S16 Film Festival has calmly wrapped our 2025 festival season, most memorably, as always. The fifth edition of the festival, themed ‘Let There Be Light’, took place across three venues from December 1-5, at the long-standing home of the festival, Alliance Francaise, alongside Filmhouse Landmark and Nigerian Film Corporation.
The festival opened with Sudanese feature Cotton Queen by Sudanese-Russian filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani. Audiences also saw Minimals in a Titanic World (Nigerian premiere)by Rwandan filmmaker Mbabazi Sharangabo Philbert Aime, and a special presentation of Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow. Other international highlights included the Dutch feature Fantastique and the closing film Memory of Princess Mumbi by Swiss-Kenyan director Damien Hauser.
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S16’s short film programme continues to remain one of its main attractions, with selections featuring a wide mix of stories and filmmaking styles. These shorts were further divided into two sections: In Competition and Shorts Programme. At the end of each competitive short block, audiences could scan a QR code to vote for the Audience Choice Award, which went to Kagho Idhebor’s My Jebba Story.
This year, love swept across several shorts as one of the recurring themes of the programme, a lineup that wasn’t without debate, either. One of the more controversial screenings was Dog Shit Food, a documentary by a Japanese visual anthropologist, Fukuda Pero, that follows two Rwandan women in a dispute that leads to a physical fight, which then becomes the focal point of the film. The film raised questions among viewers about discomfort, ethics, and whether the filmmaker crossed into exploitation.
The festival also had to deal with a practical issue of seats being fully booked online, yet some ticketholders didn’t show up, preventing others from attending at the last minute. To fix this, organisers announced plans to introduce a small fee for screening tickets for next year’s edition to ensure better access and commitment.
Among our standout creatives at this year’s festival, the audience hit My Jebba Story, one of our standout films, with how it paints a warm, emotional picture of life on the rough Jebba Street in Lagos. Daniel S.A.D. Alaka’s animated film About Sarah offers a different kind of storytelling, using 2D animation and calm narration to explore love, memory, and the people who stay with us even after they leave.
Uche Chika Elumelu’s performance in Chiemeka Osuagwu’s 70 X 7, a woman who challenges the scriptural meaning of forgiveness, is one to remember. Traces of the Sun by Rete Poki resonates deeply as it brings together over 10 Nigerian women and non-binary genders to speak on their views of love. Uche Uba, as the lead actor in Obi Is a Boy, delivers such a calm and confident performance, and in his acting debut, too. His performance brought a believable presence to the film’s gentle tone.
Beyond the post-screening conversations, there were two panels and one workshop on this year’s schedule. The workshop, hosted by Filmjoint founder Gbenga Adeoti, explored pathways for short film distribution.
One of the panels introduced the African Film Press Critics Prize and examined the future of African film discourse, with panellists Ema Edosio, Seyi Lasisi, Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, Ikeade Oriade and moderation by Vivian Nwajiaku. The second panel, held after the special screening of My Father’s Shadow, focused on the film’s road to Cannes. In that conversation, co-writer Wale Davies and producer Funmbi Ogunbanwo discussed industry-wide concerns, including cast and crew treatment as well as the urgent need for institutional financial support and structure in Nollywood.
Four filmmakers from previous and just ended editions were also announced for a trip to the Clermont festival (sponsored by the French Embassy) alongside Dika Ofoma, who took home the inaugural African Film Press AFP Critics award for Obi Is a Boy.
The festival ended with one of the cofounders of the Surreal 16 Collective, CJ Obasi, highlighting the next five years for S16, including the S16 distribution arm with an NTA partnership, live online merch store, film institute, executive film production, film labs, and public film submissions via FilmFreeway for upcoming editions.
The full list of the award winners at S16 2025:
Audience Choice Award
My Jebba Story
Director – Kagho Idhebor
Rising Star Award
Daniel S.A.D. Alaka
AFP Critics Prize Award
Obi Is a Boy
Director – Dika Ofoma
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