Nigeria will be represented across multiple strands of Talents Durban 2026, with two projects selected for development, a critic participating in the Talent Press programme, and two industry figures returning as part of the initiative’s mentorship and editorial teams.
On the projects side, the entire lineup features twenty-five projects across the fiction features, documentaries, shorts, animation, and episodic categories.
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The selected Nigerian projects include The Things We Leave Behind, a fiction feature from Russell Oru, best known for the short films The Waiting Song and The Day The Heart Died, previous AFRIFF selections.
Cause, Effect & Maybe Consequences?, an episodic project from filmmaker Cheyi Okoaye. The title expands on Okoaye’s sci-fi comedy of the same name, which follows a man caught between his past, present and future selves. The project first started as a web series and won the Audience Cheese Prize at 2025 The Annual Film Mischief.
Elsewhere in the selection, Ghanaian filmmaker Sarah Abena Adjei was selected with Awake in the fiction shorts category.
Other Nigerian representation can be seen in film criticism as Elijah Oluwanisola, a WKMUp contributing writer, will participate in the Talent Press programme. This year’s edition introduces a new Peer-to-Peer Digital Newsroom model that places participants in a working festival newsroom environment, producing coverage and criticism under the guidance of established editors.
One of those editors is Nigerian film critic Wilfred Okiche, who returns to the programme as a section editor alongside Madagascar’s Domoina Ratsara. Okiche is a Talents Durban alumnus, with bylines in major international festivals and publications.
The Nigerian presence continues within the mentor lineup, where critic, journalist and programmer Oris Aigbokhaevbolo joins a group of industry professionals that includes Ghanaian filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu, South African screenwriter Bongi Ndaba, Moroccan producer Jihane Bougrine and Egyptian filmmaker Mayye Zayed.
“The Durban FilmMart Institute remains committed to advancing African cinema through strategic collaborations that expand international access to professional networks, markets, and sustainable industry opportunities. Talents Durban is central to this vision,” explains Magdalene Reddy, DFMI Director, in a statement.
Participants of the Talents programme will take part in masterclasses, mentorship sessions, pitching forums and one-on-one consultations during the Durban FilmMart, which runs from 9 to 12 October 2026.
Talents Durban serves as the African satellite programme of Berlinale Talents, bringing together filmmakers, animators and critics from across the continent for mentorship, project development and industry networking opportunities.
Recently announced projects for the Durban FilmMart InstitutePitch and Finance Forum include works from CJ Obasi, Damilola Solesi and The Agbajowo Collective.
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