The younger generation of Nigerian filmmakers has grown up with Nollywood, the mainstream film industry based in Lagos. But these young directors aim to make films that are more diverse and complex than typical Nollywood movies. This programme offers a fresh take on classic African themes, demonstrating what makes young Nigerian cinema unique. Ancient spiritual powers meet contemporary life in Nigeria.
Àlááfíà Ni Sonia Irabor/Tobi Onabolu / Nigeria 2022 / 7'6" / DCP / colour / English / Exp
In the aftermath of the fatal End SARS protests in Nigeria, amidst the Covid pandemic and persistent social justice campaigning, «Àlááfíà Ni» follows the spirit of Euphoria, dancing through Lagos during the city’s golden hours.
Aje and Bruja Nosa Igbinedion / Nigeria 2022 / 12'38" / DCP / colour / English / Fic
«Aje and Bruja» is a supernatural thriller set in Lagos, Nigeria, in which two women who wield the ancient African spiritual power of the «Aje» (Powerful Mothers) go on an avenging mission.
Sequestered in her room for days without sleep or contact with the outside world, «the girl» finds herself slipping between her listless reality and her chaotic illusions, which are now beginning to feel just as familiar.
This is a supernatural thriller about five friends who meet up at a museum in Freedom Park on Broadstreet to hang out and take in the sights but become the targets of a masquerade that is the personification of the darkness of mankind. The film is a suspense-filled story of friendship and survival. It explores the darkness and character flaws in humans, using literal light and darkness as motifs.
Lizard Akinola Davies Jr / Nigeria/United Kingdom 2020 / 18'27" / DCP / colour / English / Fic
An eight-year-old girl with an ability to sense danger gets ejected from Sunday school service. She unwittingly witnesses the underbelly of a megachurch in Lagos.
Ojo Aiku Lakin Ogunbanwo / Nigeria 2020 / 4'58" / DCP / colour / Yoruba / Fic
«Ojo-Aiku» is a filmic journey through Lagos, Nigeria, on a Sunday, exploring the contrasting perspectives on the day's significance for a boy and his father.
Rehearsal Michael Omonua / Nigeria 2021 / 14'30" / DCP / colour / English / Fic
How do you stage a miracle healing? Boundaries dissolve between church and theatre, faith and credibility.
Although there is some controversy concerning the exact year Nigerian cinema was born, there isn’t a lot of debate about the year of its first major commercial success. The year was 1992, and the film was «Living in Bondage». The film’s themes – love, avarice, malevolent spirituality, Christian redemption – were all part of the Nigerian lexicon and would come to define much of what was produced in that decade. They remain familiar today: The media still report on young people dabbling in the diabolic for wealth; things pertaining to the spiritual still command fear and worship.
But if both fear and worship were the principal dictators of how Nigerian cinema pursued stories about spirituality, a useful word for today’s approach is irreverence, which, nevertheless, commingles with an ever-present engagement. Younger filmmakers may query the mystical beliefs of their cinematic forebears and their own parents, but they are not quite ready to dismiss or ignore their cultural pervasiveness. Whatever they might think of spirituality, they agree it is part of their inheritance.
Michael Omonua’s «Rehearsal» offers an irreverent look at that inheritance. The film follows a group of young people practising reactions to a faux spirit-filled pastor. It isn’t the type of story mainstream filmmakers of the 1990s would have told. Its methods are just as different. There is the naturalistic acting, a departure from the melodrama typical of mainstream Nollywood. There is the oblique criticism of a religion that, offscreen, commands ardent discipleship in a poor country, even as its leaders have erected massive edifices the unbelieving observer might call capitalist cathedrals.
«Rehearsal» is among the shorts by the Surreal 16, a filmmaking trio whose disavowal of how-it-is-and-was-done has made them the face of non-mainstream Nigerian cinema success. The group’s three-part «Juju Stories» addresses some of the most common superstitions of their 1990s childhood. All three stories tell of young Nigerians dealing with the unpredictable consequences of over-familiarizing themselves with the mystical.
Other filmmakers with projects outside the mainstream include Femi Johnson and Ayo Lawson, the duo behind «Nightmare on Broadstreet», in which a group of friends is traumatized – to death – at a popular outdoor venue on Lagos Island.
While that film wears its western influence in its title, others are more subtle in that respect. Sonia Irabor and Lakin Ogunbanwo, who have both earned degrees in the west, make films in the liminal spaces between cinema and art projects. Walé Oyéjidé, in turn, claims both Nigerian and US culture as formative influences.
For these filmmakers, some of whom have also made features, short films present an opportunity to try outré ideas away from a mainstream superstructure that may not be welcoming. This is arguably evidence of an ambition different from that of their 1990s forebears as well as a sign of a bravery. It takes a level of audacity – and maybe ignorance – to work outside a well-known space like Nollywood.
