We are excited to announce that Ufuoma Essi from A Month of Single Frames is the 2026 curator for South by South.
South by South is a quarterly film screening at the South London Gallery. The programme, which is now in its fifteenth year, focuses on presenting bold and innovative cinema from Africa and the diaspora to audiences in the UK.
Ufuoma Essi says: “I’m excited to programme the latest iteration of South By South as part of and through A Month of Single Frames. A Month of Single Frames is a film collective committed to expanding access to artists’ moving image and experimental cinema, introducing this work to audiences who may not yet have encountered it. Having attended South By South screenings in the past, I’ve discovered many of my favourite contemporary films from across the African continent and the diaspora. In shaping this programme, I’ve drawn on my current research into bell hooks’ concept of the oppositional gaze as a framework for engaging with the selected works.
“Looking and looking back, black women involve ourselves in a process whereby we see our history as counter-memory, using it as a way to know the present and invent the future. – bell hooks’ – The Oppositional Gaze, in Black Looks: Race and Representation
The personal is always political, and the films in the programme explore ideas of liberation in both intimate and collective forms, from afro-futurism to landmark works of decolonial cinema and contemporary artist filmmakers pushing the boundaries of experimental filmmaking. The films in the programme feature films from artists and filmmakers who expand and reimagine the possibilities of cinema across the Black Atlantic.”
Want to be the first to hear about South by South 2026? Sign up to our mailing list.
ABOUT A MONTH OF SINGLE FRAMES
A Month of Single Frames is a film collective dedicated to bringing artists’ moving image into conversation through film programming, an annual journal and artist moving image production.
Taking its name from Lynne Sachs and Barbara Hammer’s collaborative film, the nature of our programming reflects their ethos as filmmakers by screening artists’ works together for double-bill screenings, exploring a range of contemporary social, political, and environmental themes. We aim to introduce artists’ moving image and experimental cinema to audiences who may not have encountered work of this kind before. By pairing films, one short with one midlength/feature, we aim to draw out connections between the works and bring the artists into dialogue with one another, highlighting the and inherently collective nature of artist filmmaking.
A Month of Single Frames is committed to expanding access to artists’ moving image and experimental cinema, introducing this work to audiences who may not yet have encountered it.
The collective is led by Ufuoma Essi, Sam Williams, and Tendai Mutambu. South by South will be curated by Ufuoma Essi.
ABOUT UFUOMA ESSI
Ufuoma Essi is an artist and filmmaker born and based in South East London.