The annual festival celebrates African art by bringing to the spotlight exceptional filmmakers and independent films and often includes a lineup of festivities to draw film lovers.
Spanning four days, the event typically includes short film screenings, feature films, and panel sessions with renowned and emerging filmmakers.
The upcoming edition of the S16 Film Festival was announced in an official statement by organisers on August 14, 2024.
“TECHNOLOGIC – THE S16 Film Festival returns for its Fourth Edition. Over the course of four days, our community of film lovers will be treated to a series of new wave cinema, an exhibition, panel conversations, and a themed party. Beginning on December 5-8 at Alliance Francais, Lagos.”
Inspired by the Dogme 95 movement, the festival is a subsidiary of the Surreal 16 Collective, a movement whose vision is to transform the Nigerian cinema template and challenge its established ethos.
The S16 Film Festival was founded by filmmakers, CJ Obasi, Abba T. Makama, and Michael Omonua. The first edition in 2021 screened 10 short films and one feature-length film, the anthological Juju Stories directed by a trio of founders. The second edition saw the screenings of 14 films, comprising 10 short films and four feature-length films by directors from various African countries — Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Rwanda. The third edition, themed To God be the Glory, also screened unique African films including Banel and Adama, a 2023 Senegalese romantic drama film directed by Ramata-Toulaye Sy
