Kano (Nigeria): The 2025 edition of the Kano Indigenous Languages of Africa Film Market and Festival (KILAF) has received a record 616 film submissions from 77 countries.
The festival is scheduled to hold between Nov. 6 and Nov. 8, 2025, with the theme ‘Crossing Storytelling Boundaries: Strategies for Multilingual Success in African Filmmaking’.
KILAF Founder, Abdulkareem Mohammed, announced this in Kano on Sunday while addressing reporters, saying that the submissions underscored the festival’s growing continental and global recognition.
He explained that 85 films from 30 countries were selected across various categories, including short, feature, documentary, and animation films.
Mohammed said the leading countries are: Egypt (17 films), Nigeria (14), Morocco (8), and Tunisia (4).
The festival has 18 award categories, with nominees from 14 countries, including the UK, the US, Israel, and Italy.
Mohammed cited KILAF’s focus on academic research, capacity building, and promoting indigenous storytelling.
Activities include an international conference at the Bayero University, Kano, screenings, workshops, and panel discussions.
Other events are the 2nd Entrepreneurship Summit for Women in Media Business and the KILAF-SUG Carnival showcasing African heritage.
