The Campaign For A Vibrant Short Film Market in Africa 

When Thomas Edison, assisted by William Dickson, invented a machine he named the kinetoscope in 19th-century America, he became the progenitor of the earliest known motion picture transmitter. The device allowed its viewer, one at a time, to see, for a rapid second, through a peephole, a strip of film bereft of audio. By 1895, French brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière had developed a worthier compact motion-picture camera, projector, and printer,  the cinématographe, with which they shot their debut film Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory, a 46-second documentary, and made history as the first-ever filmmakers. The Lumière brothers’ device provided cheaper and higher-quality results compared to Edison’s, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of cinema. But it was not until the 1910s and 1920s, at the height of Charlie Chaplin’s comedy fame, that the short film gained traction through productions like Laughing Gas (1914) and The Champion (1915). Further developments in digital technology inspired more experimentation that, then, resulted in the rise of modern cinema. Today, the legendary short film does not seem to enjoy as much prestige as her feature-length counterpart, yet it remains a choice for filmmakers keen on growing their brand amidst financial and structural hindrances, courting attention for ambitious projects, and experimenting with novel or unpopular ideas. 

In Africa, where the film market is relatively poor and opportunities for creatives are sparse or difficult to access due to stiff competition, first-time and independent filmmakers turn to short films with which they enrich their portfolios to pitch to potential investors. But it is not enough to think of the short film as a stopgap. The short film stands as an art of its own, with a unique vision and identity. Many laudable initiatives driven towards the celebration and popularization of short films exist on the continent. Nigeria has programmes such as Night of Shorts, curated in 2022 by filmmaker Heavens Obule to give indie filmmakers like himself the platform to screen their short films; S16 Film Festival; Ibadan Indie Film Awards, and The Film Joint Awards, which launched only a year ago to reward excellence in short film projects. We have Akinola and Wale Davies’ short film Lizard, which became Nigeria’s first production to win the Grand Jury Prize at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. In Egypt, the cradle of African cinema and, by extension, the flagship of Middle Eastern and North African cinema, there are the annual International Alexandria Short Film Festival (IASFF) which began in 2015; Cairo International Short Film Festival, which is currently in its seventh year and scheduled to run from 15th – 20th December; and Ismailia International Festival For Documentary and Short Films. Similarly, in Morocco, we have the Morocco Shorts International Film Festival, the Kasbah Short Film Festival, and the SOUSS International Short Film Festival in Ait Melloul – Agadir.

South Africa is home to the FAME Shorts Film Festival, a part of the annual FAME Week Africa event in Cape Town—with the current edition scheduled to run from 4th – 6th September at the Labia Theatre; and the Kleinkaap Short Film Festival, conceived since 2016, courtesy of Twin Hearts Productions, Springbok Cinema and Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel. In Uganda, we have the Ngalabi Short Film Festival, whose latest edition is slated for 22nd – 26th July this year.

A watershed moment in the global distribution of African short films was marked by the UNESCO-Netflix partnership that resulted in the launch of six African short films assembled as “African Folktales, Reimagined” in 2023.  It all began two years earlier with a call for submissions that yielded an initial 2000 entries from 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Then, the submissions were reduced to 21, after which the final shortlist was made. The selected Netflix short films are Enmity Djinn (Mauritania) by Mohamed Echkouna, Katope (Tanzania) by Walt Msengi Corey, Halima’s Choice (Nigeria) by Korede Azeez, Anyango and the Ogre (Kenya) by Voline Oguta, MaMlambo (South Africa) by Gcobisa Yako, and Katera (Uganda) by Loukman Ali.

In an age where human attention is increasingly fickle, people are more wired to consume brief, fast-paced digital content on social media sites like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Though not of impeccable quality, these social media contents, for instance comedy skits, can be easily accessed, offering entertainment without the additional burden of visiting the cinema, attending designated film screenings, or subscribing to a streamer. Award-winning American filmmaker Joshua Caldwell antagonizes the pursuit of a career-defining short in a Medium article where he writes that “there comes a time in a filmmaker’s journey when producing short films, especially when investing increasingly higher amounts of personal finances, becomes counterproductive.” He is also quick to point out how the proliferation of mobile technology has detracted from the reputation of the short film. These points might seem patronising, but they are not weighty enough to nail the short film to the cross. We have seen filmmakers like Nigeria’s Mo Abudu, founder of the prominent EbonyLife Studios, who mothered critically acclaimed features and series like Fifty, Oloture, Sons of the Caliphate, War: Wrath and Revenge, and Baby Farm, pick up interest in short films. In 2023, she marked her directorial debut with two shorts, Her Perfect Life and Iyawo Mi, spotlighting mental health issues. This was followed by her partnership with pan-African financial institution African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for the production of Dust to Dreams, a short film set in Lagos, directed by Hollywood star Idris Elba and starring British singer Seal.

The biggest problem of the short film in Africa, as with elsewhere, is a reliable market. We already have several Afrocentric festivals catering to the interests of shorts, but these are not commercially fulfilling enough for the filmmakers. Apart from YouTube, which happens to be a junk site for all sorts of productions, from mediocre to midrange and high-quality ones, we need to invest and develop sustainable initiatives that will give creators of shorts opportunities to make money like mainstream features. Excellence must be our watchword on this quest. Thankfully, the status quo is recently being challenged by the launch of the Africa International Short Film Market (AISFM) on 28th March, 2025, an initiative driven towards institutionalizing, as film critic Seyi Lasisi puts it, “a structured platform and marketplace for the ambitious African short film filmmaker”.

The doors of major theatres and studios on the continent must be opened to standard shorts, encouraging the filmmakers to market them with similar magnanimity as they would for features. Established blockbuster filmmakers can also drive the agenda by investing in and making shorts of their own, which would not only contribute towards expanding the market for short films but also inspire protégés and mentees to follow similar creative paths. Above all, Africa-based streaming platforms like Circuit TV and Showmax must partner with conscientious filmmakers to license and distribute short films on their platforms.