Lagos will host seven days of African cinema, industry meetings and professional training when the 15th Africa International Film Festival opens on 1 November, bringing 130 films and a stronger focus on women’s stories, creative technology and the business structures needed to move African productions from the screen into wider markets.
AFRIFF 2026 will run from 1 to 7 November under the theme “Frames of the Future: Africa’s Creative Intelligence”. The newly unveiled programme combines screenings with ten masterclasses, an artificial-intelligence filmmaking lab, international exchanges and the second Africa Film and Content Market.
The festival will open with Lady, the feature debut of Nigerian filmmaker Olive Nwosu. Set in Lagos, the film follows a young female taxi driver who begins transporting a group of sex workers on their nightly rounds and discovers that one of the women is a childhood friend.
The story uses that encounter to explore friendship, memory, prejudice and the choices available to women navigating a demanding city. Its cast includes Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah, Amanda Oruh, Tinuade Jemiseye, Precious Agu Eke, Fadesaye Olateru-Olabegi, Eva Ibiam, Seun Kuti and Bucci Franklin.
Lady arrives in Lagos after appearances at Sundance, the Berlin International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. Its AFRIFF presentation is described as the film’s first publicly documented festival outing on the African continent.
A closing film rooted in the diaspora
The closing-night film will be It’s the Blackness, the feature directorial debut of British-Nigerian actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim. Written by Dapo Oshiyemi, the black comedy-drama follows friends Eniola and Jordan as they confront unemployment, relationships, family pressure, immigration and the search for opportunity.
The closing choice broadens the festival’s lens from Lagos to the African diaspora while retaining questions that resonate across both settings: ambition, belonging, friendship and the difficulty of building a future when economic and social systems create barriers.
The wider selection includes feature films, documentaries, shorts and other cinematic forms from across Africa and the international film community. AFRIFF organisers say 85 per cent of the feature films were directed or produced by women, or have stories centred on women.
That emphasis is visible in a programme containing female-centred coming-of-age stories and films in which women are presented as active, complicated characters rather than decorative figures. It gives the festival an opportunity to examine not only how African stories are distributed, but also who controls the point of view from which those stories are told.
Global guests and special presentations
American actress Danielle Brooks features in a special presentation of Walter Thompson-Hernández’s If I Go Will They Miss Me, while actor Djimon Hounsou, AFRIFF’s guest of honour, will present the short film Calabash.
Other special presentations include Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, presented with the Norwegian Embassy, and Marco Bellocchio’s The Traitor, presented by the Italian Embassy. Nigerian short-form work includes Kaelo Iyizoba’s The Spectacular Death of Prisca and A Tray of Locust Beans from Joke Silva’s Lufodo Productions.
The programme also extends beyond screenings. AFRIFF says ten masterclasses and workshops will feature practitioners including Richard Mofe-Damijo, Femi Adebayo and creative director Obinna Okerekeocha. Registration is required, although the sessions are listed as free.
A separate artificial-intelligence filmmaking and content laboratory is scheduled for 6 November. It will be hosted by Toyosi Akerele of Rise Interactive Studios in collaboration with TikTok, placing the practical and ethical questions surrounding AI within a festival built around the future of African storytelling.
Where films meet finance
The Africa Film and Content Market will run from 2 to 5 November at Twinwaters in Lekki. It is designed to connect producers with investors, broadcasters, distributors, buyers and streaming platforms through meetings, industry sessions, investment discussions and co-production opportunities.
Festival founder Chioma Ude said African creators need more than visibility. The market, she explained, is intended to help them gain access to capital, buyers, partners and distribution channels that can sustain creative work as a business.
Delegations are expected from more than ten countries, including Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Sweden, France, Oman, the United States and Canada. Companies listed for the market include MTN, Dentsu, CNN, Filmhouse Group and Lamart.
That commercial layer matters because a film festival can generate attention without necessarily solving the harder problems of financing, licensing and reaching audiences. A structured market gives filmmakers a place to test projects, meet decision-makers and pursue relationships that can continue after the closing gala.
Access and planning
The latest programme announcement says the Obi Adada Foundation has covered screening-ticket costs, allowing festival-goers to attend screenings free of charge. Registration and availability requirements still apply, and visitors should consult AFRIFF’s official website for current tickets, venues and the detailed screening schedule.
The festival’s Globe Awards will take place on the final day, 7 November. Last year’s winners included Nwamaka Chikezie’s To Adaego With Love for Best Feature Film and Brenda Garuba for the film’s screenplay, while Zoey Martinson won Best Director for The Fisherman.
For audiences, AFRIFF 2026 offers a concentrated guide to new African and diasporic cinema. For filmmakers, its larger test will be whether the conversations around finance, technology and international exchange produce durable opportunities beyond festival week.
Readers planning to attend should register through AFRIFF’s official channels, check each event’s access conditions and return to Podium News for continuing coverage of Nigerian and African cinema.
