Five African shorts (short films) have been chosen for the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors Screenings program, where they will compete for the African Film Press (AFP) Critics Prize.
This marks a landmark moment for the AFP alliance, it is the first time this prize has been awarded outside Africa. Beyond a $500 cash award and formal certification, the winning director will gain ongoing, cross-regional editorial support to help elevate their voice in cinema.
The AFP Critics Prize is an award presented by African Film Press (AFP), a pan-African media alliance made up of the publications Akoroko, Sinema Focus, and What Kept Me Up, founded in 2025 by Tambay Obenson, Jennifer Ochieng, and Ikeade Oriade. It was first presented on 5 December 2025 at the 5th edition of the S16 Film Festival in Lagos, where the inaugural award went to Nigerian filmmaker Dika Ofoma for his short film Obi Is a Boy.
For its 2026 edition, AFP became a new award partner of the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors program, which focuses on African cinema. The prize comprises a USD 500 cash award, a certificate, and ongoing editorial coverage of the recipient and their future work across AFP’s publications.
At Locarno, five short films from Senegal, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Angola are competing for the prize during the festival’s 79th edition, marking the first time the award is presented outside Africa. The winner will be announced on August 10, 2026, alongside other Open Doors awards.
Time to Change, Pocas Pascoal
From celebrated Angolan filmmaker Pocas Pascoal — known for intimate historical storytelling and past festival recognition for All Is Well — comes Time to Change, a 5-minute experimental documentary. The film meditates on transition, memory, and evolving societal identity, drawing on archival footage to trace how colonial and capitalist exploitation — land seizure, slavery — continues to fuel Angola’s environmental destruction and structural inequality today.
sKINs_ADDIS, Rediet Haddis Yalew
Ethiopian filmmaker Rediet Haddis Yalew brings sKINs_ADDIS ABEBA, a visually bold portrait of modern identity and urban youth culture set against the pulse of Addis Ababa.
Submergido, Ariel Añez
Mozambican director Ariel Añez makes his filmmaking debut with Submergido, a 14-minute drama examining how war fractures families and how personal grief intertwines with collective trauma. The story follows Sergio as he returns home to break the news that his brother Amarildo has disappeared amid the ongoing conflict in Cabo Delgado. The film premiered internationally at the Rotterdam Film Festival (IFFR).
Concrete Moves, Fagamou Fama Ndiaye
Senegalese director Fagamou Fama Ndiaye presents Concrete Moves, a 12-minute documentary examining Dakar’s rapid urbanization and the toll it takes on the environment, memory, and daily rhythms of life. Rooted in the director’s own childhood memory — a moment of fear involving a snake during a school trip to the Mamelles lighthouse — the film reflects on how concrete development is steadily erasing the city’s natural landscape and collective history.
Goat, Judy Kibinge
Kenyan filmmaker Judy Kibinge, a trailblazer in the country’s independent film scene and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, brings her signature narrative depth to Goat, a supernatural folk-thriller. The story follows city couple Suki and Benjamin as a getaway to a remote livestock farm spirals into the uncanny.
All five directors will vie for the first-ever international AFP Critics Prize while also taking part in Open Doors Directors, an intensive mentorship track offering long-term global industry connections and career support.
These films are just part of a larger showcase: the Open Doors Screenings section features 13 films from 12 African countries in total, reflecting the festival’s four-year commitment to spotlighting filmmakers from regions where production infrastructure remains limited.
