3 weeks ago
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The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) announces Sugar Island, directed by Johanne Gómez Terrero, as the recipient of the 2025 Public Award for Best Film Directed by a Woman of Color. The award was determined by audience vote during the 33rd annual ADIFF NY held from November 28 to December 14, 2025.
Sugar Island follows Makenya, a Dominican-Haitian teenager living in a Batey (sugarcane fields) who confronts pregnancy, labor, and colonial memory as a mysterious theater troupe ushers her into a lyrical, Afrofuturist reckoning with identity and survival. Directed by Johanne Gómez Terrero, one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Afro-Caribbean cinema, the film blends social realism with performance, ritual, and speculative imagery to explore labor exploitation, anti-Haitian racism, reproductive autonomy, and inherited colonial trauma.
The film had its New York Premiere at ADIFF NY 2025, where it generated strong audience engagement and emerged as the top-voted title in a highly competitive category. The Public Award reflects both its artistic ambition and its resonance with audiences engaged in conversations on issues of Caribbean history, migration, youth agency, and women’s rights.
The runner-up for the award was The Last Meal, directed by Maryse Legagneur, an intimate drama about a dying father and his estranged daughter reconnecting through food and memory, confronting buried trauma and the emotional legacy of Haitian family history.
The 2025 Public Award for Best Film Directed by a Woman of Color featured five feature-length films selected to premiere in New York during ADIFF.
The films in competition were:
• Sugar Island– A Dominican-Haitian teenager confronts pregnancy, labor, and colonial legacy through a poetic blend of realism and Afrofuturist imagination.
• The Last Meal – A father and daughter reconnect at the end of life through food, memory, and unresolved family wounds.
• Village Keeper – A recently widowed mother struggles with grief and burnout as she learns to reclaim her strength and protect her children.
• Brides – Two teenage best friends on a long-awaited trip confront diverging futures and questions of belonging.
• Black Women and Sex – Women from across Africa share deeply personal testimonies that challenge patriarchy, sexual taboos, and the policing of Black female bodies.
“At ADIFF, we are committed to highlighting filmmakers who push artistic boundaries while engaging deeply with the lived realities of people of African descent,” said ADIFF Co-Director Dr. Reinaldo B. Spech. “The audience response toSugar Islandconfirms the importance of cinema that is both politically grounded, artistically creative and formally daring.”
The 33rd edition of ADIFF NYC presented over 70 films from more than 30 countries, including over 30 New York and U.S. premieres, with screenings held at Teachers College, Columbia University and Cinema Village.
ADIFF will continue the celebration of films and talent during the Best of ADIFF, a curated encore series taking place January 16–18, 2026, at Teachers College, Columbia University, featuring audience favorites and award-winning films from ADIFF NY 2025.
English (US) ·