AFRIFF: 135 films in Lagos from November 1st to 7th, 2026, with 85% led by women

The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) celebrates its fifteenth anniversary in Lagos from November 1st to 7th, 2026, with 135 films announced, including 23 feature films. Organizers are highlighting a key statistic: 85% of the selected works are directed by women, produced by women, or focused on women, according to The Guardian Nigeria, which reported on the festival's press conference held at the Mikano showroom on Victoria Island on October 17, 2026.

The opening film is "Lady," the debut feature by Nigerian filmmaker Olive Nwosu. It follows a young Lagos taxi driver who transports sex workers at night, including a childhood friend she had not seen for years. The closing film is "It's the Blackness," the directorial debut of actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim, produced by Dapo Oshiyemi, reports the Nigerian daily ThisDay.

"Frames of the Future"

The theme of this 15th edition, "Frames of the Future," is presented differently depending on the source: "Capturing What's Next, Today" according to The Guardian Nigeria, and "Africa's Creative Intelligence" according to ThisDay. The program centers on technology, collaboration, and artificial intelligence, featuring masterclasses, professional networking sessions, and two workshops—one on globalization and intellectual property policies, and another on the tools themselves.

The issue of intellectual property is the crux of the matter for African creators: without solid contracts or rights protection, a film that circulates globally may generate no revenue for those who made it. The festival has dedicated an entire workshop to this subject.

A market as much as a festival

The Africa Film & Content Market (AFCM), the festival's professional component, will be held from November 2nd to 5th at Twinwaters in Lekki, connecting African directors and producers with international buyers and distributors. According to The Guardian Nigeria, the Sultanate of Oman is sending a ten-person delegation to initiate productions with Nigerians, a three-year contract has been signed with South Africa including a residency program, and Brazil is contributing two co-produced films.

The founder of AFRIFF and AFCM, Chioma Ude, believes that African cinema is entering "an exciting new chapter," driven by storytelling and more, according to ThisDay. Remarks from the Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, were read by Shaibu Husseini, Director General of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB). The Consuls General of Brazil, France, and the United States were in attendance at the press meeting.

What remains to be seen

The 85% figure is announced by the festival itself and has not been independently verified; the full list of films and the Globe Awards winners will reveal whether this emphasis on female directors is also reflected in the competition selections. Above all, the true measure of a festival-market is not the number of films screened, but the number of films sold: how many of these 135 titles will find a theater, a platform, or a channel to bring them to the public after November 7th?