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NBO Film Festival 2026 closed at Prestige Cinema with Ben’Imana, The Women Who Poked the Leopard and God Sleeps on Sunday taking top honours. See all the winners.
After ten days of screenings, conversations and celebration across Nairobi, the 2026 NBO Film Festival has come to a close. The awards ceremony took place on Sunday, 25 October 2026 at Prestige Cinema, where Rwandan feature Ben’Imana, documentary The Women Who Poked the Leopard and short film God Sleeps on Sunday took top honours in their categories.
It was a fitting end to the seventh edition of the festival, held under the theme Cinema for Us.
Founded in 2017, NBO Film Festival is a Nairobi-based cinema platform dedicated to growing audiences for Kenyan, African and international film. This year it grew in every direction. The programme featured 53 films, a new screening venue in downtown Nairobi, three dedicated juried competitions and an expanded three-day industry programme.
Co-Founder and Artistic Director Mbithi Masya explained the idea behind the theme.
“Cinema for Us means giving African films a place in our public life, where audiences can see themselves on screen,” he said. “This year, we have created more ways to do that, while helping filmmakers develop the work that audiences will see next.”
Fiction Feature: Ben’Imana, directed by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, received the Fiction Feature Jury Prize. The jury called it “a revelation and a triumph,” praising its morally complex exploration of the legacy of the genocide against the Tutsi and its questions about memory, healing and the difficulty of forgiving oneself. Their verdict: “This is cinema at its purest… cinema for us!” A Special Commendation went to Lady, directed by Olive Nwosu, for its artistic risk-taking and singular vision.
Documentary: The inaugural Nick Wambugu Documentary Award, honouring the late Kenyan documentary filmmaker, went to The Women Who Poked the Leopard, directed by Patience Nitumwesiga. The jury praised its bold, unrelenting central character and its reflection of the region’s present realities. A Special Mention went to Crocodile, directed by The Critics and Pietra Brettkelly, for its audacity and independent voice.
Short Film: God Sleeps on Sunday, directed by Naishe Nyamubaya, won the Short Film Jury Prize. The film follows a young evangelical pastor determined to build a church on land occupied by a traditional herbalist. The jury admired how firmly each side held to its truth, noting that Africans live with such tensions every day. The jury also gave a unanimous Special Mention to animated short The Big Sad Nairobi 2, directed by Gift Kyansimire Oroni, for its imagination and its proof of what animation can do for Kenyan stories.
The 2026 Vanguard Prize was awarded posthumously to Yahya Chavanga, a location manager, assistant director and actor whose work helped shape more than three decades of East African film production. The prize recognises trailblazers whose leadership and dedication have advanced African film and television, and this year’s choice put a well-deserved spotlight on the people working behind the scenes to bring films to life.
Six industry awards recognised four film projects across development, production, post-production and distribution. Tithes and Offerings, written and directed by Tony Koros and produced by Tony Kamau and Louise Kamwangi, took three of them.
The festival’s first filmmaker retrospective celebrated acclaimed Senegalese filmmaker Alain Gomis, with support from EUNIC. Gomis attended in person and delivered a masterclass. The retrospective screened Félicité, Rewind and Play, Tey, L’Afrance and Andalucia.
NBO Industry Days ran from 21 to 23 October, offering the NBO Project Showcase, masterclasses and professional exchanges on financing, distribution, the festival circuit, safer sets and intimacy coordination, and the future of post-production.
With new competitions, a first retrospective and a bigger industry programme, this edition pushed the festival’s goal of building a cinema culture where African films are seen, discussed and valued at home. The festival thanked the filmmakers, juries, partners, audiences, staff and volunteers who made 2026 possible.
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