The Africa Films for Impact Festival has scheduled 20 films for its three-day programme in Abuja from 28 to 30 October. The event at Silverbird Cinema, SEC Abuja, combines screenings, filmmaking workshops and discussions on human rights and social justice.
The organisers have announced free audience registration for the festival, themed Reimagine Africa: Storytelling for Transformation. Their published programme includes narrative features and shorts, documentaries and animation, with question-and-answer sessions planned for selected films.
The films are scheduled for in-person viewing. AFFIF says it cannot provide virtual screenings because the filmmakers have not authorised them, although post-screening conversations will be accessible online.
The closing programme features the planned world premiere of The Quiet, a four-part Nigerian series created by Bright Wonder Obasi and produced by High Definition Film Academy. Its premiere is scheduled for Friday, 30 October, at the same cinema.
ThisDay reported that the screening would begin at 3pm, following a 2pm red-carpet session. A panel discussion is planned afterwards, bringing together participants from the creative industry, government, diplomacy, international development and civil society.
The series centres on the abduction of 67 children and examines insecurity and public responses to repeated tragedies.
Obasi told ThisDay that the project was intended to challenge short-lived public outrage and encourage more sustained engagement. He said the creators hoped to extend its reach through further screenings, university and school engagements, community discussions and institutional partnerships.
“We did not make this film because we believe a film alone can solve Nigeria’s insecurity,” Obasi said.
The festival also includes the grand finale of the European Union Short Film Competition, presented by the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS in partnership with High Definition Film Academy.
The academy’s competition notice provides for 10 finalists to screen their work during AFFIF. It lists prizes of ₦1 million for the best film, ₦500,000 for the first runner-up and ₦300,000 for the second runner-up.
Entries were limited to original films lasting no more than three minutes, including credits. Fiction, documentary and animation were eligible, in English or any Nigerian language, with English subtitles required for other languages. The published rules exclude AI films.
The academy’s submission deadline was 7 October. That entry period has closed; the festival’s current audience-registration route is separate from the competition’s earlier submission process.
For emerging filmmakers, AFFIF has announced a fellowship intended to mentor 15 participants in developing stories about social issues. An actors’ workshop and showcase are also listed, providing training and opportunities to present showreels to producers and directors.
The registration page provides separate links for festival attendance, the fellowship, the actors’ showcase and The Quiet premiere. Audience registration does not itself confirm selection for those professional programmes.
Panel topics listed by the organisers include accountability, human trafficking, gender equity, climate change, health, peace and security, and digital rights. The festival programme also includes networking activities and impact awards.
Audience registration is available through the attendance link on AFFIF’s website. The announced screening venue is Silverbird Cinema, SEC Abuja, rather than the festival office address listed in Gwarinpa.
Archive location photograph: Silverbird Galleria, Abuja, 19 November 2021. OtuNwachinemere / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; not the October 2026 festival or a current screening.
