With the addition of the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight programme, African cinema maintains an evolving presence across key and subordinate sections of the global festival circuit.
By Adedamola Jones Adedayo
Three African filmmakers have been selected for the 2026 edition of the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes), the prestigious independent sidebar held in parallel with the Cannes Film Festival. The selection features 28 films, comprising 19 features and 9 shorts, and includes works by Moroccan, Nigerian, and Sudanese directors, which reinforces the continent’s growing presence on the global film stage.
Among the selected filmmakers is French-Moroccan director Saïd Hamich Benlarb, whose documentary short In Search of the Grey Bird with Green Stripes marks his return to Cannes following Across the Sea (2024), which premiered in the Cannes Critics’ Week section and received a Queer Palm nomination.
In addition to his directing work, Benlarb is noted for producing Walid Mattar’s Northern Wind (2017), showcased in France and at the Carthage Film Festival, as well as Kamal Lazraq’s Hounds (2023), which premiered in the Un Certain Regard programme at Cannes.
Representing Nigeria are brothers Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri with their feature film Clarissa, a contemporary reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s 20th-century novel Mrs Dalloway. The film explores themes of longing and romance through a narrative that weaves present-day encounters with childhood memories.
The cast includes Sophie Okonedo, Ayo Edebiri, and India Amarteifio. Produced by CANEX Creations Inc. in collaboration with Neon, Clarissa builds on the Esiri brothers’ international acclaim following Eyimofe: This Is My Desire (2020), which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and later screened at the BFI London Film Festival.
Cairo-trained Sudanese director Ibrahim Omar is also featured in the lineup with his short film Nothing Happens After Your Absence (2024), a story about grief, loss and the conflict between human dignity and institutionalised indifference. It follows a grieving father’s desperate search for a final resting place for a child, leading to a surprise discovery.
The 12-minute drama had its world premiere at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Germany, in 2024, where it won the Prize of the Jury of the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia. It subsequently screened at the Cairo International Film Festival 2024 and the Carthage Film Festival 2024, where it took the Golden Tanit (Short Film) prize.
The latest development with Cannes follows a major unveiling of official selections, which also includes three African productions. With the addition of the Directors’ Fortnight programme, African cinema maintains an evolving presence across key and subordinate sections of the global festival circuit.