Storyville: Africa's Cultural Landmarks by Sosena Solomon

Africa’s Cultural Landmarks by Sosena Solomon 

(USA, 2025, 77 min)

Africa’s Cultural Landmarks, a series of short documentaries directed by Sosena Solomon, examines some of Africa’s most notable cultural landscapes. With striking visual storytelling, the films document current preservation efforts against the backdrop of an array of challenges ranging from perishable materiality to rapid urbanization. Part of an initiative to introduce new visual content that reframes The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newly renovated Arts of Africa galleries, Africa’s Cultural Landmarks highlights Africa’s diverse architectural vernaculars, foregrounding local perspectives and stewardship, bridging ancestral legacies with contemporary narratives across the subcontinent.

The screening will include:

Benin City Earthworks, Nigeria (2023), 9min
Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia (2023),8min
Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, Madagascar (2023),9min
Providence Island, Liberia (2023),7min
Historic Towns of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara, Tanzania, 10min
Rock-Hewn Churches of Tigray, Ethiopia (2023), 9 min
Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe (2023), 9 min 

Sosena Solomon is an award-winning Ethiopian-American social documentary filmmaker and multimedia visual artist whose work explores culture, identity, and communities in transition through immersive, cinematic storytelling.