The second AFRIFF Film and Content Market is scheduled to begin in Lekki, Lagos, on Monday, 2 November 2026, bringing film producers, distributors, investors and international buyers together for four days of industry meetings. The market runs until Thursday, 5 November, alongside the fifteenth Africa International Film Festival, which is taking place across Lagos from 1 to 7 November.
Organisers have designated Twinwaters in Lekki as the venue for the industry programme. Unlike the festival’s public film screenings, access to the market is restricted to accredited professionals, with separate registration and badge arrangements for producers, companies, buyers and other delegates.
The market is designed around practical business activity, including scheduled meetings between buyers and sellers, film and television rights discussions, co-production opportunities, financing conversations and presentations by participating companies. Its organisers say the programme is intended to help African screen businesses reach partners beyond their home markets.
According to the official market website, the second edition has attracted interest from delegations associated with countries including South Africa, Namibia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the United States, the United Kingdom and Oman. The organisers advertise a target of 1,500 participants and have invited 200 companies, but those are planning figures rather than a verified attendance count.
The 2026 market follows an inaugural edition in November 2025, which the organisers say drew more than 700 participants from over 40 countries. That first gathering established the market as a commercial counterpart to AFRIFF’s screenings and awards programme, with a focus on turning creative projects into production and distribution partnerships.
This year’s programme includes an Africa and Nollywood focus, film and television acquisition sessions, discussions on innovation and production technology, and meetings around content formats and intellectual property. The market has also promoted investment roundtables and structured appointments intended to bring producers into direct contact with financiers and commissioning executives.
For filmmakers, the business questions are immediate. Financing a feature, securing a distribution agreement, licensing a series or finding a co-production partner can determine whether a completed script reaches the screen. The market is seeking to create a setting in which those negotiations can begin with relevant decision-makers present.
AFRIFF’s wider festival is running under the theme ‘Frames of the Future: Africa’s Creative Intelligence’. Its programme includes screenings, discussions and professional training in Lagos. The festival opened its scheduled week on Sunday, 1 November, with Olive Nwosu’s feature film ‘Lady’ selected for the opening gala, while the Globe Awards are scheduled for Saturday, 7 November.
Among the festival’s announced training activities are masterclasses and workshops involving film professionals such as Richard Mofe-Damijo and Femi Adebayo. Organisers describe these sessions as free upon registration, although access depends on available places and the conditions attached to each session. They should not be confused with the separately accredited industry market.
The market’s own Producers Lab is scheduled for 2 to 5 November at Twinwaters. The training initiative has been promoted as a practical programme for developing professional capacity and helping selected participants navigate the production business. Its application deadline fell in October, before the market opened.
The presence of international buyers and companies is relevant to Nigerian producers seeking distribution outside domestic cinemas. Nollywood has built a substantial audience across Africa and the diaspora, but access to finance, rights management, reliable sales channels and cross-border partnerships remains important to the industry’s commercial development.
The market is also taking place at a time when film production and distribution are being affected by changing viewing habits and new technology. Its innovation sessions include discussions about production tools, artificial intelligence and the infrastructure needed to deliver screen content to different platforms.
AFRIFF was established by Chioma Ude and has developed into a recurring meeting point for African filmmakers and audiences. The market adds a trade component to the festival’s cultural programme, placing deal-making and industry development alongside the films being screened during the week.
Market access, programme updates and delegate information are available through the official AFRIFF Film and Content Market website. The festival website carries separate information about screenings, workshops and the 7 November awards ceremony.
Photo credit: Archival photograph of a panel at the 2025 AFRIFF Film and Content Market, published by Pulse Nigeria. This is not a photograph of the 2026 market.
