The 8th edition of the Joburg Film Festival will take place from March 3 to March 8, 2026, in Johannesburg, under the theme “Feel the Frame,” promising “a journey for the senses” for audiences. Over the years, the festival has become a meeting point on the continent for filmmakers, industry stakeholders, and audiences, offering a platform where emerging voices and established filmmakers share the same screen.
This year’s program features 40 fiction features, 18 non-fiction features, and 65 short films representing around 30 countries, with entries open to African and African-diaspora filmmakers. Among the selected titles are several Nigerian and Anglophone West African films, spanning both short and feature-length formats. In addition to screenings, the festival will host panel discussions and Q&A sessions, providing attendees with unique opportunities to engage with filmmakers and celebrate the diversity of African storytelling.
This year’s jury includes South African film producers Cait Pansegrouw and Bongiwe Selane, British producer Keith Shiri, US producer Sia Stewart, Rwandan filmmaker Jan-Willem Breure, and German film curator Dorothee Wenner.
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Service Charge
Tomi Folowosele makes her directorial debut with the short film Service Charge. Recently selected for the Red Sea Series Lab, Folowosele already has writing credits including Ikenna’s Trial, The Yard, Kadara and now Service Charge. Service Charge was produced with backing from Filmmakers Mart and Rollpay through their 2025 competition, which called for submissions from emerging filmmakers. The comedy short film follows a young woman determined to assert her independence after securing a modest apartment, only to be confronted with exploitative and unexpected fees imposed by her agent and landlord, highlighting the realities of housing insecurity. The film stars Joy Nmezi, Ogbolu Bobby and Gregory Ojefua, with cinematography by Okwong Fadamana (The Fire and The Moth), and will screen at 2:00pm on March 5 at The Forge, 87 De Korte Street, Braamfontein.
Wire Wire
Bolanle Austen-Peters (Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti) presents her latest feature film Wire Wire, a drama centred on Tobi, a gifted software developer on the verge of launching a revolutionary cybersecurity system known as NEXUS. His future collapses when he is falsely accused of theft, violently assaulted and detained, forcing him to navigate a justice system that threatens to destroy both his innovation and his life. The film stars Bucci Franklin, Bisola Aiyeola and Blossom Chukwujekwu, and will screen on March 4, 2026, at 7:15pm at NUMETRO CINE 4, Hyde Park, Sandton, followed by a Q&A session.
New Shoes
Representing the United Kingdom is Olohije Oyakhire’s short film New Shoes produced during her time as a film student. Known for her work as First Assistant Director on Intrusive Thoughts and her fledgling film society in Nigeria, Oyakhire writes and directs this story of four girls connected by a mysterious pair of missing shoes. The film stars Muneebah Ashraf, Sophia Clark and Zainab Suleiman, and will screen on March 6 at 2:00pm at The Forge in Braamfontein.
Mr Rogers
Daniel Ehimen (Sergeant Tutu) directs the psychological short Mr Rogers, co-written with Aaliyah Saalia. Previously featured at AFRIFF 2025, the film follows young Abigail and her parents as they return to the countryside to visit her ailing grandparents. What begins as a routine visit gradually reveals buried family tensions and unsettling secrets within the old family home. The cast includes Yusrah Ayinde, Demi Banwo and Imoikor Joseph. The film screens on March 5 at 2:00pm at The Forge.
Bam Bam
Also screening on March 5 is Bam Bam, a short written and directed by Tolulope Itegboje (Awon Boyz). The short follows Babatunde, a talented but introverted teenager navigating first love with the encouragement of his unusual confidant, an artificial intelligence companion named Bam Bam. As he pursues a classmate he admires, he must confront long-standing insecurities and self-doubt. The cast includes Ambrose Nwoga, Kelechi Udegbe and Victory Eyong. The short screens on March 5 at 2:00pm at The Forge.
Set in Lagos, the short follows a nightclub owner facing the end of her life who places the future of her establishment in the hands of her reserved daughter. The situation becomes more complicated with the unexpected return of the daughter’s estranged father, a soldier whose reappearance stirs unresolved family tensions. Written and directed by Idris Elba and produced by Mo Abudu for EbonyLife, the short film stars Nse Ikpe-Etim, Atlanta Bridget Johnson, Seal and Eku Edewor. The film was funded by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), previously screened at the BFI, and had its world premiere at TIFF 2025. It will screen on March 7 at 12:00pm at Theatre on the Square, Sandton.
Dreamers
British-Nigerian filmmaker Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor brings her debut feature Dreamers to Joburg following its world premiere at Berlinale 2025, representing the United Kingdom. The film follows Isio, a Nigerian migrant placed in a UK asylum removal centre as she struggles against a system determined to expel her. Amid the uncertainty of her situation, she forms a bond that offers emotional refuge. The film stars Aiysha Hart, Ronke Adekoluejo and Kemi Adekoya with cinematography from Anna Patarakina (Down Cemetery Road). Dreamers will screen on March 6 at 8:00pm at Numetro Cine 1, Hyde Park, followed by a Q&A, with a second screening on March 8 at 6:30pm at the same venue.
The Fisherman
Rounding out the list is The Fisherman which also screened at AFRIFF 2025, a Ghanaian comedy written and directed by Zoey Martinson, an award winning writer-director in film and theater who makes her feature-film directorial debut. The film follows Atta Oko, a retired traditional fisherman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he is forced into retirement and partnered with a sophisticated talking fish. Joined by three eccentric associates, he journeys to Accra in pursuit of his dream of owning a boat. Blending humour, fantasy and contemporary Ghanaian culture, the film stars Ricky Adelayitar, Endurance Dedzo and William Lamptey. It screens on March 5 at 7:00pm at Numetro Cine 1, Hyde Park, with a Q&A session to follow.
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