The Royal African Society is set to launch its fourteenth edition of Film Africa on 23 October, running through 1 November 2026. Billed as a celebration of “125 Years of Storytelling and Movie Making in Africa”, the festival will unfold across the British capital and partner venues throughout the United Kingdom, offering a panoramic view of contemporary African cinema.
Key locations include the BFI Southbank (both opening and closing nights), Rio Cinema, Lexi Cinema, Ebonylife Cinema, Cine Lumière, Riverside Studios, Watershed in Bristol, Utopia Cinema in Sheffield and Plymouth Arts Cinema. The programme mixes feature-length narratives, documentaries, short films, and curated retrospectives, all aimed at showcasing the continent’s artistic range and its diaspora’s contributions.
Opening, closing and landmark screenings
Opening night arrives with Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo’s BEN’IMANA a Rwandan drama that probes justice, reconciliation and memory in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. The film, which captured the Caméra d’Or at Cannes, follows Vénéranda, a facilitator of dialogue between victims and perpetrators, as her personal world is shaken by an unexpected pregnancy.
The festival concludes with Olive Nwosu’s LADY a kinetic portrait of sisterhood among Lagos sex workers and a daring cab driver. Nwosu, a London-based director, blends humour, vulnerability and fierce resilience to sketch a nuanced portrait of urban African life.
Twende: placing African women at the centre
“Twende – African Women and Cinema” dominates the 24 October symposium at BFI Southbank. Scholars, archivists, producers and directors gather to discuss authorship, representation, preservation and the future of women-led african film. By foregrounding female voices, the festival seeks to correct the historic marginalisation of women creators in national film histories and global discourse.
The symposium’s title, Swahili for “let us go”, signals both a reflection on past contributions and a forward-looking agenda. Panels will highlight pioneering figures whose work has been overlooked, while celebrating emerging talent reshaping the continent’s visual narrative.
Heritage, memory and industry futures
Beyond new releases, Film Africa positions cinema as a repository of cultural memory. A dedicated conversation with Tunisian auteur Ferid Boughedir at Ciné Lumière revisits his seminal documentaries Caméra d’Afrique and Caméra Arabe underscoring the fragility of African film archives and the need for preservation.
Parallel to artistic showcases, the festival stages a symposium on Sustainable Finance, Intellectual Property and Digital Technology for the Future of African Cinema. Filmmakers, investors, tech leaders and policymakers will probe innovative funding models, IP protection, AI-driven workflows and the leverage of global streaming platforms to build a commercially viable industry.
At its core, Film Africa strives to bridge audiences and creators. Q&A sessions, masterclasses and industry workshops turn screenings into dialogues, inviting both African diaspora communities and wider UK viewers to engage with stories that challenge stereotypes and broaden perception.
By extending beyond central London to regional cinemas, the festival demonstrates that appetite for African narratives reaches far beyond metropolitan enclaves. In doing so, it cements its role as an international conduit, linking African filmmakers with critics, programmers and distributors, and reinforcing the continent’s growing influence on the global screen.
