Get Guardian on GoogleBy Shaibu Husseini
Canex Weekend Ends Today
Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 which opened on Thursday November 5 in Lagos will close on November 8. Hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria and organised by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) through its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, this year’s event which held under the theme “One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World’’ brought together leading creatives, investors, policymakers, business leaders and cultural figures from across Africa and the diaspora for four days of conversations, deal-making, performances, exhibitions and industry-focused sessions. The 2026 programme spans film and television, music, fashion, sport, literature and publishing, gastronomy and visual arts, with a strong focus on finance, intellectual property, technology, skills, investment and market access. Across the four-day programme, CANEX WKND provided platforms for deal-making, industry dialogue and sector-specific engagement, including the CANEX Deal Room, which aimed at turning creative talent and ideas into stronger businesses, partnerships and commercial opportunities. That ambition reflects the evolution of Afreximbank’s commitment to Africa’s creative and cultural industries in 2020, subsequently doubling this to US$1 billion before quadrupling the original commitment financing available to US$2 billion. The opening ceremony and other events of CANEX featured addresses by Ministers of Culture and Creative Industries across 11 African countries, Dr George Elombi, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, H.E. Dr Olajumoke Omoniyi Oduwole, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, and H.E. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State among other dignitaries. Other very important participants included Nobel Laureate, writer and playwright Professor Wole Soyinka; Emmy Award-winning actor Uzo Aduba; filmmaker; alongside leading figures from Africa’s music, film, fashion, sport and creative business sectors. The event also included performances and appearances from musicians and entertainers such as Davido, Fally Ipupa, Flavour, Libianca and Charlotte Dipanda, reflecting CANEX WKND’s combination of industry engagement with live cultural programming. But beyond the headline names, the programme placed a strong emphasis on the business of Africa’s creative economy. Financing was also central to the programme as the Creative Economy Finance Summit, presented by Afreximbank in partnership with the Creative Economy Practice at Co-Creation Hub, brought financial institutions and investors together to examine how creative-economy transactions can be structured, financed and de-risked. CANEX WKND 2026 also featured a major concert bringing together artists from across Africa and the diaspora. The weekend closed on November 8 with cultural excursions, gastronomy activities, the CANEX Music Factory Songwriting Camp and the Legends Football Game.
39th TIFF Closes In Grand Style
THE 39th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) came to a close on November 4, following 10 days of screenings and events at the festival’s venues in the Hibiya-Marunouchi-Yurakucho-Ginza area and elsewhere around the capital. TIFF screened 204 films, many of them world premieres and nearly all of them with guest appearances, with 69,072 admissions and another 89,269 audience members attending related events. This year’s highlights included a vibrant procession on the soaking-wet opening Red Carpet, masterclasses with singular filmmakers Wayne Wang and Tsukamoto Shinya, crowd-pleasing Opening, Closing and Centerpiece films from Japan and Korea, which included memorable monsters from both countries. During the Closing Ceremony at Hulic Hall Tokyo, recipients were announced for a range of awards, culminating in the Tokyo Grand Prix, The Governor of Tokyo Award, which comes with 3 million yen in prize money. This year’s competition jury was chaired by Rolf de Heer while competition jury members were Alex Lo , Oh Jungwan, Watanabe Makiko , Yov Moor. The closing ceremony film was Colony: Yeon Sang-ho (Director), Hailey Yoo-min Yang (Executive Producer), Koo Kyo-hwan (Actor), Nao (Actor) and Kaji Yuki (Voice Actor). The Tokyo Grand Prix, The Governor of Tokyo Award was awarded to Sister Brother Manhole Cover (North Macedonia/Bulgaria/Serbia/Albania/Italy/UK) while the Special Jury Prize went to Magic Atlas (Singapore). The award for Best Director went to Lisandro Alonso (Double Freedom, Chile/Argentina/Luxembourg/Germany/UK), while the award for best actress and best actor went to Hu Ling (The Night That Binds Us, France/Hong Kong) and Narita Ryo (Two Cigarettes, Three Nights, Japan)
AFRIFF Wraps Up In Lagos
THE Africa International Film Festival which returned to Lagos for its 15th edition, running from Sunday November 1, closed on Saturday November 7, 2026 with the Globe awards. Screenings, conversations and events for this year’s edition took place across the festival’s homes on Victoria Island and Lekki. This year’s theme, ‘Frames of the Future: Africa’s Creative Intelligence’, examined the new business models, formats and trends reshaping African and global film — and at the people building them. Founded in Lagos in 2010, AFRIFF has grown into the biggest platform on the continent where African storytellers meet the international film business. Each edition brings filmmakers, artists and industry leaders together to encounter the work and each other — in the cinema, on the panels and long after the lights come up. This year, the Africa Film & Content Market (AFCM) returned for its second edition from November 2-5, 2026, putting creators, buyers, investors and distributors in the same room in Lagos. Across four days, the market hosted industry sessions on production, distribution, financing, policy and audiences, alongside curated meetings, investment roundtables and project showcases. Full list of winners of the Globe Awards can be sourced on the festival website at www.afriff.com.
