By Michael Dibie, Abuja
It is another year to celebrate and showcase Kaduna’s unique cultural values through the art of filmmaking. Film makers in say film must serve as a tool for social change, especially in today’s media-driven society.
The creative industry practitioners made this call at the 8th Kaduna International film festival (KADIFF) in North-west Nigeria. They say this year’s theme “Film for Social Change”, is a timely reminder that the creative industry holds the potential to influence lives, shift perspectives and spark national conversations.
Executive Director of the Festival, Audu Kashim Israel, says storytelling through cinema remains one of the most potent ways to drive social development.
He reiterated that Films remains one of the most powerful tools for storytelling and advocacy. And has the capacity to ignite change, hence the theme for this year’s festival “film for social change’
The 2025 edition, he revealed, received over 2,000 film submissions from more than 50 countries. Out of these, 168 films were selected by a 9-member board of jurors, with multiple nominations from 15 countries, including Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Russia, Finland, France, USA, India, Tunisia and Ghana. Uganda again led with the highest number of entries, marking the third consecutive year of dominance at the Kaduna platform.
“In Africa, we have reached so many countries, most especially Uganda because this year, we had more films from Uganda for the third time, it has been consistent meaning that the Kaduna film festival is well known in Uganda,” Audu added.
“Cinema is not just only for entertainment, it goes beyond that, it teaches and helps to drive identity to make the whole world know who you are and also make people around you know your culture” said Tony Akposheri, Veteran Nollywood actor and filmmaker.
This year’s festival featured vibrant activities including; master classes, screening of inspiring films from over 15 countries, engaging panel discussions, cultural display and exhibitions, tourism, awards, workshops and for the first-time skill acquisition program.
Globally, film festivals like KADIFF serve as a crucial platform for elevating conversations. Abuja based Film director, Gloria Ugolee-Ehiosun , a strong passionate advocate for social change, who also teaches upcoming students to do the same thing says she encourages her students to be conscious in content creation and to make movies that involve behavioural change in the society.
Apart from teaching the art of film making I always make sure that in whatever movie they are doing, they are consciously content to make a movie that involves behavioural change in the society. “And that is why I am so excited to be part of this year’s festival for social change and definitely, movies are a powerful tool and should be used the right way” she said.
“Lot of things are going on in our country in our immediate environment, so filmmaking is a tool to change some of the negative perceptions that impact our society,” said Chinyere Nwabueze, Nollywood Veteran Actress/ filmmaker.
According to a UK journalist and Film Director, John Coster, this year’s theme is perfect for the time we live in.
“So you should be able to focus your lens on social change in Northern Nigeria and Africa generally, it’s time for young film makes particularly to rise up and start telling story about Africa from Africa way sand don’t let others tell their story”
“Africans in making movies, we need to know what message we want to pass across to the people, give them a product to educate them, teach them what we need to show them and react on it” Dusabimana Apollos, Secretary General, Rwanda film Federation said.
Founded in 2018 the Kaduna International Film Festival (KADIFF) is the first international film festival in Northern Nigeria.
