Film Africa 2026 brings Rwandan and Nigerian stories to London

Film Africa, the London-based festival of African cinema, has announced its 2026 programme. It runs from 23 October to 1 November in London, with screenings also planned in Bristol, Sheffield and Plymouth.

The festival is organised by the Royal African Society. This year's theme is "125 Years of Storytelling and Movie Making in Africa".

Opening and closing films

The festival opens on 23 October at BFI Southbank with Ben'Imana, by Rwandan director Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo. The drama follows a genocide survivor working on reconciliation, and won the Caméra d'Or at Cannes in May.

It closes on 1 November with Lady, by Nigerian director Olive Nwosu. The film is set in Lagos and follows a cab driver who befriends a group of sex workers.

What else is on

London screenings will take place at BFI Southbank, Rio Cinema, The Lexi Cinema, Ebonylife Cinema, Ciné Lumière and Riverside Studios.

The programme includes the TWENDE symposium on 24 October, focused on African women and cinema, and a retrospective of the Tunisian director Férid Boughedir's documentaries Caméra d'Afrique and Caméra Arabe.

Across the line-up, the films deal with memory, migration, identity, labour, gender, political history and social change.

Why it matters for the diaspora

Festivals like Film Africa give audiences in the diaspora a chance to see new African films on the big screen, and give filmmakers from across the continent a showcase in front of UK audiences and the film industry.