Seasons come and go in the yearly film cycle, but one season that never really goes away, at least for film publications, is the festival season. Selections for early 2026 international film festivals have already been announced.
The season begins with the Sundance Film Festival (January 22 – February 1), the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (January 30 – February 7), and the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) (January 29 – February 8).
These festivals have had Nigerian representation in recent years, from Akinola Davies Jr.’s short film Lizard (2021 Sundance Grand Jury Prize in the short film category), to CJ Obasi’s Mami Wata screening at Sundance more recently, and Ishaya Bako’s I Do Not Come To You By Chance at IFFR in 2024. This year’s no different as Nigerian stories will be seen across screens at these festivals.
As the festival dates get closer, we are highlighting Nigerian filmmakers and narratives set to screen at the early 2026 festivals.
(Click to Follow the What Kept Me Up channel on WhatsApp)
LADY dir. Olive Nwosu
Nigerian-born filmmaker Olive Nwosu makes a return to the Sundance lineup, this time with her debut feature-length film, Lady, which has been selected to world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
The film follows a cab driver’s encounter with a group of reckless sex workers whose sisterhood marks a transformational change in her life. Starring Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah, Amanda Oruh, Tinuade Jemiseye, Binta Ayo Mogaji, Seun Kuti, and Bucci Franklin.
Lady is a production between the UK and Nigeria. The project was developed in partnership with Film4 and received financing from the BFI through National Lottery Funding, Film4, and Screen Scotland. According to Variety, additional backing was provided by Level Forward and Amplify Capital. The film was produced by Alex Polunin’s Glasgow-based company Ossian International, along with John Giwa-Amu for Good Gate and Stella Nwimo for the UK. Nigerian co-producers are Adé Sultan Sangodoyin and Jamiu Shoyode of Lagos-based Emperium Films.
Before Lady, Nwosu travelled internationally with earlier short films. Her 2019 short Troublemaker (2019) screened at Clermont-Ferrand and Aspen ShortsFest, while Egúngún (2021) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, later screened at Sundance, and earned a British Independent Film Award nomination.
Obi is a Boy dir. Dika Ofoma
Dika Ofoma’s short film Obi is a Boy will screen at two early international film festivals: in competition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and the Short & Mid-length programme of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).
The film follows Obi (played by Uche Uba), a young man who returns home for his mother’s funeral and is forced to confront family expectations, grief and questions of identity. Told with restraint and emotional focus, the film centres on the tension between Obi and his father (Ofia Afuluagu Mbaka), using quiet moments to explore masculinity, tradition and belonging.
Obi is a Boy recently won the inaugural AFP Critics Prize at the S16 Film Festival in Lagos. The IFFR selection is notably his second time screening at the festival, following God’s Wife. Not a stranger to the festival circuit, his earlier short, A Quiet Monday, screened at Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur in Switzerland.
Ofoma is also developing his first feature-length project, Kachifo (Till Morning Comes), with producer Blessing Uzzi.
Saint Simeon dir. Olubunmi Ogunsola
After making its international debut at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival in 2025, where it competed in the Orizzonti Short Films International Competition, Olubunmi Ogunsola’s debut film Saint Simeon continues its festival run with a screening in the African Perspectives section at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
Starring Kanayo O. Kanayo, Ego Ihenacho, Victor Obioha, Emmanuel King, the drama set in 1997 Enugu follows young seminarian Matthias as he struggles with guilt, desire, and the shadow of his roommate Simeon’s controversial death. Saint Simeon was produced by Ogunsola and Ugochukwu Azuya for Ensemble.
Birdie dir. Praise Odigie Paige
Nigerian-born filmmaker Praise Odigie Paige will also feature in the 2026 Sundance lineup, in the Shorts Program section. Written and directed by Odigie, Birdie follows a 16-year-old Nigerian refugee in 1970s Virginia who tries to keep her family together when a newcomer draws her sister away. The short stars Eniola Abioro, Precious Maduanusi, and Sheila Chukwulozie, and was produced by Praise Odigie Paige, alongside producers Yety Akinola, Noni Limar, and Nat Majette, credited on the project.
Odigie is also currently working on her feature debut. It’s important to note that although Birdie is a Nigerian-linked narrative, it is not a Nigerian production but a co-production between the United States and the United Kingdom.
Berlinale announcements can be found here.
Become a patron: To support our in-depth and critical coverage—become a Patron today!
Join the conversation: Share your thoughts in the comments section or on our social media accounts
1 Comment