21 Films To Put On Your Watch List At AFRIFF 2025

The film festival this year has an offering of over 100 selections in 13 categories, and they are expected to showcase a diverse line up of features, documentaries, student shorts and shorts, spanning across Africa and the diaspora. 

Some of these films, with the inclusion of Nigerian premieres of international titles, include a diverse genre from dramas to animations. 

In this article, we discuss 21 titles we believe would be a great addition to your watch list at the film festival. 

1. Safari

Directed by Obi Emelonye, this film follows the story of a Nigerian politician wife, who in exhaustion from the chaos surrounding the political clime of her husband decides to take a trip with Kenya, but soon becomes ensnared in drama when she becomes involved with a local beach boy who is accused of murder by a tourist. Some of the cast members are Osas Ighodaro, Jidekene Achufusi, Anthony Monjaro, and Ali Nuhu. 

2. Son of The Soil

Directed by Chee Keong Cheung, and written by Razaaq Adoti, the film details the story of an ex soldier with a haunted past, whose return to Nigeria to mourn his sister gets him drawn back into the world of death and violence. 

3. Fractured

This psychological thriller follows the life of an accomplished businesswoman and adopted heiress, whose illusion of a perfect life is left fractured after a violent robbery in her home leaves her with trauma and forces her to confront repressed memories. Some of the cast members are Shaffy Bello, Etim Effiong and Atlanta Bridget Johnson. 

4. The Good Gift 

Directed by Kayode Kassum, the film celebrates the love between a father and his daughter and the sacrifice a father makes for his daughter out of love. 

Some of the cast members are Hilda Dokubo, Uzor Arukwe and Lateef Adedimeji. 

5. To Adaego With Love

Directed by Nwamaka Priscillia Chikezie, this historical romance is set in the Nigerian post war era and follows the forbidden love that thrives between a school teacher and a soldier. With their love, and the help of music, the two find healing from the trauma the damages of the war caused them. The cast features Adam Garba, Demi Banwo, Chioma Chukwuka, Chisom Agoawuike, Bob-Manuel Udokwu and Onyeka Onwenu. 

6. Njem

Produced by Uche Chukwu, Njem is the story of a young hustler who has big dreams to migrate to a better life, but soon finds himself stuck when his chance for escape forced him to pick between love and survival, and a loss of his morals. Some of the cast features Chimezie Imo, Kelechi Udegbe, Goodness Emmanuel and Rotimi Salami. 

7. Shall We Meet Tonight

Wapah Ezeigwe’s Shall We Meet Tonight is a queer love story detailing the life of Adaora who is forced to marry a man she has no romantic feelings for, because her heart is for Sussana. This story explores a world where societal expectations force love to be in secret. 

8. The Moral High Court 

Produced by Chisom Ifeakandu, this film explores the lives of five Nigerian women who make the decision to take the witness stand, and create change with their testimonies covering harassment, systemic injustice and abuse. While contending with a barrister whose mode of operation is victim blaming, and invalidation. The cast features Tosin Adeyemi, Adekanmbi Nimi, Celestina Aleobua, Bola Stephen, Kanyin Eros, and Darasimi Nadi. 

9. Angel In The Stone

Doyinsola Ajayi’s Angel In The Stone features the life of Shalewa, an autistic teenager living in a rural village in Nigeria, who finds comfort in building things from discarded materials. When her village survival and her family’s livelihood is endangered during a fish scarcity, she uses her skills to help save the day. 

This film was a shortlisted finalist in the Student category of the 2025 Sony Future Filmmaker Awards.

10. The Day The Heart Died

This film does a dive into the world of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and places it in a setting where fear, love and duty intertwine to confront the societal nightmare. Some of the cast members are William Benson, Etta Jomaria and Tosin Adeyemi.   

11. Leaving Ikorodu In 1999

This short film by Rashida Seriki follows the story of ten year old Momo’s last day in Nigeria, as her uncle and aunt make the journey to drop her off at the airport to begin her journey to London. The film focuses on the internal battle of her aunt who questions if the decision to take her out of the country is a good one. The cast features Tobi Bakre, Tomi Ojo and Motunrayo Abiola Oloke. 

12. Matabeleland 

Directed by Nyasha Kadandara, Matabeleland is a documentary that focuses on the life of Chris Nyathi, a Zimbabwean living in Botswana and his internal struggles with both personal and National traumas. 

13. The Eyes Of Ghana

Directed by Ben Proudfoot, this documentary revolves around the life of 93 year old cinematographer Chris Hesse. 

This documentary investigates the power of cinema in preservation of national memories, and shaping of culture. The Eyes of Ghana made its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and it has also been screened at other festivals like Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), Virginia Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival.

14. Nawi

Directed by Kevin and Toby Schmutzler, Valentine Chelleuget and Appu Mourine, Nawi touches on a true story set in the fight against child marriage. 

Nawi follows the life of a young girl sold by her father in exchange for for a herd of goats, who makes the brave decision to escape child marriage and pursue her dreams of getting education. Some of the cast members are Ben Tekee, Michelle Lemuya, Ochungo Benson and Joel Liwan.

15. The Fisherman 

Zoey Martinson’s The Fisherman follows the life of Atta Oko, a Ghanaian fisherman who teams up with a strange talking fish, and his younger fishermen colleagues in a quest to go to Accra and actualize their dreams of owning a boat. Some of the cast members are Endurance Dedzo, Ricky Adelayitar, Kiki Romi and William Lamptey.

16. 3 Cold Dishes

This Nigerian film executively produced by musician Burna Boy, his mum Bose Ogulu and actress Osas Ighodaro was shot across Nigeria, Benin, Côte D’Ivoire and Mauritania is called “Cold Dishes” and it tells the story of three women who meet each and bound by shared trauma, lose each other and reunite years later to serve justice for their trauma in the coldest way.

17. Untamable 

This Cameroonian crime drama directed by Thomas Ngijol follows the life of Commissioner Billong who sets off on a quest for justice after the death of his colleague, and inadvertently ends up revealing a crack between tradition and change. Some of the cast features Thomas Ngijol, Danilo Melande, Therese Ngono and Bienvenu Roland Mvoe. 

18. Seed

Directed by Chawuko Enakadia, and Muhammad Atta, this short film details the story of Nnenna who succumbs to visiting a spiritualists after years of societal pressures and infertility  in a desperate search for a son, and stumbles upon betrayal, forcing her towards a journey of self reflection. 

The cast features Uzoamaka Power, Bobby Ekpe, and Kelechi Udegbe. 

19. The Boy Who Gave 

Written, Directed and Executively produced by Allison Precious Emmanuel, the film centers on the life of a man who after a tragic accident is orphaned alongside his two siblings in the Niger Delta is forced to abandon his childhood dreams in order to keep life afloat for his siblings. Some of the cast members are Allison Precious Emmanuel, Tina Mba, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Hart Andrew, Abbey Delight Dagogo and Chuks Joseph. 

20. Lace Relations

This joint collaboration between Austrian and Nigerian filmmakers Anette Baldauf, Chioma Onyenwe (producer of I Do Not Come To You By Chance), Joana Adesuwa Reiterer, and Katharina Weingartner details the intertwined lives of Austrian and Nigerian citizens in order to review power dynamics and colonial impact and legacies.

21. Idia 

This film follows the life of Idia, the first female warrior who defied tradition and cultural beliefs in a  deeply male society. The film seeks to dismantle traditional norms and stereotypes. Some of the cast members include Mia McKenzie, Bonnie Milnes, and Aiso-osa Ehigiator. 

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