Maona presents: KUMBA Short Films15

KUMBA: A Celebration of African Short Films

Kumba (a Shona word from Zimbabwe meaning “home”) is a vibrant African short film programme that connects African and Diaspora communities through the power of storytelling. More than just a cinema experience, Kumba is a bridge to home, celebrating identity, culture, and heritage through authentic African narratives.

Curated by Tatenda Jamera of Maona Art, this carefully selected lineup showcases diverse stories that highlight the richness of African traditions and lived experiences, fostering a sense of belonging across continents.

Beutset
Director: Alicia Mendy | 🇸🇳 Senegal | 29 mins | 2024 

When a parasite contaminates all the drinking water in Dakar, pills are developed to neutralise it. But for Alioune, a young man who can no longer afford them, the symptoms – madness and insanity – begin to take hold. As time passes, he realises he has never felt more clear-minded. His journey becomes one of political and spiritual awakening.

The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí
Director: Abbesi Akhamie | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 16 mins | 2024

In the whimsical Pan-African society of Alkebulan, brilliant but overlooked scholar Dr. Constance Moumie discovers her fiancé, Sèyí Àjàyí, is secretly engaged to Princess Ada, sending the town into chaos. With the help of her best friend Bibi, she hatches a bold plan to expose her unfaithful lover at his engagement ceremony, seeking both justice and long-overdue recognition.

Alazar
Director: Beza Hailu Lemma | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 35 mins | 2024

A farming community in Ethiopia is shaken when the body of a family patriarch mysteriously vanishes from his grave. In this deeply moving drama, director Beza Hailu Lemma explores the existential questions that follow, leaving the village searching for meaning in the aftermath.

Bahr
Director: Belal Abusamra | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 8 mins | 2024

Grieving the loss of his wife, a father struggles with faith as he longs for a chance to reconnect with her. Through a poetic journey, Bahr portrays death not as an end, but as a threshold between two worlds.

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Maona presents: KUMBA Short Films between April 29, 2025 and April 29, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Thursday 5th March)
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12:30

My Father's Shadow 12A
Parent + Baby Screening
1h 33m
During Nigeria’s 1993 election crisis, two brothers journey across Lagos with their estranged father, discovering the city’s vastness and political unrest. Told through a child’s eyes, this is a vivid and deeply personal debut from British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr.

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15:30

My Father's Shadow 12A
1h 33m
During Nigeria’s 1993 election crisis, two brothers journey across Lagos with their estranged father, discovering the city’s vastness and political unrest. Told through a child’s eyes, this is a vivid and deeply personal debut from British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr.

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17:45

Hamlet 15
1h 53m
Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) returns home after his father’s death, and is haunted by the ghosts of revenge. Amid political corruption, family loyalty and moral responsibility collide in this gripping, contemporary re-telling of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.

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20:15

The Handmaiden 18
2h 25m | Korean w/ English subtitles
Park Chan-wook’s lush erotic thriller dazzles with deception, desire and double-crosses. Set in 1930s Korea and based on Fingersmith, this modern classic is a masterwork of suspense and sensuality. A bold reimagining of the period drama.

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Tomorrow (Friday 6th March)
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15:00

“Wuthering Heights” 15
2h 16m
In 18th-century Yorkshire, brooding outsider Heathcliff falls for Catherine, the daughter of his master, igniting a destructive love story of obsession. Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie star in Emerald Fennell’s (Saltburn) sensual adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel.

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18:00

Soul to Soul U
1h 36m
Documentary about a historic 1971 concert at Black Star Square in Accra, celebrating Ghana’s independence. Over 100,000 people gathered as Ike & Tina Turner, Santana, and other African American musicians created groundbreaking music and experienced Africa for the first time.

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20:30

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You 15
1h 53m
A house filling with water. A child who won’t get better. And a husband who’s never there. Rose Byrne delivers an Oscar-nominated performance as a mother whose world is unravelling in Mary Bronstein’s darkly comic portrait of modern womanhood.

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!

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