LAGOS, Nigeria — The Lekki International Film Festival, popularly known as Lekkifest, is expanding its programme for 2026 to bring filmmakers, advertising professionals, digital-media creators, writers and spoken-word performers together under one platform, reflecting a growing effort to connect Nigeria’s entertainment industry with the wider creative economy.
The festival is scheduled to hold from November 17 to 21, 2026, in Lagos, under the theme “Three Creative Worlds, One Festival.” Its expanded programme will combine three major sections: Film’s Best, Creative Media, and Spoken Word and Literature.
According to information published by Nigeria’s Voice of Nigeria on October 10, the festival will take place at Iwalewa Art Gallery, 29A Chris Madueke Drive, Lekki Phase 1, and Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island. Each section is expected to have its own awards programme and dedicated publication showcasing selected works, participating creatives, interviews and industry perspectives.
The development marks a broader ambition for Lekkifest: to create a meeting point for different forms of storytelling and visual communication rather than restricting its activities to conventional film screenings.
The organisers’ official website also describes the 2026 edition as a five-day gathering featuring screenings, competitions, conversations and recognition for creative professionals. It identifies filmmaking, creative communication and literary expression as central elements of the programme.
Sources: Voice of Nigeria | Official Lekkifest website
Three creative disciplines under one platform
The expanded programme is organised around three areas that frequently overlap in the modern entertainment business.
Film’s Best will remain the festival’s flagship competition. Creative Media will recognise work in advertising and related visual communication, while Spoken Word and Literature will provide opportunities for writers, poets, dramatists, storytellers and performance artists.
The organisers’ approach reflects changes in how entertainment content is produced, financed and distributed. A filmmaker may also produce digital advertisements, a writer may develop a story for the screen, and a brand may finance original entertainment content to reach a particular audience.
Bringing these groups together could create opportunities for collaboration, professional networking and the development of new projects.
However, the long-term value of such a platform will depend on whether the festival can turn its annual gathering into lasting relationships between creative professionals, businesses, institutions and audiences.
Lekkifest’s 2026 programme is therefore significant not only as an entertainment event but also as an attempt to connect several parts of the creative sector that often operate independently.
Film’s Best retains its central role
Film’s Best will serve as the main competition, with the festival inviting submissions from filmmakers in Nigeria, other African countries, the African diaspora and the international film community.
The listed categories include Best Long Feature Film, Best Short Feature Film, Best Documentary Film and Best Indigenous Language Film.
These categories provide room for different production formats and storytelling traditions. Feature films can accommodate extended narratives, while short films allow filmmakers to explore ideas within tighter production and screening limits. Documentaries offer opportunities to examine real people, events and social questions, while indigenous-language productions can bring local languages and cultural experiences to wider audiences.
The inclusion of indigenous-language cinema is particularly relevant to Nigeria, where the country’s many languages and cultural traditions offer filmmakers a broad range of stories. Productions in Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and other Nigerian languages can reach audiences through local cinemas, television, streaming services and diaspora networks when appropriate distribution arrangements are available.
Recognition at a festival does not automatically guarantee commercial success, but competitions can help draw attention to work that might otherwise struggle to reach a wider audience.
For emerging filmmakers, a festival can also offer an opportunity to present projects, receive professional feedback and meet potential collaborators.
The extent of those benefits will depend on the quality of the submissions, the judging process, audience participation and the professional opportunities available to selected filmmakers.
New category explores mobile-phone and AI-assisted filmmaking
One of the notable features of the 2026 programme is the inclusion of a Best Mobile Phone/AI Film category.
The category is intended to recognise productions made with mobile devices, artificial intelligence or a combination of emerging digital filmmaking technologies, according to Voice of Nigeria’s report.
Its introduction comes as technological tools continue to change how films and other video content can be created.
Smartphones now allow creators to capture high-quality footage without necessarily having access to traditional cinema cameras. Editing applications, affordable lighting and sound equipment, and online distribution services have also made it easier for independent creators to produce and publish video work.
Artificial intelligence has introduced additional possibilities, including assistance with story development, visual effects, editing, subtitling and other production tasks. Depending on the tools used, creators may also incorporate AI-generated visual or audio elements into their projects.
These technologies can reduce some barriers to entry, although they do not eliminate the need for storytelling ability, technical knowledge, planning, sound quality, editing and careful creative decisions.
A film made with a mobile phone still requires a coherent story and deliberate choices about performance, framing, lighting, sound and pacing. Likewise, AI tools cannot by themselves guarantee originality or a compelling viewing experience.
The new category could provide a platform for examining how filmmakers use accessible technology while maintaining creative standards.
It also raises questions that film festivals and the wider industry increasingly need to address, including disclosure of AI-generated material, ownership of creative work, copyright, consent and the distinction between human-made and machine-generated elements.
