BENIFFEST

BENIFFEST 2026

ROOTS & ROUTES

Every story comes from somewhere. Every story can travel somewhere.
Dates, venue and programme details will be announced as they are confirmed.

BENIFFEST 2026 explores the relationship between cultural identity and the journeys stories take across communities, generations and borders.

Rooted in Benue and Nigeria’s Middle Belt, BENIFFEST creates a meeting point for filmmakers, storytellers, creative professionals and audiences to explore the stories that shape us and the possibilities that emerge when those stories travel.

Through cinema, cultural expression and industry engagement, Roots & Routes invites us to consider where our stories come from, what they carry, and where they can take us.

BENIFFEST 2026: Roots & Routes.
The Theme

What does Roots & Routes mean?

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Roots

Roots

The stories, identities, languages, histories and experiences that shape us.

Routes

Routes

The journeys through which stories reach new audiences, cross borders, inspire new work and create possibilities.

Together

Where stories come from, and where they can go

Roots & Routes invites us to consider where our stories come from, what they carry, and where they can take us.

BENIFFEST 2026

Roots & Routes

Rooted in Benue and Nigeria’s Middle Belt, BENIFFEST creates a meeting point for filmmakers, storytellers, creative professionals and audiences. Details will be announced as they are confirmed.

The Journey of a Story

How a story can travel

From a community memory to new creative possibilities, which is why film festivals and industry-development platforms matter.

A community memory

A story begins in a place, a family, a language.

A written story

Memory takes shape on the page.

A film

The story becomes moving image.

A festival screening

Audiences gather to see it together.

A new audience

The story reaches people far from where it began.

Further creative possibilities

New conversations, collaborations and work.

Roots and Routes

Grounded at home, open to the world

Roots

Benue and the Middle Belt

BENIFFEST is grounded in its home context: the stories, languages, histories and creative talent of Benue and Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
Routes

Wider African and international cinema

The routes lead outward to wider African and international cinema, and back again as stories, ideas and creative connections arrive from elsewhere.
Programmes, partnerships and opportunities will be announced as they are confirmed.
Dates

To be announced

Details will be announced as confirmed.
Venue

To be announced

Details will be announced as confirmed.
Proposed Programme Architecture

What the festival is built around

The programme will be published as it is confirmed.

Film Screenings

Screenings of selected films.

Industry Activities

Sessions and meetings for the screen industry.

Development Programmes

Programmes that support projects and storytellers.

Cultural Activities

Cultural programming alongside the films.

Awards

Recognition for outstanding work.

Closing Celebrations

Bringing the festival to a close.
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