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New currents in narrative forms are the special focus of the London African Film Festival 2009. We are showcasing debuts by a wide range of dynamic, young film-making talent and the most creative of TV/film practitioners to celebrate the energy that young Africans from all corners of the continent have brought to drama as they embrace the digital age. Digital technology is having a huge impact on African cinema. The poorest continent to produce compelling films. Film and video have become one of the success stories with Nigeria leading the way with its Home Video Cinema. Other countries are following the Nigerian model with spectacular results. The festival launches with screening of a selection of feature films and documentaries including the UK Premi�re of Tariq Teguia�s INLAND, Abakar Chene Massar�s CAPTAIN MAJID, a film that is a metaphor of the disenchanted youth in Chad and the Ethiopian director Nega Tariku�s film that offers us ADERA, a story of an Ethiopian refugee�s struggle to survive in Johannesburg. A selection of the best of AMAA (the African Movie Academy Awards) that include the Nigerian documentary filmmaker Sani Elhadj Magori�s seminal documentary FOR THE BEST AND FOR THE ONION, about one man�s determination to get the best onion harvest in order to marry the love of his life, Wanuri Kahui�s FROM A WHISPER, a superb drama based on the bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998. Central to the festival is a major conference entitled Producing and Distributing African Film in the Digital Era that will take place on Sunday 29 November in partnership with the University of Westminster Africa Media Centre (AMC) and in association with the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) and Communication Research in Arts and Media (CREAM). This one-day interdisciplinary conference has invited academics, film and video producers, policy makers, film distributors, Africa specialists, and development practitioners to debate the role and future of African film and video.