The 11 African Titles are Showing at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam 

The 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced its list of selected titles. African filmmakers and tiles will be having their world and international premiere at some of the festival’s fiercely competitive sections. The festival is scheduled to be held from 29 January  to 8 February 2026. 

Playing at the Big Screen Competition is Malek Bensmail’s The Arab. Bensmail’s feature film debut reimagines the protagonist of Albert Camus’ The Stranger through the testimony of his now elderly brother. Moving between memory, imagination, and history, The Arab offers a sharp reflection on identity, storytelling, and how countries remember their history. The film is an intercontinental co-production amongst Algeria, France, Switzerland, UAE and Belgium. The cast includes Hiam Abbass, Nabil Asli, Ahmed Benaissa, Dali Benssalah, Thierry Raphaël, Brahim Derris and Amina Ben Ismail and produced by Hachemi Zertal and Fred Premel. The film will be having its World Premiere at IFFR. 

At the Tiger Competition, a section of the IFFR is dedicated to honoring the innovative and adventurous spirit of promising filmmakers from around the world has three African feature films showing. Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar’s South African’s Variations of a Theme will be having its World Premiere. In the film, Ouma Hettie, an elderly goat herder in the Kamiesberg Mountains of South Africa, becomes entangled in a scam that offers her compensation for her father’s military service. Her rituals are disrupted, and her independence is threatened in this lyrical documentary. 

Mozambique’s Ique Langa’s O Profeta (The Prophet) is a co-production between Mozambique, South Africa and Qatar. When a cleric is threatened with losing his faith, he turns to witchcraft to regain it—and in exchange for sacrifices, he gains extraordinary powers. This unadorned debut, beautifully shot in black and white, unfolds with quiet intensity, revealing how doubt and darkness seep into everyday life. The Prophet is produced by Sousa Domingos and Admiro De Laura Munguambe, Nora Matavel, Alexandre Masnado Coana, Venâncio Jaime Langa, Armando José Macave, and Yara Bonga are cast members. 

From Angola, Hugo Salvaterra’s My Semba will be having its World Premiere. A raw, vibrant rap ode to Luanda, Angola, that follows X and his siblings on their path to fame, blending documentary and manifesto. My Semba is a story shaped by resilience, pride and a collective voice. Jorge Cohen is the producer and Euclides Teixeira, Eliane Silva, Willi Ribeiro and Clemente Chimuco are cast members. 

Petna Ndaliko Katondolo’s Deep Cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a short narrative showing at the Tiger Short Competition that shows twenty-two short and mid-length films competing for one of three equal awards. In the claustrophobic depths of the Mutoshi mine in Katanga (DRC), Deep Cobalt follows The Rememberers – a community labouring in unsafe and brutal conditions to extract coveted minerals from the ancestral soils to feed global tech empires, to their own detriment. Set to a soundtrack of metallic rock being crushed, Deep Cobalt is an invocation and a descent into the earth’s memory, beneath the noise of extraction and the myth of progress. The short film is produced by Stella Ramazani and will be having its World Premiere. 

Dika Ofoma’s Obi is a Boy from Nigeria will also be having its International Premiere at the festival. In the film, Obi is called home unexpectedly after the sudden death of his mother. Identifying as gender non-conforming, Obi has long believed that total freedom comes from establishing life away from home, far from his father’s unforgiving gaze and the cultural expectations of being an only son. Ofoma’s Obi Is a Boy follows Obi’s journey back home – to himself and his identity. The film screened at the 2025 S16 Film Festival where it won the inaugural African Film Press Critics Prize for Best Film. The film’s principal cast include Uche Uba, Ofiafuluagu Mbaka and Ebele Okaro and Blessing Uzzi is the producer.

In Ganza Moise’s Ako Kantu from Rwanda, a Valentine’s Day special episode takes an unexpected turn when a sensationalist YouTuber interviews a local charismatic thief. The film’s principal cast is Mandali Leon Athanase and Ryumugabe Remy is the producer.

Ugandan’s Marion Desmaret’s Forget the Director, This Is Emmy’s Cut! is also having its World Premiere. With his wit and sharp commentary, Uganda’s legendary Video-Joker, VJ Emmy, transforms local cinema halls into places of communion. The documentary itself reflects his delivery, weaving together stylised fiction and layered narration. Written by Marion Desmaret and Emmy Batte, the film’s principal cast is Emmy Battle. 

From Zimbabwe comes Naishe Nyamubaya’s God Sleeps on Sundays. The film sees a traditional healer finding herself in a fierce rivalry with a Christian preacher determined to seize her land for his new church. Cast members include Lerory Siyafa, Tendaiishe Chitima and Wizzy Mangoma. The film is produced by Sue-Ellen Chitunya and Sue-Ellen Chitunya. Cameron Baatjies is credited as the cinematographer. 

Ariel Anez’s Submergido from Mozambique has a son who shares a mysterious connection with his father who disappeared during the war in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Produced by Joseph Mata, Submergido’s principal cast includes Dino Cumbane, Lumina Baptista, António Sitói and Eduardo Sambo. MeowX2’s I Am the Film Motherfucker, but I’m Real from Egypt will also have its World Premiere, however there are no details about its synopsis, cast and crew members .