Three Nigerian screen projects won awards at the 17th Durban FilmMart, an international film industry event held in Durban, South Africa, from October 9 to 12, 2026. The recognition spans fiction, documentary and episodic storytelling, highlighting the different opportunities available to Nigerian filmmakers through international film development platforms.
The projects recognised were The Boy Who Spoke Static by the Agbajowo Collective, Pülö: Bloodstream of the Kirike by Christina Ifubaraboye, and Cause, Effect & Maybe Consequences? by filmmaker Cheyi Okoaye.
Among the Nigerian winners, The Boy Who Spoke Static received three awards, including two cash prizes. The National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa awarded the project its Best Fiction Award, valued at R100,000, while the Red Sea Film Fund provided a US$5,000 grant. The project also received the Sørfond Award, which supports participation in the Sørfond Pitching Forum.
The project is an initiative of Agbajowo Collective, comprising Temitope Ogungbamila, Samuel Okechukwu, Mat Cerf and Bisola Akinmuyiwa.
Meanwhile, Pülö: Bloodstream of the Kirike received the Sunshine Cinema UCT Impact Development Award. The award includes a bursary for the University of Cape Town’s 2027 Sunshine Cinema Film Impact Online Course, valued at R18,000, alongside a R7,500 grant towards the project’s first impact screening. The recognition also offers the possibility of inclusion in Sunshine Cinema’s distribution catalogue.
The award supports the development of strategies for reaching audiences and extending a documentary’s impact beyond its production and screening.
Filmmaker Cheyi Okoaye’s fiction series project, Cause, Effect & Maybe Consequences?, also received recognition, winning the El Gouna Emerge Award. The award provides seven nights of shared accommodation, ground transportation and accreditation for the 2026 El Gouna Film Festival.
The project is a science-fiction comedy centred on a character who encounters different versions of himself from the past and future. Through the premise, the story explores regret, ambition, identity and the consequences of personal choices.
Okoaye, a Lagos-based filmmaker and founder of A Dank House, was previously selected for Talents Durban 2026 in the fiction series category with the project. His recognition at the event adds to his ongoing engagement with international film development platforms.
Durban FilmMart presented 39 awards from 30 partners, valued at more than R2 million. For the Nigerian projects, the prizes provide funding, development support and access to international markets, but they do not amount to full production financing. The next test is whether that support moves the projects closer to production, completion and audiences.
Photo supplied via Durban FilmMart/TimesLIVE
