Africatown’s Spirit of Our Ancestors festival returns for its fifth year with an expanded slate of activities that includes a film festival for the first time, as well as an expanded version of the play “An Ocean in My Bones.”

This edition of the event, presented by the Clotilda Descendants Association, follows a year in which national and even international awareness of the community’s unique history grew by leaps and bounds. In spring 2022, the World Monuments Fund put Africatown, founded by survivors of the slave ship Clotilda’s final voyage, on its list of “25 of the world’s most significant heritage sites in need of immediate attention.”

Last year also saw the release of “Descendant,” an award-winning documentary that tells the story the Clotilda and of the ongoing struggle of survivors’ descendants to preserve a legacy threatened by industrial encroachment and other threats. Released on Netflix, with high-profile backers including Barack and Michelle Obama and musician Questlove, the film made the Oscar shortlist for best documentary, though it was not selected as one of the final nominees.

Upcoming festival events:

Wednesday, Feb. 1: The Spirit of Our Ancestors Film Festival presents the third of three nights of programming at the A.J. Cooper Municipal Complex in Prichard. On Monday and Tuesday the film festival presented half a dozen short films and TV features related to Africatown. On Wednesday it will present “Descendant” followed by a Q&A panel discussion. The event is free to the public and runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 2: “Descendant” will be screened at the Ben May Main Library in Mobile. The 5:30 p.m. screening will be followed by a Q&A panel discussion.

Friday, Feb. 3: “Descendant” will be screened at the Toulminville Branch of the Mobile Public Library at 12:30. The screening will be followed by a Q&A panel.

Friday, Feb. 3: A new statue, “Memory Keeper” by Charles Smith and Frank Ledbetter, will be dedicated at 3:30 p.m. in the Memorial Garden of the Africatown Heritage House at 2465 Wimbush St. in Mobile.

Saturday, Feb. 4: The festival’s main event opens at noon in the gymnasium at Mobile County Training School, 800 Whitley St., with a keynote address by Joy G. Kinard, superintendent of Alabama’s Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site and the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. The Clotilda Descendants Association with University of South Alabama professor Kern Jackson and USA students, will offer oral interviews to collect family and Africatown histories from descendants of Clotilda Africans, Africatown residents and others interested in participating. Planned activities include a libation ceremony, and a variety of community organizations will be on hand to provide information about their programs and services.

A newly expanded version of the drama “An Ocean in My Bones,” by playwright Terrence Spivey, will be presented at 2 p.m. An early 45-minute version of the production, which features local actors, was presented at the 2022 festival. According to organizers, additional scenes and characters have expanded the work to over an hour. The presentation is free, but according to organizers all available seats have been claimed.

Sunday, Feb. 5: The festival again opens at noon at Mobile County Training School for a community gathering. “An Ocean in My Bones” will be presented at 2 p.m. The presentation is free, but according to organizers all available seats have been claimed.

For information and updates, visit theclotildastory.com or https://www.facebook.com/directdescendantsAT.