The 2024 S16 Film Festival, themed ‘Technologic’, has unveiled its lineup for this year’s edition. The festival will open with On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, directed by Rungano Nyoni, a drama-comedy feature that explores the buried secrets of a Zambian family after the discovery of their dead uncle’s body. The film recently won the award of Best Director at the 2024 Cannes- Un Certain Regard section.
Founded by The Surreal 16 Collective, Mike Omonua, C.J Obasi & Abba T. Makama, the S16 Film Festival, now in its fourth year, is a film festival curated for indie filmmakers from around the world.
The festival’s closing night will feature Hanami, helmed by Denise Fernandes, winner of the Best Emerging Director at the Locarno Film Festival. Hanami is a coming-of-age story of Nana, a young girl navigating isolation on a volcanic isle while others leave for new opportunities. Her journey takes an intriguing turn as she discovers a dreamlike reality that challenges her perceptions of the world around her.
Unlike previous editions, this year’s festival seeks to welcome the Locarno Film Festival through its Locarno Open Doors programme, a co-production and talent development program aimed to support filmmakers from underrepresented regions.
During the festival, Abba Makama’s The Kids Are Okay, which explores the youth counterculture scene in Lagos, will screen alongside a remastered version of C.J. Obasi’s 2015 film O-Town.
In addition to the main features, the festival will spotlight a selection of short films from both emerging and established filmmakers. Highlights include God’s Wife by Dika Ofoma which explores widowhood, Everything Must End by Uwana Anthony Churchy that delves into the themes of loss, mortality and the fragile nature of meaning in life, Kpakpangolo by Nosazemen Agbontaen and Echoes of the Heart by Arnaud Rwasangabo.
Other feature film screenings are Witte Wieven by Didier Konings and a retrospective screening of La Haine by Mathieu Kassovitz.
Other selected shorts include:
Leaving Ikorodu in 1999 by Rashida Seriki
2720 by Basil Da Cunha
Enyo by Nneoha Ann Aligwe
Everything Lasts and Nothing Ends by Nosazemen Agbontaen & Rete Poki
Fluid Lagos by The Fluid Collective
Danse Macabre by Tobi Onabolu
Journey Mercies by Tomisin Adepeju
Reborn by Adeola Fadola
Baptized by Fire by Kach Offor
The event runs from December 10 to 13, with films and panels free to attend on a first come first serve limited seats basis.
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