It wasn’t just another day in October. It was the day when both the town and gown gathered to experience something very historical and mind-grabbing. The Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti Harvard Screening at the Africa Alive! Event brought about this ecstatic moment.

Held from October 11 to 13, 2024, Africa Alive! 2024 was preceded by the Funmilayo Ransome‑Kuti Harvard screening on October 10 as a “special event.” The event brought together African alumni, students, and other distinguished guests, leading to conversations about the continent’s challenges and future.

Bolanle Austen-Peters, the director and producer of the film, expressed her excitement about the screening. “We are thrilled to announce that the film has been invited to be screened at Africa Alive! 2024,” she said.

This biopic, which has been hailed as the “all-time highest-grossing biopic in West Africa,” brings to life the story of one of Nigeria’s most influential female figures, “Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti”. It starred Kehinde Bankole, Joke Silva, Iyimide Ayo-Olumoko, Adunni Ade, Ibrahim Suleiman, among others.

The Africa Alive! Summit also featured various individuals from different walks of life including Mariama Wurie, a consultant and film producer, Tano Aka, an economist at the World Bank Group, as well as Patrick Katembwe, Minister of Communication and Media in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Audu Maikori, co-founder and CEO of Chocolate City Group and Pixel Ray Studios.

According to the organisers, Africa Alive! represents a pioneering vision for reengaging with the dynamic, Africa-centered work done by Harvard’s alumni, faculty, and students, renewing expectations about Africa’s relevance and rising in the technologically mediated global economy, reclaiming prospects for deeper and fruitful connections across Harvard networks that share a commitment to Africa’s flourishing, and revitalizing Harvard’s stake in it.

The film’s presence on a global stage like Harvard University highlights the importance of telling African stories and the contributions made by African women to societal development.