The Academy today released its official list of 201 films eligible for Best Picture consideration at the 2026 Oscars (ceremony March 15). To qualify, films had to complete a seven-day theatrical run in at least 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets within 45 days of their initial 2025 release, plus meet two of four […]
Tag: African Filmmakers
10 Conversations African Cinema Is Having With Itself: Year-end Analysis
Continuing Akoroko’s year-end 2025 African cinema analysis series, what follows is a report that Premium subscribers received a week ago. It draws from a comprehensive audit of over 4,000 Akoroko documents, capturing African screen activity from late 2022 through December 2025. Much global industry trade coverage has looked at African cinema via the lens of […]
Africa at IFFR (Rotterdam) 2026 (Jan 29-Feb 8): Films, Programs, and Initiatives
Over the last two decades, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has increasingly positioned African filmmaking within a continuous development cycle. Financing, script support, producer training, co-production access, and commissioning structures have shaped who arrives at the festival and in which sections. The Hubert Bals Fund, CineMart, Rotterdam Lab, and partner initiatives have functioned as early-stage mechanisms, operating years before a film […]
African Filmmakers of the Independence Era: Those Still With Us
African cinema’s independence era isn’t just history: ✦ Ola Balogun turned 80 this month — one of Nigeria’s first post-independence directors, still alive, still writing ✦ Haile Gerima (79), Flora Gomes (75), Sana Na N’Hada (75), Kwaw Ansah (84), and Jean-Pierre Dikongué-Pipa (85) are still with us, carrying decades of knowledge and experience ✦ Souleymane […]
Africa: 54 Countries; 54 Filmmakers — Akoroko
A challenge was thrown open to the Twitter community to identify one filmmaker from each of Africa’s 54 countries. Challenge accepted!