A new film festival is joining Nigeria's packed end-of-year calendar, with Christian cinema at the centre. The inaugural Christian Faith International Film Festival Nigeria (CFIF), founded by filmmaker Moses Ipadeola, will hold on December 18 and 19, 2026, at the iVTH Experience Cinema in Yaba, Lagos.
Ipadeola, who also directs the Ibadan Indie Film Awards, founded CFIF to celebrate, develop and promote faith-based filmmaking. He has described his vision for the festival as building it into a globally recognised hub for Christian cinema. He is best known in the industry for "Ekun Iyawo: A Tale of a Runaway Bride," a short film he wrote, directed and produced, which went on to win Best Short Film at Quramo Fest 2024, the Audience Choice award at The Annual Film Mischief, and multiple honours at the FilmJoint Awards and the Accra Indie Film Festival. The film has also screened at AFRIFF, the Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival, and international platforms including the NOW Nollywood Film Festival in Paris and the RTF Realtime International Film Festival in London.
A three-person jury will oversee the festival's inaugural edition. Dr. Abiodun Akinsiku, a theatre scholar and media arts practitioner, leads the panel. He said film has a particular power to carry light through the lens because of how closely it replicates reality. Joining him are filmmaker Taiwo Egunjobi, known for "The Fire and The Moth," and filmmaker Segilola Ogidan, known for "Tainted Canvas."
Submissions for CFIF opened to filmmakers worldwide on July 12, 2026, through FestHome, with an early deadline of September 12 and an extended deadline of October 25. Selected entries were notified by November 15. The festival accepts narrative, documentary, animated and experimental films that explore or promote Christian faith, human dignity or positive social impact, and will present awards across five categories: Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best African Film, Best Acting Ensemble and the Social Impact Award.
The launch comes as faith-based cinema continues to expand across theatrical, digital and festival spaces in Nigeria. The Fountain International Film Festival, which launched in 2022 as another Christian cinema platform, is preparing its fifth edition this December. On the commercial side, Mount Zion's "Agbara Nla: The Return" reportedly opened to 170 million naira at the local box office, a sign of how far faith-based productions have travelled beyond their traditional church audiences. Faith-based series have also found a home on YouTube and other digital platforms, with titles such as "The Wives" from The Elevation Church and "Just Us Girls" from David's Christian Centre building audiences outside the cinema space entirely.
With its first edition still weeks away, CFIF enters a Nigerian festival calendar already crowded with AFRIFF, the Ibadan Indie Film Awards and other platforms competing for industry attention in the final quarter of the year. Its organisers are betting that a dedicated home for Christian cinema, backed by a jury with both academic and filmmaking credentials, can carve out a lasting space of its own.
