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April 9, 2026

Cannes 2026: Rwanda, Central African Republic, and Morocco Represented in Un Certain Regard

The Festival de Cannes unveiled its 2026 Official Selection on April 9, placing three African films in Un Certain Regard: Ben'Imana by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, Congo Boy by Rafiki Fariala, and La Más Dulce by Laïla Marrakchi.

April 9, 2026

Cannes 2026 Un Certain Regard — La Más Dulce and Ben'Imana official selection posters

April 6, 2026

FESTIVALS

Women in Film Africa to Present Five Producers at Marché du Film 2026

Women in Film Africa will present five producers at the Marché du Film Producers Network session on May 14, 2026, in Cannes.

April 6, 2026

Women in Film Africa Producers Under the Spotlight at Marché du Film 2026

April 4, 2026

Industry

Nigerian Government Announces Another Creative Sector Fund

Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture announced €100 million for the creative sector. A review of the official record finds the picture more complicated than the Instagram post suggested.

April 4, 2026

Nigerian Ministry of Arts and Culture €100 million creative sector funding announcement

April 4, 2026

FILM

Trailer: "Asad," Mohamed Diab's Epic About the Largest Slave Revolt in Islamic History

"Asad" (Lion) — one of the most anticipated Arabic-language films of 2026 — opens in Egypt on May 14 and across the Arab world on May 21. Directed by Mohamed Diab and starring Mohamed Ramadan.

April 4, 2026

April 3, 2026

FESTIVALS

Andrew Mohsen Named Artistic Director of Egypt's El Gouna Film Festival

Egyptian film critic Andrew Mohsen has been appointed the new artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival, with six months to shape the festival's 9th edition.

April 3, 2026

April 1, 2026

INDUSTRY

palmtrees Announces Development Partnership with NEON for Inaugural Screenplay Incubator

palmtrees, a screenplay development incubator for writers from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and Oceania, has partnered with NEON for its first cohort.

April 1, 2026

April 1, 2026

TELEVISION

Manon Bresch Leads HBO Max French Original "Privilèges," Now Streaming

Manon Bresch leads Privilèges, a six-episode HBO Original mini-series that launched March 27, 2026 on HBO Max. The series, created by Marie Monge and Vladimir de Fontenay, competed at Séries Mania 2026 and won the Prize for Best Original Music.

April 1, 2026

March 31, 2026

Festivals

New York African Film Festival Sets 33rd Edition Lineup, May 6–12 at Film at Lincoln Center

Film at Lincoln Center and African Film Festival, Inc. have announced the full lineup for the 33rd New York African Film Festival, running May 6–12 at FLC before continuing at additional New York venues through May 30.

March 31, 2026

Film

La Fabrique Cinéma 2026: Full Slate Announced for Cannes

Three African projects lead a 10-film cohort heading to the Marché du Film. La Fabrique Cinéma announces its 18th edition selection: Kenya, Nigeria, and Morocco among the ten fiction projects heading to Cannes.

March 31, 2026

La Fabrique Cinéma 2026 — Lauréats, 10 projets présentés à Cannes

March 30, 2026

Film

Stlouis'Docs Returns for Its 17th Edition, April 28–May 2, 2026

The Saint-Louis International Documentary Film Festival opens its 17th edition in Sénégal on April 28, with Alice Diop as Guest of Honor and competitions spanning national, short, and feature documentary categories.

March 30, 2026

March 29, 2026

Film

Gabès Cinéma Fen Returns for Its 8th Edition, April 26–May 2, 2026

Gabès Cinéma Fen returns for its 8th edition from April 26 to May 2, 2026, in the southern Tunisian city of Gabès. Watch a five-minute retrospective of the 2025 edition.

March 29, 2026

March 24, 2026

Intelligence

Where Hollywood Wins, Where It Doesn't: Market Power Across Africa's Largest Film Economies

A comprehensive look at the financing landscape for African film and television, mapping the key funds, institutions, and mechanisms shaping the sector.

March 24, 2026

March 26, 2026

Film

'The Fisherman' Expands Across Africa: Kenya & Zambia (April 3), Nigeria (May 15)

Venice UNESCO Fellini Medal winner and AFRIFF Best Director film 'The Fisherman' expands across Africa — Kenya & Zambia on April 3 via Century Pictures, Nigeria on May 15 via FilmOne Entertainment.

March 26, 2026

Still from The Fisherman (dir. Zoey Martinson)

March 25, 2026

Film

Mozambican Drama-Thriller 'O Pacto: Último Desejo' Premieres in Maputo

Mozambican director Yusson Congolo and MPAMA Produções premiere "O Pacto: Último Desejo," a drama-thriller with supernatural elements rooted in African belief systems, at Cine Scala in Maputo on March 26, 2026.

March 25, 2026

O Pacto: Último Desejo — premiere poster, Cine Scala, Maputo, March 26 2026

March 25, 2026

Film

Eye Haïdara Named Mistress of Ceremonies for Cannes 2026

Actress Eye Haïdara, born in Bamako and believed to be the first Black person to hold the role, will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on May 12 and 23, 2026.

March 25, 2026

Eye Haïdara, Mistress of Ceremonies for Cannes 2026

March 23, 2026

Film

The Slow-Burning Collision: African Filmmakers, Global Ambitions, and Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws

As African cinema enters wider international markets, many of the same governments seeking global cultural and business ties maintain laws that criminalize queer people. First sent to Akoroko Premium subscribers in January 2026, Tambay A. Obenson examines how queer stories circulate internationally even as queer filmmakers continue to face legal and professional risk in their home countries, and how international film institutions benefit from that separation without accepting responsibility for its consequences — from "Dakan" (1997) to the 2026 Kenya Court of Appeal ruling on "Rafiki".

March 23, 2026

Still from Dakan (1997), directed by Mohamed Camara — the first widely documented African LGBTQ+ film to receive sustained international festival attention

March 21, 2026

DIGITAL MEDIA

The Interactive Map v.1: Africa Streaming & Infrastructure Watch

We've added an interactive map to our "Africa Streaming & Infrastructure Watch" timeline. Click any event and watch it land across the continent.

March 21, 2026

The Interactive Map v.1: Africa Streaming & Infrastructure Watch

March 19, 2026

Intelligence

Localized Pricing Expansion: Akoroko Premium Now Available in 15 Countries

Showmax is shutting down. Netflix stopped commissioning new originals outside South Africa. Amazon Prime Video halted commissioning on the continent in early 2024. In short, the platforms that spent the better part of a decade building a foothold in African streaming at scale have, one by one, pulled back or disappeared entirely.

March 19, 2026

Africa Streaming & Infrastructure Tracker — African Film Press

March 18, 2026

Television, Digital Media

Showmax Confirms End of Operations in April 2026 as Content Moves to DStv Stream

Showmax has now put a hard deadline on its closure: March 31 is the last day to renew, April 1 the last day for new sign-ups, and all access ends by the end of April 2026.

March 18, 2026

March 17, 2026

Film

HBF+Europe Co-Production Support Projects Announced: Nigeria, Morocco, Ethiopia Repped

The Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) is the international co-financing arm of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), supporting filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe.

March 17, 2026