African Film Archive

Black to Techno

2019 — Jenn Nkiru — United Kingdom, United States

short · documentary · new-voices

British-Nigerian director Jenn Nkiru's 20-minute documentary traces techno's roots from Detroit's Black musicians to its role soundtracking the fall of the Berlin Wall, filmed with Detroit DJs performing inside a former auto factory.

Fun fact: Commissioned by Gucci and Frieze, the film features voices including techno originator Juan Atkins and theorist Kodwo Eshun, and is reported to have won a Canal+ Award at Clermont-Ferrand.

Notes: Nkiru is British-Nigerian; the film's subject is the African American origins of Detroit techno rather than continental African cinema, included as a diaspora entry. Downgraded to probable 2026-07-29: the Canal+ Award at Clermont-Ferrand was not independently re-confirmed against an official Clermont-Ferrand results page in this pass.

Verification: probable · Sources: [1] [2] [3]

Poster source: Wikipedia