The Nairobi Film Festival (NBO) is set to return its seventh edition from October 15-25 at Prestige Plaza, Unseen Cinema, Kaloleni Social Hall and Alliance Française Nairobi.
This year’s festival carries the theme ‘Cinema for Us,’ built on the belief that African films should not only travel the world but also be experienced locally and collectively.
This will create opportunities for audiences to discover and engage with African cinema, filmmakers and participate in conversations around the stories shaping the continent.
The NBO Film Festival will celebrate and recognise African cinema through Fiction Feature Film Competition alongside two new competitive categories: the Nick Wambugu Prize for Documentary, honored as the best documentary in competition and Short Film Fiction Competition, recognised excellence in short-form storytelling.
Wambugu, known for the documentary ‘The People Shall,’ died in January 2026 after battle with hypocellular MDS, a rare bone marrow disorder.
NBO Film Festival Artistic Director Mbithi Masya says, ‘‘We want the festival to be part of Nairobi’s public life and a place where people come together to experience cinema, exchange ideas, recognise excellence and imagine what comes next.’’
This year’s edition will feature a program that is aimed at supporting project development, collaborations and connections across the regional and international film industry.