Generation Africa is a documentary film project aimed at stimulating a new narrative on migration through the stories made by African filmmakers, and particularly young filmmakers.

The project is presented by South Africa-based non-profit Steps (Social Transformation and Empowerment Projects) through AfriDocs, the first and only free global streaming platform for African documentaries.

The topic of migration has dominated world news for some time, polarising societies in the West as governments scramble to get a handle on what they view as a dire ‘immigration crisis’. As the ‘crisis’ grows, negative images and portrayals of Africa and Africans are proliferated more and more.

Cumulatively these images contribute to a singular narrative told about African migration without the inclusion of African voices. Therefore, many facts that go untold such as the fact that migration within Africa is higher than from the continent, or that Uganda hosts the third highest number of refugees in the world.

Africa also currently is the continent with the largest population of youth in the world, and is projected to have a population of over 840 million young people by 2050. This could spell a boom of growth for the continent, or escalating challenges, depending on how the continent responds.

Generation Africa is a collaboration with African filmmakers to create documentaries that will shift this narrative on migration, and also give insights into a young generation on the move and making moves.

“We are looking for compelling, nuanced and unpredictable stories that celebrate the achievements of African youth on the continent,” explains STEPS executive producer, Don Edkins. “The focus for the project is East and West Africa as well as the Horn of Africa, but we will consider stories from the entire continent if they are compelling.”

Filmmakers can submit up to three story ideas in the form of a one page synopsis, along with a CV, filmography, and links to previous works. Submissions are invited from filmmakers who have made at least one documentary that has been broadcast or shown at a film festival.

Selected stories will be invited to take part in development workshops in East Africa, and West Africa (Anglophone and Francophone).

Steps is passionate about the power of documentaries to disrupt, shift, and transform the world around us. They work with organisations and individuals around the world to create documentaries on relevant social issues.

Through its streaming platform, AfriDocs, and through a network of organisations that host community based screenings, Steps uses a multi-platform distribution approach to bring documentaries to audiences across Africa.

Generation Africa is presented in partnership with Docubox in Kenya, NAFTI in Ghana and OuagaLab in Burkina Faso. The project is supported by Deutsche Welle Academie, The Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Robert Bosch Stiftung.