From a job interview that takes a turn to a stolen girl’s dream, these short films tackle challenges facing women head-on.

A screenshot from Hanaa Mansour’s ‘Bent familia’.

The theme of this year’s Mobile Film Festival is Women’s Empowerment. To mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, here are the six one-minute films from Africa that were part of the festival’s official selection this year. From Algeria to Cameroon, and Nigeria to Kenya, they feature filmmakers making shorts that exhibit humour, bravery and honesty in tackling widespread challenges faced by women across the world.

We will be in touch – Riziki Ambrose (Kenya)

Diana’s job interview seems to be going perfectly… until she stands up.

Mamadou – Adéline Fapowo (Cameroon)

Mamadou is a young teacher newly assigned to the capital. He must immerse himself in his new way of life.

Bent familia – Hanaa Mansour (Algeria)

In the city of Algiers, a young girl sitting in her car takes out a pack of cigarettes. She is suddenly hunted by men from the neighbourhood…

The Bride – Forinclay Ejeh (Nigeria)

Mariam, a fourteen year old rural Nigerian girl dreams of a better life when she grows up by becoming a teacher. But the decision her father made for her would change the course of her life forever.

What do you see? – Edebisi Peters (Nigeria)

This is a narrative film that shows economically disadvantaged women in different parts of Nigeria struggling to survive and feed their families as they have been deprived of early education and stigmatized as inferior.

Woman. No less Human – Chioma Mathias (Nigeria)

This short film tells the story of an average girl going through genital mutilation. This still happens in a lot of underserved countries, and the girls are forced against their will. The goal for them is to remove a part of her that belongs to a man, make her more submissive, especially sexually.