It's a wrap! The 26th Annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) has reached its end, and after 12 full days of showcasing an impressive slate of 173 films, PAFF has finally announced the winners of its 2018 season! 
 
At the highly anticipated PAFF Filmmaker Awards Brunch, which was held yesterday on festival grounds at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, PAFF Executive Director, Ayuko Babu, presented various awards to competing filmmakers who have proven to be the greatest up-and-coming storytellers of our time. The experience was an exciting celebration of both accomplishment and next level success.
 
Best Narrative Feature
Borders (Frontières) (Burkina Faso)
Directed by: Woye Apolline Traoré
 
Best Director-First Feature Narrative
Kalushi (South Africa)
Directed by: Mandlakayise Dube
 
Best Documentary Feature
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me (US)
Directed by: Samuel D. Pollard
 
Best Narrative Short
Kyenvu (Yellow) (Uganda)
Directed by: Kemiyondo Coutinho
 
Best Documentary Short
Mama (US)
Directed by: Nicholas Brennan
 
Programmers' Award-Narrative or Documentary Short
Lalo's House (Haiti/US)
Directed by: Kelley Kali
 
Programmers' Award-Documentary
Barrow-Freedom Fighter (Barbados)
Directed by: Marcia Weekes
 
Programmers' Award-Narrative Feature
Love Jacked (South Africa)
Directed by: Alfons Adetuyi
 
PAFF Directors' Award-Feature Documentary (TIE)
King of Stage: The Woodie King Jr. Story (US)
Directed by: Juney Smith
 
Maynard (US)
Directed by: Samuel D. Pollard
 
PAFF Directors' Award- Feature Narrative
The Train of Salt and Sugar (Mozambique/South Africa)
Directed by: Licínio Azevedo
 
Audience Award- Documentary Short
'63 Boycott (US)
Directed by: Gordon Quinn
 
Audience Award- Documentary Feature
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me (US)
Directed by: Samuel D. Pollard
 
Audience Award- Narrative Short
For Evan's Sake (US)
Directed by: Kirstin Lorin
 
Audience Award- Narrative Feature
Muslimah's Guide to Marriage (US)
Directed by: Aminah Bakeer Abdul-Jabbaar
 

About THE PAN AFRICAN FILM & ARTS FESTIVAL
Established in 1992, the Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) - a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization - has remained dedicated to showcasing a broad spectrum of Black creative works; particularly, those that reinforce positive images and help to advance cultures, races and lifestyles. PAFF also serves as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our time and aides in the promotion of cultural understanding between peoples of African descent.

Now in its 26th year, the 12-day 2018 PAFF experience featured 75+ fine artists and 170+ new films from over 40 countries within five continents and in 26 languages. This annual exhibition of film, art, culture and creative expression is the largest Black film festival and the largest Black History Month celebration in the U.S. PAFF attracts a diverse global audience hailing from the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Canada, South America and the South Pacific, which translates into over 90K art fest attendees, 40K film enthusiasts and 5000 students, annually. 

The Pan African Film & Arts Festival is directed by Hollywood veterans Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Proud Mary), Ja'Net DuBois (Good Times) and Ayuko Babu (Executive Director). The 27th Annual PAFF experience is scheduled to take place Thursday, February 7 - Monday, February 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. For more details and ticket information, visit www.PAFF.org.