Nigeria's first AI-only film festival is accepting free submissions for a Lagos screening this October

Nigeria's first dedicated AI film festival is open for submissions, and it costs nothing to enter. The Naija AI Film Festival (NAIFF) 2026, organised by NAIFF and Obinna Okerekeocha, runs in Lagos throughout October 2026, and the team behind it is positioning the event as Africa's home for films built with generative AI tools. That is a meaningful claim at a moment when AI filmmaking is maturing fast and most festival infrastructure still sits in Europe and North America.

The festival actively welcomes work made in Pidgin, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and French, provided English subtitles are included. That language policy is deliberate: it signals that this is not a Western festival with an African backdrop, but a space built around the continent's own storytelling traditions. Creators based anywhere in the world may submit, so the door is open to the diaspora as well as to filmmakers on the ground across Africa.

What you submit

NAIFF accepts work across three categories: short film narrative, animation, and documentary. All submitted films must disclose which AI tools were used in their production. The festival lists a broad set of approved tools, including Runway, Sora, Kling, Pika, MidJourney, ElevenLabs, ChatGPT and Claude, but the rules state "any AI tools" are permitted, so you are not restricted to that list. There is no stated minimum or maximum runtime on the official page, so contact the organisers via FilmFreeway if your project sits at an unusual length.

Submissions go through FilmFreeway at filmfreeway.com/NaijaAIFilmFestival.

Prize structure

The prize here is not cash. Selected films receive a festival screening in Lagos during October 2026 and continental press exposure across Africa. For AI filmmakers looking to build a credits list and reach audiences outside the usual festival circuit, that exposure has genuine practical value, but you should go in clear-eyed: there is no monetary award listed on the official page. If a cash prize or jury award is announced closer to the festival, that information will appear on the FilmFreeway listing.

Terms worth reading

Entry is free, which is the single most important term to note. The official page carries no language about rights grabs or broad licensing of submitted work, which is creator-friendly by the standards of many open-call events. The one firm obligation is disclosure of AI tools used, which is standard practice in this space and unlikely to cause problems for anyone entering legitimately.

The festival does not publish submission hours alongside the 15 September 2026 deadline, only the date. Submit by 14 September 2026 to give yourself a clear margin against any timezone ambiguity on the FilmFreeway platform.

The full contest listing is at aifilmcontests.com. Apply directly through FilmFreeway.

Source: https://aifilmcontests.com/contests/naija-ai-film-festival-2026