The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) is an annual hybrid convention of film makers, script writers and cinema enthusiasts created in 2010. The program focuses on highlighting unique and original visual stories from Africa and Africans based in diaspora. Besides film exhibitions, the event, which holds for longer than a day, provides a comfortable atmosphere for scouts, industry leaders, and upcoming talents in the entertainment industry to connect and share ideas. AFRIFF 2024, based on the theme, “Africans for Africa”, simultaneously clocked the initiative’s 10th anniversary and had over 500,000 individuals in attendance. This year, the event held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 2-8 November, with the theme; “Rhythms of the Continent: The Afrobeats Film Movement”.
On the first day of the event, November 2, the opening ceremony held by 5:30 PM at Mikano, Victoria Island, Lagos, while the after party held in the late evening. ‘3 Cold Dishes’, a Pan-African film directed by Asurf Amuwa Oluwaseyi also showed at the opening.
For the next five days, film screenings across several categories occurred, and were viewed by live and online participants after prior registration. The films were judged under certain categories –African and international features, short films, African and international documentaries, animations and student short films. Visuals with Nigerian origin predominated the categories, followed closely by Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The international nominations carried a diverse selection; with African and pan-African movies from the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Morocco, Finland and Austria among others.
In between the film screenings, masterclasses, workshops, panel discussions, presentations, fireside chats and informative sessions about film-making according to country specifications were held.
African Film and Content Market (AFCM), a debut initiative for film sales and marketing that kicked off in this year’s session, was held for three days at Twin Waters, Lagos. It provided a niche platform for film makers, studios, and producers to invest and collaborate in projects on a local and global scale. Participants were required to purchase tickets according to their role in the program. With support from Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism, alongside private entities and foreign instituitions like MTN, Afremix Bank and the Japan Foundation, the program met up with expectations, and provided a lasting memory for all attendees.
Despite the competition witnessed among the well-made nominated films, a winner was chosen from each category and awarded at the Globe Awards, which also doubled as the event’s finale. This year’s jury, led by Tim Mcneal, was made up of a multi-national set of actors and producers including Uche Jombo, Ranada Shepard, Stephen “Dr” Love, Andrea Voges, Jacqueline Lyanga, Kayode Jegede, Ahmed Al-Othman, and Carl Rambaugh.
Some of the winning entries were ‘To Adaego with Love’, a Nigerian film directed by Nwakama Priscilla Chikezie, which, won Best Feature Film from Africa. Zoey Martinson won award for Best Director for The Fisherman, filmed in Ghana. The Day The Heart Died, by Russell Oru (Nigeria) won Best Short Film.
AFRIFF, Chioma Ude’s idea, has placed Nigeria at the center of African cinema, every year for the past decade. The theme and activities carried out this year are a testament to the continent’s potential as a source of striking, authentic stories. The provision of awards and recognition for international acts display homeliness, progressive movement and an extended hand for future collaborations beyond the continent. With 2025’s proceedings, it is clear that Afrobeats has become an embedded part of African art and culture, bearing an unshakeable weight in the film industry. It does make film enthusiasts wonder what AFRIFF 2026 holds in store.
