Abuja Hosts 23rd Firm Festival, Celebrates Nigeria's Film Industry

The 23rd Abuja International Film Festival has opened in Nigeria's capital, bringing together filmmakers, industry professionals, and international delegates to explore the future of cinema. The festival, which began on October 20, 2026, is themed Frames Without Borders, AI, Ethics, and the Future of Filmmaking. The event features film screenings, masterclasses, and panel discussions on artificial intelligence, ethical filmmaking and international collaboration. Organisers say the festival aims to promote Nigerian cinema, strengthen global partnerships and create new opportunities for filmmakers. The festival is scheduled to run until October 25, 2026. The Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, which my agency, the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority, is an agency under, is doing a lot to ensure that we encourage people who are in the film industry. We have the Film and Video Censors Board that is being headed by somebody who is an experienced filmmaker, who is an experienced thespian, who is also galvanizing support from the stakeholders themselves. We have the person who is heading the National Film Corporation, who is also an actor, you have me in charge of the Apex Tourism Regulatory Agency of Nigeria. I'm also a content creator, I'm an actor, I'm a dancer, I'm a thespian, I call myself a journal thespian. So this is one of the efforts that we are putting in. And you cannot have a practitioner who is at the helm, you know, when it comes to agency affairs like this. And you don't have the best that will come out of it. Part of what we are doing here at NTDA is to see that we create what will allow filmmakers to also contribute to tourism development in the country. And that is the first of its kind tourism dedicated streaming platform. returns for its 23rd edition continuing continuing more than two decades of celebrating filmmakers telling compelling stories and deepening private pragmatic collaboration on behalf of the embassy of the People's Republic of China in Nigeria and on behalf of the China Culture Center in Nigeria because I'm the director of China Culture Center as well I would like to extend my sincere congratulations on the opening of AIFF 2026 I also wish to offer a warm welcome to the delegation from the China Film Administration and express my heartfelt appreciation to the organizers for their meticulous arrangements both China and Nigeria are major cinematic powers with immense immense potential and broad scope for collaboration in cultural exchange storytelling and the film industry Abuja International Film Film Festivals you know affirms that it has come to stay and that it can only get better so going forward what we'll expect is collaborations with probably Cannes and other big festivals across the globe I think also this is about the time that the government of our country will look inwards and look at what value the creative community can bring to the table because when it comes to image presentation of our country. Nobody has done better than the showbiz world, the creative world. We have done very well being great ambassadors of Nigeria. So if a festival like Abuja International Film Festival has carried on for 23 years independently by sheer individual effort, the best we can do is encourage the team at this time. Well, it has. Nollywood has forced itself on the globe. It wasn't by patronage. When I started making movies it was with VHS camera. From VHS camera we moved to U-matic. From U-matic we moved to Betacam. And then today we have digital cameras and all of that. So Nollywood asserted itself on the global community. But what has not been intentionally harnessed But the government is the potential that is a resident in Nollywood. If government is intentional, policies of government can be showcased via motion picture like Hollywood and the White House have good relationship. The activity tells you that the festival will continue. If it didn't stop at 22, if it didn't stop at 20, if it didn't stop at 10, and it's now at 23, it means that we will witness 24, we will witness 25, and the festival will continue. What we expect, I mean, a child that is 23 is already an adult, you know, and the rest of them. So here, things that we'll be looking out for are things that, you know, like an upgrade of what we used to have while we are waiting to witness the Big 25 before we begin to witness other editions. But I think it's a journey that must be commended. I mean, this is the longest, longest film festival, longest running film festival, independently run film festival in West Africa, I just say. And I qualify it as independently run, which means that it doesn't get any organization or funding from government. It is run by Fidelis Duka and his company, you know, and all that. But now with AI you can actually do a lot and same for film. I don't know if you are also conversant with the fact that now, even with AI, you now have the voices of characters that you know, that you recognise. So it has just, I was telling someone that it is important for us now, as well as filmmakers, to begin to embrace AI because whether we like it or not, it has come to stay. And for like the Abuja International Film Festival, this is apt for us because this festival started during the days when for you to publicize your film, you would have to paste posters on the streets of Lagos, Onitsha, Aba, you know, and the likes. And then it progressed because I recall that the first entries you got for the festivals were on VHS. And from VHS, you know, it grew into VCDs, then to DVDs, then to the point whereby people submit their films online through Film Freeway or Google Drives. So, you see, for us at the festival, we need to also let young filmmakers and existing filmmakers to know that AI has come here to stay, whether you like it or not. If you are online now, you see a lot of movies, shorts that are AI generated. Back in the day, the best you would get are maybe animated productions and all that. And for the AI productions, these characters look almost real. You would be watching a film and it's AI and it looks almost real. And you find out that people are enjoying it. So we are in a time whereby it has come to stay we don't have a choice.