up features 94 films from 30 countries, with Nigeria strongly represented. In addition to Phoenix Fury, the festival will screen Omotola Jalade Ekeinde’s Mother’s Love, James Omokwe’s Osamede, Holmes Awa’s Soft Love, Ella Chikezie’s In Her Shoes, Abbesi Akhamie’s The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí, Shedrack Salami’s Beyond Olympic Glory, Bibi Shasore’s Loot and the Lost Kingdoms of Africa, Femi Balujaye and Emmanuel Oluwaseyi Bajulaye’s Ekun Omi (Tears of Desert Water), and Silas Ese Abada’s Reach for the Stars.
From Ghana, highlights include Zoey Martinson’s The Fisherman and Francis Y. Brown’s Blinded By the Lights, while Cameroon will be represented by Enah Johnscott’s Lights Out.
SVAFF takes place from October 9–12, 2025, in San Jose, California.
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