Ten African productions have been selected for the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, running September 10-20, 2026, spanning nine countries across the continent, according to Afrocritik. The lineup includes films from Rwanda, Gabon, Nigeria, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Egypt, Chad and Ghana.
Leading the Centrepiece section is “Ben’Imana,” directed by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, a Rwanda-Gabon-France-Norway co-production that won the Caméra d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and explores forgiveness in the wake of the Tutsi genocide. Also in Centrepiece is “Congo Boy,” directed by Rafiki Fariala, whose lead actor Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset won Best Actor at Cannes for his role as a young rapper supporting his family in Bangui. Nigeria’s “The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives,” directed by Daniel Oriahi and adapted from Lola Shoneyin’s novel, rounds out the section’s Nigerian entry.
The Centrepiece slate also includes South Africa’s “Future Tense,” directed by Jenna Cato Bass, a world premiere addressing climate change and South African identity, and “Soumsoum, The Night of the Stars” from Chad’s Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival, about a teenage girl with spiritual gifts challenging her community’s superstitions.
In Special Presentations, “Clarissa,” directed by Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri, reimagines Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs Dalloway” in contemporary Lagos and stars Sophie Okonedo and David Oyelowo. South Africa’s “The Smell of Apples,” directed by John Trengove, premieres in the Platform section, following an 11-year-old white South African boy who begins to recognize the brutality of apartheid.
Rounding out the selection, Ghana’s “Zjili: A Story of Sisterhood and The Burdens of Excess” premieres in the Discovery section, while the Short Cuts programme includes Egypt’s “The Day I Smoked a Cigarette with My Father,” set in 1960s Cairo, and Nigeria’s “The Spectacular Death of Prisca,” a surreal melodrama set during the 2000s Nollywood era. The lineup follows a strong first half of 2026 for Nigerian cinema, which earned more than N2.25 billion at the domestic box office, underscoring the industry’s growing international visibility alongside its commercial momentum at home.
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