Beginning with an ambiguous science fiction in Nairobi and ending with a re-enactment of the myth of Noah’s ark in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township, To Repel Ghosts: Urban Tales from the African Continent showcases remarkably uncanny and fiercely contemporary stories, including:

Homecoming, Jim Chuchu, Kenya (11 minutes):

Nothing is what it seems as Max— a nerdy voyeur — turns fiction into truth and the mundane into the unexpected in his quest to get the attention of Alina — the girl next door. The city of Nairobi is threatened with imminent extinction, and now is his chance to save her and verbalize his unspoken desire. A quirky, light-hearted look at obsession and the desire to be seen.

Berea, Vincent Moloi, South Africa (15 minutes):

Long after his friends and family have moved on, Jewish pensioner Aaron Zukerman remains in his inner-city apartment, his world getting ever smaller and smaller, as the city closes in on his memories and happiness. His focus is on a weekly assignation with a kindly prostitute. When her replacement arrives unexpected one Friday, an initially angry response sparks a chain of events that changes the way the old man sees his world.

To Repel Ghosts, Philippe Lacôte, Ivory Coast (20 minutes):

Inspired from Jean-Michel Basquiat’s trip to the Ivory Coast shortly before his passing, To Repel Ghosts casts a young New Yorker of Haitian origin who travels to visit his friend in Abidjan and free himself from hauntings.

Kwaku Ananse, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Ghana/Mexico/USA (26 minutes):

Kwaku Ananse is an intensely personal project that combines contemporary semi-autobiographical elements with the traditional West African folk tale of Kwaku Ananse, a sage who appears as both spider and man.

Noah’s Flood, Mark Dornford-May, South Africa (33 minutes):

Noye's Fludde is Isango Ensemble’s film adaptation of the one act opera by Benjamin Britten. Sung in Xhosa, it follows the traditional story of Noah’s ark but is set in a South African township, with Noah recast as a woman.