The 14th Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) will kick off with the screening of ‘3 Cold Dishes,’ a pan-African thriller co-produced by Afrofusion star Burna Boy and actress Osas Ighodaro.
The festival’s lineup and its 2025 theme, ‘Rhythms of the Continent: The Afrobeats Film Movement,’ were unveiled at a Lagos event on Thursday.
Scheduled to run from November 2, the festival will celebrate the powerful synergy between music and cinema.
“It is really about music. We want to showcase the effect and the importance of music in film. And most importantly, our music in film. If we are making African films we also need to understand why music should also be African and the effect of it,” said Chioma Ude, founder of AFRIFF.
“We are pulling in all our music partners, all our musicians, music executives to guide us, encourage us and to learn. We are here to say this is how you are important to films.”
The opening film ‘3 Cold Dishes’ was shot across several African, European, and Arabian nations. Director Asurf Oluseyi revealed that the film tells the story of trafficked girls on a mission for revenge against their abductors.
“‘3 Cold Dishes’ is a Pan African film. A co-production between Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, the Ivory Coast, France, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia,” Asurf said.
“It is shining on stories of survival within Africa. Most of the stories we have talk about Africans to Europeans. 90% of trafficking happens within Africa. This is an important story to us.
“Burna and I have a working relationship. It was very easy to work with him. He trusted my work.”
The festival will offer practical industry insights, including a workshop on November 3 at the Twin Towers in Lekki.
The session, headlined by Moses Babatope of The Nile Group and EbonyLife’s head of legal Omotayo Queen Inakoju will cover revenue maximisation and understanding distribution agreements. Music star Davido has also been announced as a panellist for the event.
A significant new feature for the 14th edition is the introduction of the AFRIFF Film & Content Market (AFCM).
Ude described it as a crucial step for industry sustainability, providing a platform for creators to network with marketers, exhibitors, and financiers. Partners expected at the summit include SOOP, a Korean content creation company, and the World Bank.
The festival will honour several distinguished figures, including vice president Kasim Shettima; Enugu governor Peter Mbah; US actor David Oyelowo; and Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
AFRIFF 2025 will conclude with two final screenings: a documentary by highlife singer Flavour N’abania titled ‘Afroculture: The Making,’ and ‘Tukki from Roots to Bayou,’ a film by Vincent Le Gal and Alune Wade.
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