That bravery provides its own benefits. For example, Olive Nwosu’s «Egúngún (Masquerade)» tells a quasi-queer tale and may never find wide release in Nigeria for that reason. Knowing that beforehand gives a level of freedom to the filmmaker. Like for Nwosu, who doesn’t live in Nigeria, home is something to break away from for many young filmmakers. Today, some consider Nollywood a genre and insist that they do not make films in that mould. While the cinema of the 1990s catered to a local audience, today’s filmmakers have at least one eye on the west. While stories from the past were often set in villages, many young directors are concerned with their cities.
One final difference involves the pipeline for newcomers. Informal apprenticeships and theatre departments once fed Nigerian cinema; today, foreign film schools have become a major source of behind-the-camera talent and training. And when foreign tutelage isn't accessible, watching and imbibing doctrines from western films will do.
And yet, the commercial and cultural dominance of 1990s Nigerian cinema has left a lingering aesthetic mark. In Immaculata Abba’s documentary «You Matter to Me», the old Nollywood aesthetic shows up in the film’s texture and its setting in a village in Eastern Nigeria. The short also discusses family, one of the main concerns of traditional Nollywood.
Eastern Nigeria is also the setting for Dika Ofoma’s «A Quiet Monday». It is the one short film in the selection to address a contentious political issue that is still making headlines, even if the problem’s origin is rooted in the 1960s. In the film, a young tailor promises to deliver on a Monday but is intercepted on her way to a client by two young men, both members of an armed group agitating for the release of their imprisoned leader. Violence ensues. Although the central characters in «A Quiet Monday» are fictional, the narrative’s political atmosphere is all too real for Eastern Nigeria’s residents. Ofoma’s tale relates what tragedies are possible when supposedly remote political issues turn up in intimate settings.
Beyond Nollywood: Spiritual Connections and the Power of the Mystical
Nigerian cinema is typically associated with Nollywood, one of the world’s biggest and most productive film industries. From the early 2000s on, Nollywood developed rapidly and became known for its inexpensive and quickly produced films covering a wide range of genres. Releases on VHS cassettes and later video CDs made the movies affordable and accessible for a broad audience. But the dominance of marketers who controlled both production and distribution also had a negative impact: the quality of the films declined as the industry increasingly banked on commercially viable genres, especially tragic dramas, romances, and action films with cheap effects.
Beyond Nollywood showcases the young generation of Nigerian filmmakers who have grown up with Nollywood films. Their works often ironically reference the Nollywood aesthetic but without reproducing it. Instead, these younger directors aim to make more diverse and complex films. At the same time, there is a tension between local productions and the filmmakers of the Nigerian diaspora, because the latter tend to have bigger budgets to work with. Then again, the attention that Nigerian diaspora projects with high production values attract internationally also helps local productions gain access to the global market. And films made in Nigeria often compensate for the lack of funds with inventiveness. In sum, the country has produced a self-confident generation of filmmakers.
The programme comprises a variety of genres. The films portray fascinating worlds shaped by spiritual beliefs, traditions, and customs. We encounter masks, miracle healings, and spirits. Ancient spiritual powers meet contemporary life in Nigeria. Offering a fresh take on classic African themes, the selection demonstrates what makes young Nigerian cinema unique.
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur is Switzerland’s major short film festival. For six days every November, we transform the city into a dynamic short film hub.
Kurzfilmtage offers discoveries for everyone: our thoughtfully compiled thematic programmes address current events or topics that our curators are passionate about. The competition programmes showcase the latest filmmaking from around the globe, while installations, performances, and other specials highlight the diversity of audiovisual forms. And a programme of special events including concerts, readings, and more enhance the festival experience.
A short film is not just a shorter film. Shorts are a distinct art form, which we showcase at our annual festival.
Short films come in all shapes and genres, and how long – or short – they are, varies quite a bit. Simpler production processes allow filmmakers to capture the zeitgeist and quickly respond to trends. Shorts can be entertaining or surprising, they can analyse society, take a political stance, or offer glimpses of worlds unknown to us.
We compile our short films into thematic programmes or specific sections, such as our competitions, paying close attention to the selection and sequence of films in each programme. All you need to enjoy short films is an open mind for new discoveries and surprises.
Competitions
Recent short films from around the world. The best shorts will be presented with awards on Sunday evening.
Hors Concours
Recent short films from Zurich, Switzerland, and around the world screened out of competition.
Main Focus
Films that explore a region, a social phenomenon, or an artistic trend.
Country in Focus
The cinema of a country from contemporary and historical perspectives.
Person in Focus
A spotlight on the work of a filmmaker.
Special Programmes
Short film programmes dedicated to topics that our curators are passionate about – or that are simply fun.
Family Programmes
Short film fun for young viewers aged 6+ and for the whole family.
Expanded Cinema
Installations, performances, and exhibitions present the medium of film in unfamiliar forms.
Special Events
Concerts, parties, readings, and many other events enhance the festival experience.
Talks & Panels
Moderated talks and panels after the screenings offer additional context and insight into films and themes.
Industry Events
A wide range of educational events and networking opportunities.
