All African Independent Film Festival 2026 runs from Thursday 15th to Saturday 17th October, 2026.
By Adedamola Jones Adedayo
The All African Independent Film Festival (AAIFF) returns for its 2026 edition, with a slate of African films set to screen over three days at the French Institute Français du Rwanda in Kigali, Rwanda. The festival will showcase independent filmmakers from across the continent, providing a platform for their work to reach wider audiences. This year’s official selection features films competing across seven categories, including feature films, short films, animations, music videos, and student films.
The festival will open with a special screening featuring Okola, a short drama directed by Nigerian filmmaker Paul Oluseyi Lasisi. The film follows a young woman haunted by a mysterious scar on her skin that has shaped her troubled life. Determined to uncover its origins, she embarks on a journey to discover the truth and fulfil her true destiny.
Also for showcase on the same day are Congolese filmmaker Botembe Moseka Maïté’s Basobi, an exploration of memory, land connection and exploitation, showing how histories reflect through human bodies and the soil; South African filmmaker Loyiso Paul Pududu’s Silent Grief, the story of a 16-year-old boy that is unable to mourn his mother and becomes emotionally distant from his alcoholic father; Ghanaian filmmaker Edmund Tetteh Agorhom’s The City of God Beneath the River, which examines the impact of rapid urbanisation, poverty and environmental pollution in Ghana, particularly around Agbogbloshie, the Odaw River and Korle Lagoon; and Tunisian filmmaker Omar Garby’s Hāl.
Film screenings on the second day will commence with Nigerian filmmaker Toka Mcbaror’s The Creek (2026), a feature drama that follows an ex-marine’s return to the Niger Delta where he is abducted by rival militants along the creeks. Determined to survive, he finds himself navigating betrayal, violence and a perilous rescue mission in a conflict-prone region.
Other screenings scheduled for the day are Nigerian filmmaker Stella Damasus’s Nnéọma, a short drama navigating love, redemption and sacrifice; as well as Ugandan documentary Now We Know, directed by Maurice Kirya; and Malawian social justice documentary Grassroots to Greatness, directed by Dirk Zekveld.
The final day’s screenings will spotlight the Kenyan documentary Kikuyu Land (2026), directed by Andrew H. Brown and Bea Wangondu, the story of a man whose fight to reclaim his family’s stolen land leads to the revelation of buried secrets and histories, and colonial legacy.
Additional films set to be showcased include Senegalese short drama At Sea, Without Support, directed by Ivere Hounkpatin, which follows a young man setting out on a pirogue as his parents watch helplessly; Moroccan student film With the Wind (2025), directed by Ines Lehaire, which tells that story of an aging florist setting out to give away his remaining flowers as he prepares to close his shop; Nigerian student film Say Yes, directed by Temilade Agboola; and the Liberia-Faroe Islands documentary co-production Barclay de Spiderman, directed by Rakul Ró Steintórsdóttir. Lasisi’s Okola will also screen for a second time.
Apart from the overall screening schedule, AAIFF 2026 will involve professional masterclasses and Q & A sessions with directors-in-competition, geared towards fostering direct engagement between filmmakers and the audience.
“Our mission is to embolden Africa’s greatest creative story-tellers and further the careers and artistic paths of Africa’s bold and visionary independent filmmakers,” Scott Hillier, President and Founder of AAIFF Africa, reportedly said. “We are committed to AAIFF Africa playing a vital role on the Global film festival circuit.”
AAIFF 2026 runs from Thursday 15th to Saturday 17th October, 2026. The complete cinema programme is available on the official website.