Aftera six-year hiatus, Lights, Camera, Africa! (LCA!), one of Lagos’ longest-running platforms for independent African cinema and cultural exchange, is returning to the city with a renewed commitment to film, artistic collaboration and collective engagement.
The pioneering festival, founded in 2011 by curator and cultural producer, Ugoma Ebilah, will hold its 2026 edition, titled Convivium: In Gathering, from October 1 to 3 at the MUSON Centre, Lagos. The three-day programme will feature films, conversations, filmmaker interactions and music, with free admission for audiences.
The return marks a significant new chapter for LCA!, which has built a reputation over the years for creating a platform for independent filmmakers and artists whose works may not always find space within conventional commercial cinema.
For Ebilah, the festival’s return is not simply a resumption of an annual event but an attempt to restore the communal experience that has always been central to its identity.
“After six years, it mattered that LCA! return not simply with a programme, but with an invitation: to watch closely, think together and rediscover what becomes possible when people share a room,” she said.
That idea is reflected in the theme, Convivium: In Gathering, which positions cinema as more than an activity of watching films. It presents the screen as a meeting point where audiences, filmmakers, artists, writers and other cultural practitioners can exchange ideas and engage with questions about society and identity.
The 2026 programme will feature a selection of feature-length and short films from Nigeria, other parts of Africa and the diaspora. Among the films scheduled for screening are Matias Mariani’s Shine Your Eyes, which was selected for the Panorama section of the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival, and Ema Edosio’s When Nigeria Happens, the first African film to open the Open Doors Screenings at the Locarno Film Festival.
Also on the programme is Lizard, directed by Akinola Davies Jr., which won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Birdie, written and directed by Praise Odigie Paige, which had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, is also scheduled to screen.
The selection reflects the festival’s long-standing interest in stories dealing with movement, memory, belonging, identity, migration, homecoming and the African city.
Ebilah explained that LCA! emerged in response to a gap in Nigeria’s film ecosystem at the time of its creation. Independent films, she noted, had limited outlets through which they could reach audiences, creating a need for an alternative platform where filmmakers could present their work outside mainstream commercial channels.
“When we started LCA! in 2011 and showed independent films, there were no popular film outlets. We started LCA! to answer the problem: where do we show these films, where are the alternative films shown and who is going to see them?” she said.
Although the Nigerian film industry has changed considerably since then, with streaming platforms such as Netflix providing new avenues for filmmakers, Ebilah believes independent cinema still needs spaces where artistic expression is not entirely determined by commercial considerations.
She argued that filmmakers should be able to tell authentic African stories without having to tailor every creative decision to the demands of large platforms, algorithms, clicks or commercial expectations.
For her, the future of independent cinema depends partly on maintaining spaces where filmmakers can experiment and audiences can encounter stories that may not fit conventional commercial formulas.
LCA! is also distinctive in its multidisciplinary approach. While film remains at the centre of the festival, its programming incorporates music, visual art, literature, dance, conversations and other forms of cultural expression.
Ebilah described the different art forms as interconnected, arguing that collaboration between disciplines can create richer ways of preserving and presenting African stories.
The festival’s return will, therefore, include musical performances and conversations alongside film screenings and filmmaker sessions. The programme is expected to provide opportunities for audiences to interact with filmmakers and other artists while exploring issues raised by the films.
The festival opened on Thursday, October 1, with welcome drinks, an opening screening and a filmmaker conversation. Screenings, discussions and question-and-answer sessions will continue on Friday and Saturday.
The three-day event will close on Saturday, October 3, with a live performance by Senegalese singer and guitarist Obree Daman. Another important feature of LCA! is its free-access policy. Ebilah said the decision to keep the festival free is rooted in the belief that cultural knowledge should not be restricted by financial barriers.
“If we are trying to share knowledge, then we have to drop the barriers,” she said, stressing that free access would remain part of the festival’s identity.
The six-year break was shaped by a combination of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulties of securing sustainable funding for a festival that does not operate primarily as a commercial venture.
Ebilah said the pandemic made physical gathering impossible, while the festival’s organisers were reluctant to permanently replace the communal experience with a virtual event. When cultural activities resumed, the competition for sponsorship and funding also intensified.
She acknowledged that the decision to return in 2026 was therefore not straightforward, describing the revival as the result of a collective effort involving individuals and organisations that helped make the festival possible.
Going forward, LCA! is expected to become a biennial festival, with screenings and other cultural activities taking place between major editions. The organisers also intend to continue collaborating with cultural organisations and companies to create opportunities for audiences and artists to meet.
For Ebilah, the larger objective is to create a continuing cultural space where stories can be preserved, questioned and shared.
With Convivium: In Gathering, Lights, Camera, Africa! is returning not merely to screen films but to rebuild the sense of community that has defined the festival since its establishment.
After six years away, the doors of the festival are opening again, inviting Lagos audiences back into a shared space where African cinema, music, ideas and cultural conversations can meet.
