Dikalo Awards 2026: Nigerian film "Kakanda" by Toka Mcbaror crowned best feature film in Cannes
The Cannes International Panafrican Film Festival (FIFP) unveiled the winners of its 2026 Dikalo Awards, published on October 26, 2026, on the festival's website, the day after the closing ceremony of its 23rd edition. The award for best feature fiction film went to "Kakanda," by Nigerian director Toka Mcbaror.
The film walked away with two awards: its lead actress, Nigerian Mairama Amina Shehu, was named best female performer. The award for best actor went to Nigerian Wale Ojo for "Lights Out," by Cameroonian director Enah Johnscott.
Documentaries reward Congo and Madagascar
In the documentary category, the best feature film is "Of Mud and Blood," by Jean-Gabriel Leynaud, a Congo-France co-production. The best short documentary is "Madagascar: What is left of me here?," by Darcy Andriamendrikaindrindra, co-produced between Belgium and Madagascar. The award for best short fiction film went to "Till Death," by Yana Bille-Chung, in the United States.
The 23rd edition was held from October 21 to 25, 2026, at the Espace Miramar in Cannes, organized by the Nord Sud Développement association, with a gala dinner at the Hotel Martinez on October 24 and an evening dedicated to kompa on October 23. More than fifty films were scheduled, according to Mondafrique, which notably cited documentaries on Moroccan hammams and Gnawa trance, as well as Malagasy Hira Gasy.
A list of winners that shows where recognition is played out
The results confirm two things. First, the weight of Nigerian cinema, which places a feature film, an actress, and an actor at the top of a Panafrican list of winners, at a time when Nollywood is pushing its films toward festivals as much as toward theaters. Second, the space taken by auteur documentaries on Central Africa and the Indian Ocean, two regions often absent from international screens.
One fact remains that the list of winners does not state: these accolades still largely take place off the continent. The Dikalo Awards are presented in France, like a good portion of the events that shape the international careers of African filmmakers. Festivals on the continent—from Ouagadougou to Carthage, from Nairobi to Kilifi—are fighting to hold this role with budgets that are incomparable. The films, however, are indeed made in Africa.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.