The official festival information identifies mobile-phone and AI-assisted filmmaking as part of the competition’s scope. Detailed rules governing eligible tools, AI use and assessment should be checked in the relevant category guidelines before submission.
Source: Voice of Nigeria
Creative Media puts advertising in the spotlight
The second major section, Creative Media, will focus on advertising and visual storytelling.
The programme is expected to cover television commercials, digital and online video advertisements, still-image advertising, campaign photography, branded visual content and other forms of promotional creativity.
It will also revisit vintage and heritage advertising, bringing attention to campaigns from earlier decades and their place in Nigeria’s popular and commercial culture.
Advertising is often viewed primarily as a business activity, but its creative work can also influence how people remember brands, products, public campaigns and important moments in society.
Television commercials, newspaper advertisements, posters, radio campaigns and contemporary online videos can become part of a generation’s shared memories. Their language, music, humour, visual styles and slogans may reflect the period in which they were produced.
Preserving and discussing such material can help document changes in consumer behaviour, design, technology and social expectations.
The festival’s focus on heritage advertising could also encourage conversations about how Nigerian brands have represented family life, fashion, food, music, gender roles and national identity over time.
The programme is expected to include selected categories in which members of the public can view shortlisted works, vote and share memories through the festival’s social-media platforms.
Such participation could help audiences engage with advertising as a form of creative expression rather than seeing it only as a message intended to sell a product.
Public voting, however, is different from professional judging. The credibility of awards will depend on clear rules, transparent categories and an understandable distinction between audience choices and decisions made by judges.
For advertising agencies, production companies and independent creatives, the section could offer a way to showcase work beyond conventional industry showcases.
It may also help connect brands with photographers, filmmakers, designers, digital-content producers and other professionals capable of developing campaigns across multiple formats.
Source: Voice of Nigeria
Literature and spoken word broaden the festival’s reach
The third section, Spoken Word and Literature, will celebrate written and performed storytelling.
The organisers have outlined categories covering spoken-word poetry, performance poetry, short stories, poetry, dramatic writing, literary extracts, screenwriting and other film-related writing.
Writers, poets, performers, dramatists, storytellers and emerging literary voices are among those invited to participate.
The section could create a link between literary work and screen production. Many films begin with a written story, screenplay, stage work or another form of narrative that is later adapted for a different audience.
Bringing writers into the same environment as filmmakers and creative-media professionals may encourage new collaborations, including adaptations, short films, scripted digital productions and other original projects.
Screenwriting is particularly important because a strong concept must be translated into dialogue, character development, scenes and a structure that can be produced within practical limits.
Literature and spoken-word performance also offer creative forms that do not require a film production budget. A poet or storyteller may be able to present work live, publish it online or develop it into a longer project through collaboration with other artists.
For young writers and performers, an organised festival can provide a platform for presenting their work and connecting with audiences beyond their immediate communities.
The planned opportunity for selected participants to deliver live spoken-word performances or literary readings could make the programme more accessible to audiences who may not otherwise attend a film-industry event.
The festival’s three-part structure recognises that creative work does not always fit neatly into separate professional categories. Storytelling can move from a poem to a stage performance, from a short story to a screenplay, or from a film concept to a branded video.
Whether the expanded programme leads to new productions or professional partnerships will become clearer as participants are announced and the festival approaches.
Segun Oyekunle award to honour inaugural jury chairman
The festival’s top film honour will be named the Segun Oyekunle Award for Overall Best Film, in memory of Segun Oyekunle, who served as the inaugural jury chairman.
Voice of Nigeria reported that Oyekunle died shortly after the festival’s inaugural edition in 2019, which was held at Lekki Coliseum.
Naming the award in his honour gives the festival an opportunity to recognise the contribution of a figure associated with its early development.
Awards named after respected participants can help preserve institutional memory, particularly for cultural events seeking to build continuity across editions.
The significance of the award will ultimately rest on the quality and consistency of the festival’s selection process, the films recognised and the respect the honour earns among filmmakers and audiences.
For an emerging or developing festival, maintaining clear criteria and professional standards is important in building confidence among entrants. Filmmakers need to understand what is being judged, how entries are evaluated and what recognition means for their work.
The award may become one of the programme’s defining honours if the festival sustains its activities and develops a reputation for celebrating strong filmmaking.
Three publications planned for the 2026 edition
In addition to screenings and awards, Lekkifest plans to publish three dedicated compilations: Film’s Best Awards, Creative Media Awards, and Spoken Word and Literature Awards.
The publications are expected to feature selected works and information about participating creatives, including interviews and industry perspectives.
A publication associated with a festival can serve several purposes. It can document the programme, provide visibility for selected participants and preserve information that might otherwise be scattered across announcements and social-media posts.
For writers and other creative professionals, inclusion may also offer a record of participation that can be referenced in future applications, portfolios or professional discussions.
