To Adaego With Love has won the overall Best Film prize at the 2026 Africa Films for Impact Festival in Abuja, adding a new set of honours to the Nigerian historical romance.
The film received the Jury’s Choice award after opening the festival at Silverbird Cinemas. The fifth edition ran from 28 to 30 October under the theme “Reimagine Africa: Storytelling for Transformation”.
According to the Nigerian Television Authority’s report of the results, its other awards included Best Cinematography, Best Film in the narrative category, and recognition for its treatment of democracy, accountability and anti-corruption.
It also won Best Film on Peace, Security and Counterterrorism. Chisom Agoawuike received Best Female Actor, Adam Garba won Best Male Actor, and writer and producer Brenda Ogbukaa-Garuba was recognised for the screenplay.
The Abuja honours follow the film’s earlier Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay wins at the 2025 Africa International Film Festival. That festival, known as AFRIFF, is a separate event from the Abuja festival.
Directed by Nwamaka Chikezie, To Adaego With Love is set in 1975, five years after the Nigerian Civil War. Its central relationship brings together Adaego, an Igbo mathematics teacher, and Major Balarabe Alkali, a Hausa army officer working in Enugu.
Adaego takes a teaching post at a military school despite her family’s opposition. The officer’s assignment involves rebuilding relations between the military and the local community, while their growing relationship faces resistance shaped by family loyalties and the war’s aftermath.
The cast also includes Chioma Chukwuka, Bob Manuel Udokwu, Riyo David, Demi Banwo and Six Foot Plus. Udokwu plays Adaego’s father, while the late singer and actress Onyeka Onwenu appears as her grandmother. Tribe Nation Theatrical Distribution describes the role as Onwenu’s final screen appearance.
The distributor partnered with Trino Motion Pictures for the film’s theatrical release. A Lagos premiere took place at Alliance Française, Ikoyi, on 1 February, ahead of its announced nationwide cinema opening on 6 February.
The production was Chikezie’s feature directing debut. In a September interview with The Nollywood Reporter, she described recreating post-war Nigeria as a substantial challenge, requiring preparation and collaboration across the production team.
She had already won Best Feature Film Director and Best First-Time Director at the 2026 Directors Guild of Nigeria Awards. She told the publication that recognition from fellow directors was particularly significant because they understood the work involved in making a feature.
“I am drawn to stories that feel personal but speak to something bigger,” Chikezie said in that interview.
Before making the feature, she worked as an assistant director and script supervisor. Her short film My Mama Na Ashawo was nominated at AFRIFF in 2022 and subsequently won Audience Choice and juvenile performance honours at the Accra Indie FilmFest in 2023.
Chikezie also used the interview to call for greater trust and access for women directing films, including opportunities to lead larger productions and work with bigger budgets.
Tribe Nation’s catalogue lists To Adaego With Love as a 129-minute Nigerian romance presented in English and Igbo.
Image: Chisom Agoawuike and Adam Garba in a production still from To Adaego With Love, supplied through Tribe Nation Theatrical Distribution. Photograph predates the Abuja awards.
