Film Africa 2026 Returns to Celebrate African Cinema and Female Filmmakers
Featuring powerful stories from across the continent, Film Africa returns from 23 October to 1 November 2026, celebrating African storytelling with screenings, filmmaker conversations and a major symposium on women in cinema.
Film Africa is returning for its 13th edition, bringing new voices, established filmmakers and essential works from across Africa and its diasporas to audiences in London and beyond. This year puts a strong focus on the women shaping African cinema, from an exciting new generation of directors attracting international attention to the pioneers whose work helped make that generation possible.
This year’s festival also marks the 125th anniversary of the Royal African Society, which was founded in 1901 and presents Film Africa 2026 as the anniversary edition of its annual celebration of African cinema.
Opening and closing at BFI Southbank, the festival offers contemporary features, documentaries and shorts, complemented by special retrospectives and conversations exploring the histories, experiences and creative possibilities of African cinema.
Screenings and events will also take place at the Rio Cinema, The Lexi Cinema, Ebonylife Cinema, Ciné Lumière and Riverside Studios in London, as well as Watershed in Bristol, Utopia Cinema in Sheffield and Plymouth Arts Cinema.
Opening Night: BEN’IMANA
Film Africa opens at BFI Southbank on 23 October with Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo’s BEN’IMANA, a powerful Rwandan drama exploring justice, reconciliation, memory and the complex process of rebuilding lives after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Set in Rwanda in 2012, the story follows Vénéranda, a survivor who helps facilitate dialogue between victims and the families of perpetrators. When she discovers that her daughter is unexpectedly pregnant, her commitment to reconciliation is profoundly tested, forcing her to confront the limits and contradictions of her own convictions.
BEN’IMANA won the Caméra d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, with Dusabejambo becoming the first Rwandan director to premiere a film in the Cannes Official Selection. Its place on opening night reflects Film Africa’s commitment to films that confront difficult histories while offering new perspectives on Africa and its contemporary realities.
Closing Night: Celebrating sisterhood in Lagos with LADY
On 1 November, the festival returns to BFI Southbank for its closing film, Olive Nwosu’s LADY: a vibrant, emotionally resonant portrait of female friendship, solidarity and survival in contemporary Lagos.
At its centre is an independent young cab driver whose encounter with a collective of sex workers introduces her to a new unexplored world. Against the restless backdrop of the city, exuberance and freedom collide with violence and social exclusion, as the women build a fragile sanctuary through humour, tenderness and resilience.
Through their relationships, Nwosu explores belonging, self-possession and liberation, capturing both the energy and contradictions of Lagos. Born in the city and now based in London, the award-winning screenwriter and director represents an important new voice in contemporary African cinema.
TWENDE: African Women and Cinema
Another highlight of this year’s programme is TWENDE: African Women and Cinema, a symposium at BFI Southbank on 24 October.
Taking its name from the Swahili phrase meaning “let us go”, TWENDE brings together filmmakers, producers, scholars, critics and other leading practitioners to explore the evolving contribution of African women to cinema, both in front of and behind the camera.
The talks will cover authorship, production, representation, film history, preservation and the future of African women’s cinema. The symposium will connect generations, recognising pioneering filmmakers whose contributions have too often been overlooked while celebrating the new generation reshaping the industry.
Conceived as both a reflection on the past and a conversation about what comes next, TWENDE forms part of the festival’s wider commitment to making African cinema a space for dialogue, discovery, memory and exchange.
Celebrating a Rich Cinematic Heritage
The programme also includes a special screening and conversation at Ciné Lumière celebrating Tunisian filmmaker, critic, historian and scholar Ferid Boughedir.
His pioneering documentaries Caméra d’Afrique and Caméra Arabe remain landmark works in the study of African and Arab cinemas, combining historical documentation with his distinctive critical perspective.
Across the festival, audiences can discover films exploring memory, migration, identity, labour, gender, political history and social change, alongside opportunities to hear from filmmakers themselves.
With work spanning different generations, countries, languages and cinematic traditions, the programme reaffirms Film Africa’s role as a vital platform for African filmmaking in the UK. From the questions of memory and reconciliation in BEN’IMANA to the solidarity and resilience of LADY, African filmmakers and their distinctive perspectives take centre stage.
Stella Okuzu FRSA, CEO and Director of the Royal African Society, says: “This year’s edition of Film Africa is where the past, present and future of African cinema meet. Through an extraordinary collection of films and archival material, carefully curated by our curator Keith Shiri and his team, we are celebrating Africa’s cinematic heritage while shining a spotlight on the bold, diverse and exciting future of African storytelling.”
Film Africa 2026 runs from 23 October to 1 November 2026. Further programme announcements, screening times, filmmaker appearances and ticket information will be announced shortly.
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