For the festival itself, the publications could help build a record of its development across editions.
Their impact will depend on the quality of the material, how widely the publications are distributed and whether they remain accessible after the event concludes.
The festival has also indicated that organisations can explore advertising and partnership opportunities connected to its creative community.
Such opportunities may be relevant to businesses interested in reaching filmmakers, agencies, writers, artists and audiences who engage with entertainment and cultural production.
The organisers have not, in the sources reviewed for this report, provided independently verified financial projections or audience estimates that would establish the likely commercial impact of the 2026 edition.
Lagos and the wider creative economy
Lagos has a prominent role in Nigeria’s film, music, advertising, fashion and digital-content industries. It brings together production companies, performers, agencies, venues, media organisations, distributors and audiences, while also attracting professionals from other parts of Nigeria and abroad.
A festival that connects several creative disciplines could add to the city’s opportunities for professional exchange.
Film festivals can generate activity for venues, accommodation providers, transport services, food businesses, technical suppliers and event workers. They can also create opportunities for filmmakers to meet potential distributors, collaborators and sponsors.
However, the scale of those benefits varies. A festival’s presence on the calendar does not by itself demonstrate how much revenue it generates, how many jobs it supports or whether participating creatives secure further work.
To assess its economic contribution, useful indicators would include attendance, the number and origin of submissions, participation by local businesses, partnerships formed, films acquired or distributed, and projects that move forward after the event.
The broader creative economy also depends on conditions beyond festivals. Creators need access to finance, equipment, professional training, reliable infrastructure, copyright protection, distribution channels and audiences willing to pay for content.
Platforms such as Lekkifest can contribute by creating places where these groups meet, but they cannot resolve all the structural challenges facing independent creative professionals.
Their value is strongest when the event leads to practical outcomes: new projects, commissioned work, screenings, distribution agreements, partnerships or sustained professional networks.
Opportunities for emerging filmmakers and independent creators
The expanded categories could be particularly relevant to emerging creatives who are still building portfolios and professional networks.
Independent filmmakers may use festival participation to demonstrate their work and learn how audiences respond to it. Writers and poets may gain opportunities to present material to people working in screen production. Advertising creatives may meet potential clients or collaborators from other areas of the industry.
For mobile-phone filmmakers, the new category may offer a way to present work without requiring access to expensive equipment.
But entrants should still prepare carefully. A strong submission generally needs a clear concept, appropriate technical quality, proper permissions for music and other copyrighted material, and compliance with the festival’s submission requirements.
Creators using AI tools should also review the applicable rules and ensure that they have the rights and permissions needed for the material incorporated into their work.
Potential entrants should confirm submission deadlines, eligibility conditions, fees, required formats and judging criteria directly with the organisers. The festival’s website provides official programme information and contact details.
Source: Official Lekkifest website
What to watch before November
With the festival scheduled for November 17–21, the next important developments will include announcements about participating filmmakers, shortlisted works, judges, screening schedules, live performances and other programme details.
The venues listed for the edition are Iwalewa Art Gallery in Lekki Phase 1 and Lagos Oriental Hotel on Victoria Island. Attendees should confirm the timing and location of individual activities through official festival announcements before making travel plans.
The publication of detailed rules for the three sections will also be important, especially for the new mobile-phone and AI-assisted filmmaking category and the public-voting components of Creative Media.
A clear programme will help entrants understand how their work will be evaluated and enable audiences to plan their participation.
For industry observers, another question will be whether Lekkifest can build a recognisable identity while bringing together disciplines with different audiences, professional standards and commercial priorities.
Film competitions, advertising awards and literary programmes each have distinct requirements. Combining them under one umbrella creates opportunities, but it also places demands on programming, judging, scheduling and communication.
The festival’s ability to give each section sufficient attention will be an important measure of whether the expanded format works in practice.
A broader platform for Nigerian storytelling
Lekkifest’s 2026 expansion reflects a wider reality in entertainment: filmmaking, advertising, literature and digital production increasingly intersect.
By placing these activities within one festival, the organisers are seeking to create a platform that recognises creative work in several forms, from feature films and documentaries to commercials, poetry and screenwriting.
The introduction of mobile-phone and AI-assisted filmmaking also signals an interest in production methods that are changing how stories can be made and presented.
Yet the festival’s lasting significance will not be measured by the number of categories alone. Its contribution will depend on the quality of the work it showcases, the fairness of its awards, the reach of its audience and the opportunities it creates for participants after the event.
As Lagos prepares for the November gathering, Lekkifest will have an opportunity to demonstrate whether its three-part format can become a meaningful meeting point for filmmakers, advertisers, writers, performers and the wider creative community.
Simpson Global Media will continue to follow developments around Nigeria’s entertainment industry and the events shaping opportunities for the country’s creative professionals.
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