NBO Film Festival is screening 54 films across Nairobi during its seventh edition as an expanded industry programme offers filmmakers buyer meetings and development funding.
Organisers said in a release dated 22 Oct 2026 that the programme includes 33 features and 21 shorts.
NBO Film Festival artistic director Mbithi Masya said the event was about “building a deeper culture of cinema”.
The industry programme matters to Kenya’s film business because it connects selected projects with international buyers and festival scouts.
Organisers said participants in the NBO Project Showcase will pitch projects to industry professionals and attend one-on-one meetings.
Selected projects will also be eligible for the Ksh250,000 NBO Development Grant under the expanded industry programme.
The release did not specify the number of participating projects.
It also gave no announcement date for the grant recipient.
The festival opened on 15 Oct 2026 at Prestige Cinema in Nairobi with the Rwandan feature Ben’Imana.
Organisers said the screening marked the film’s African premiere and brought its cast together to watch it for the first time.
The Kenya and Germany production Call Me Queen screened as a special presentation on 17 Oct 2026.
This year’s theme is Cinema for Us.
The programme runs at Prestige Plaza, Unseen Cinema and Alliance Française Nairobi.
Free community screenings are also available at Kaloleni Social Hall through advance registration.
Organisers said single screening tickets start at Ksh1,000.
Lunchbox screenings cost Ksh750.
The Buddy Ticket costs Ksh4,000 for five tickets and the Box Set offers five different films at the same price.
A Golden Ticket covering the full festival programme costs Ksh20,000.
Tickets are available through Mookh.
The festival has three juried competitions covering 15 films across fiction features, documentaries and short fiction.
The returning Fiction Feature Film Competition is joined by the new Nick Wambugu Prize for Documentary and Short Film Fiction Competition.
Judy Kibinge chairs the fiction feature jury.
Sam Soko chairs the documentary jury.
Lydia Matata chairs the short fiction jury alongside a panel of filmmakers and industry professionals.
Kenyan titles elsewhere in the programme include Cards on the Table, Kamĩrĩĩthũ Afterlives, Stero and Tracks.
The festival is also presenting its first filmmaker retrospective dedicated to Senegalese director Alain Gomis.
The European Union National Institutes for Culture supports the retrospective featuring Félicité, Rewind & Play, Tey, L’Afrance and Andalucia.
Organisers said Gomis would attend audience and industry events during the festival.
The wider industry programme includes labs and professional exchanges alongside filmmaker conversations and City Dialogues.
The festival closes on 25 Oct 2026.
Call Me Queen begins its East African theatrical release on 30 Oct 2026.
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