Locarno Film Festival Unveils 2025 Edition Line-up
When the 2025 edition of Locarno Film Festival opens in Switzerland on August 6, 17 films (world premieres) will vie for the Golden Leopard awards. Among them is Dracula by Romanian filmmaker and Berlinale Golden Bear winner, Radu Jude, and UK artist-filmmaker Ben Rivers’ Mare’s Nest, a UK-France-Canada co-production, that’s set in a world where adults no longer exist. Jude’s ‘Dracula’ is a comedy drama shot and set in Transylvania that explores the legend of Dracula through multiple lenses. Jude is back to Locarno after two films— Eight Postcards From Utopia, co-directed with Christian Ferencz-Flatz, and Sleep #2 featured out of competition last year. Nigeria made the Locarno cut this year. The festival picked Ema Edosio’s latest film, When Nigeria Happens, to feature at the Open Doors section of the festival: a section that is devoted to spotlighting films from underrepresented regions, especially films from sub-Saharan Africa. This selection of Edosio’s film, which follows the journey of young creatives, told through dance, music, and deeply emotional storytelling marks the film’s world premiere. The film stars notable Nigerian actors such as Alex Usifo, Jidekene Achufusi and Seun Ajayi. Other films from sub-Saharan Africa that will feature in the Open Doors selection include Bougainvillea (Sudan), The Bride (Rwanda), and Ancestral Visions of the Future (Lesotho). In its 78th edition, the organisers have previously named Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh as jury president of the international competition. Speaking about the films of the international competition, Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, said: “The films of the 78th edition represent what is alive, necessary, and daring in contemporary cinema today. A cinema entirely in the present tense, devoid of any nostalgia and projected forward towards an open, dynamic, inclusive future that is to be imagined together, once again.” Nazzaro also said, “a playful and dangerous cinema that takes many risks, but also a cinema that does not forget to laugh and smile, and to question history in all its aspects. A necessary cinema, therefore, to be discovered in the darkness of the screening hall, where we rediscover the profound sense of aesthetic pleasure and feel part of a community. These are films designed for the cinema and for the collective experience in front of the screen. Once again, cinema is now – and facing into the future.” The Festival will run from August 6 to 16, 2025.

NFVCB’s Regulation On Tobacco Promotion In Films Presented In Ireland
THE National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has once again placed Nigeria at the forefront of progressive media regulation in Africa, with its presentation at the recently concluded World Tobacco Conference held in Ireland from June 23 to 26, The Executive Director/CEO of the NFVCB, Dr. Shaibu Husseini, who attended the global event, presented a status report on the implementation of the NFVCB 2024 Regulation on the Control of the Promotion and Glamourisation of Tobacco, Narcotics, Ritual Killings and Money Rituals in Nigerian films, music videos, and skits. The regulation, which was approved and gazetted earlier in 2024 under the leadership of the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, was hailed at the conference as a groundbreaking policy initiative. Nigeria was recognised as the first country in Africa to develop and enforce such a bold regulation targeting the harmful portrayal of substance abuse and ritualistic practices in screen content. The global audience responded with commendations for the Nigerian government, especially Minister Musawa, for what was described as “a courageous and visionary move to protect public health and preserve cultural values.” One of the major outcomes of the conference was the various pledges by a number of international organisations, to assist Nigeria in the continued implementation of the regulation. The support — set to be delivered through their local partner CAPPA (Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa) — will include logistical and technical assistance to enhance compliance and awareness. The NFVCB as the ED reiterated remains committed to enforcing the regulation and working with both local and international partners to ensure the Nigerian creative space is not used to promote harmful behavior or ideologies.

Preparation On For First Nigeria AI Film Festival
NIGERIA’S first-ever festival dedicated to AI-filmmaking is to hold in September 2025 in Lagos as announced. The festival dubbed Naija Artificial Intelligence Film Festival (NAIFF) aims to champion the next frontier of cinematic innovation by fostering ethical AI use and celebrating daring AI filmmakers. Chief promoter of the festival Obinna Okerekeocha disclosed that NAIFF will explore the intersection of technology and storytelling, offering a groundbreaking platform for Nollywood and African cinema to embrace artificial intelligence (AI). Okerekeocha who has been sharing insights on the transformative role of AI in filmmaking across social media platforms noted that disruption of AI is happening in filmmaking and AI should not be seen merely as a tool but as a collaborator that enhances creativity and storytelling. Okerekeocha, a filmmaker also noted that the festival which will feature trainings and masterclasses, and exclusive screenings showcasing AI-assisted films will serve as the platform to build a community of Artificial Intelligence filmmakers pushing boundaries in Nigerian filmmaking. Additional information on the festival can be sourced at www.naijaaifilmfest.com