The sixth edition of the Nairobi Film Festival is set to begin on October 16 to 26 at Prestige Cinema on Ngong Road, with additional screenings at Kaloleni Social Hall in Eastlands, Docubox at Shalom House and Unseen Nairobi in Kilimani.
Upholding its tradition of celebrating Kenyan and African cinema, this year’s festival invites audiences to experience diverse and powerful stories from Kenya and across the continent. The festival will showcase over 26 films from more than 15 countries, featuring world premieres, African debuts, and acclaimed international titles.
Mbithi Masya, Artistic Director of NBO Film Festival said:, “From intimate portraits, such as ‘My Father’s Shadow’, to gritty portrayals of life in our cities in ‘The Dog’ shot in Mombasa, to sweeping works like ‘Matabeleland’, ‘The People Shall’ and ‘Khartoum’, our goal this year was to program films that remind us that African cinema is not defined by geography, but by imagination. Each story, whether from Nairobi, Lagos, or Harare, is a piece of a much larger conversation about who we are becoming.”
Films set to screen at the festival
Some of the Kenyan films expected to screen at the festival include:
- ‘Sayari’ (Omar Hamza),
- ‘Widow Champion’ (Zippy Kimundu),
- ‘It’s A Free Country’ (John ‘JJ’ Jumbo),
- ‘Memory of Princess Mumbi’ (Damien Hauser)
- ‘The People Shall’ (Nick Wambugu + Mark Maina).
African films to look out for at the festival will include:
- ‘Aisha Can’t Fly Away’ (Morad Mostafa),
- ‘The Weekend’ (Daniel Oriahi),
- ‘Nana’ (Matthew Joseph Mkoga),
- ‘Mothers of Chibok’ (Joel Kachi Benson),
- ‘Mother City’ (Miki Redelinghuys, Pearlie Joubert),
- ‘Memories of Love Returned’ (Nate Guam Mbaho Mwine)
- ‘Matabeleland’ (Nyasha Kadandara)
New additions to this year’s showcase include an In-Competition section, showcasing five exceptional films:
- ‘The Dog’ (Baker Karim),
- ‘Memory of Princess Mumbi’ (Damien Hauser),
- ‘My Father’s Shadow’ (Akinola Davies),
- ‘Promised Sky’ (Erige Sehiri)
- ‘The Fisherman’ (Zoey Martinson).
A distinguished Kenyan jury, led by Jury President Wanuri Kahiu, the award-winning filmmaker, will bring their depth of experience, passion and vision to select the winning film. The jury will also include Elsaphan Njora, a multi-hyphenate artist; Carol Kioko, a veteran producer dedicated to sustainable Pan-African storytelling and head of Kenya’s 48 Hour Short Film Project; and Mūmbi Kaigwa, an award-winning actor, writer and director.
Shorts, Creator’s brunch and more
Additionally, this year’s program will once again feature ‘Shorts, Shorts and Shots’, an audience favourite curated by DocuBox. This hybrid beach-party-style event invites guests to wear their favourite shorts while sipping on shots and diving into a curation of short films from Africa.
A hallmark of the NBO Film Festival has always been its commitment to dialogue, and 2025 will be no exception. Each screening will be followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers, designed to deepen audience engagement and explore the pressing themes of our time.
Alongside screenings, the festival’s industry programme will strengthen connections between local creators and the global film industry through roundtable discussions, artist-to-artist conversations and pitching sessions with international buyers and distributors.
Audiences can also look forward to headline events, such as the Opening Night Gala, Closing Night Ceremony and Wrap Party, as well as community screenings in Eastlands, ensuring the magic of cinema continues to reach broad audiences.
The festival’s Creators Brunch, providing a nurturing space for young and emerging female creators to gain mentorship and build meaningful connections with established women leaders in the creative sector, will also be returning this year.
