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In San Jose, the Silicon Valley African Film Festival crowns Sona Jobarteh

The Silicon Valley's great African cinema gathering joins the Festival TV catalogue. Its 17th edition, in October 2026 in San Jose, presented its highest honour, the Cultural Icon Award, to kora player Sona Jobarteh.

By Moïse 1er , the Festival Explorer Article 153 Rubrique Top Stories
In San Jose, the Silicon Valley African Film Festival crowns Sona Jobarteh
Photo: founder Chike C. Nwoffiah and Sona Jobarteh on the SVAFF 2026 stage (© SVAFF).

Africa through the African lens

Founded in 2010 by filmmaker Chike C. Nwoffiah, the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF) showcases cinema from Africa and its diaspora. Its 2026 edition, at San Jose's Historic Hoover Theatre, presented 76 films from 33 countries: screenings, panels, masterclasses, an African market and an awards ceremony.

Sona Jobarteh, 2026 Cultural Icon

On October 11, 2026, the festival presented its Cultural Icon Award to Sona Jobarteh: it honours both her mastery of the kora — she is the first professional female kora player from a griot lineage — and the Gambia Academy, the Africa-centred school she founded in The Gambia.

Silicon Valley African Film Festival, San Jose (United States). 18th edition: October 7–11, 2027.

Official website: svaff.org

— Moïse 1er, the Festival Explorer

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