The Kigali Cine Junction Film Festival returns for its fourth edition from 22nd–26th July, 2026, with five days of film screenings and other industry activities.
By Adedamola Jones Adedayo
The Kigali Cine Junction Film Festival, a Rwanda-based event dedicated to positioning Kigali as a major hub for African cinema, returns for its fourth edition from 22nd to 26th July, 2026, with five days of film screenings and other industry activities.
The festival opens with a performance by Le Kartier, followed by a screening of Kwibuka (2025), directed by Belgian-Rwandan filmmaker Jonas D’Adesky. The film, which premiered at the Red Sea International Film Festival, explores the lasting impact of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Day two features The Blind Couple From Mali (2025), a Canadian documentary by Ryan Marley, and JuJu Stories (2021), the acclaimed anthology by Nigeria’s S16 Collective, directed by Michael Omonua, C.J. “Fiery” Obasi and Abba T. Makama. The Blind Couple From Mali follows legendary Malian musicians Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia as they reunite to record what is expected to be their final studio album. JuJu Stories, which premiered in the Open Doors section of the 2021 Locarno Film Festival, adapts contemporary Nigerian urban legends into three interconnected supernatural tales.
The third day’s programme includes Kubana (2026), directed by Jessica Alunaya; Yakari: La Grande Aventure (2020), directed by Toby Genkel and Xavier Giacometti; and BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (2025), directed by Kahlil Joseph, Nancy Agasaro, and Bella Rushingabigwi. Yakari: La Grande Aventure is based on the popular Franco-Belgian comic series Yakari, and has screened at festivals like Shanghai International Film Festival (China) and Kids Kino International Film Festival (Poland). Premiering at both Sundance and the Berlin International Film Festival, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions follows a journalist investigating a missing woman, leading him into an exploration of Black history, memory, culture and the future.
On day four, the festival presents a programme of short films from Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Canada, directed by filmmakers Serge Girishya, Tevin Kimathi, Tusabe Ivan, Ganza Moise and Will Niava. Feature screenings for the day include Memory of Princess Mumbi (2025), directed by Damien Hauser; and How To Build A Library (2025), directed by Christopher King and Maia Lekow. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, How To Build A Library follows two Kenyan women working to revive Nairobi’s historic McMillan Memorial Library. Memory of Princess Mumbi, which screened at the Venice International Film Festival, centres on a young filmmaker documenting life in a futuristic African nation rebuilding after a devastating war that led to the ban of advanced technology.
The festival concludes with The Kids Are Okay (2024), directed by Abba T. Makama; and Saloum (2021), directed by Jean Luc Herbulot. The Kids Are Okay is a coming-of-age drama about young Nigerians navigating friendship, identity, and belonging; while Saloum, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Red Sea International Film Festival, follows three mercenaries from Senegal’s Saloum Delta who are forced to confront their violent past as supernatural forces seek revenge.
Festival activities will take place across different venues in Kigali, including Cine Mayaka by IMITANA, the first and oldest standing cinema theatre in Rwanda; Imbuga City Walk, a car-free zone turned ‘recreational and green space’ in the city’s central business district; and L*Espace, a centre providing space for local and regional creative artists.