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Black Film Wire becomes JIFF's first African/diaspora media partner ahead of the festival's January 2027 edition, its first-ever partnership in India. Black Film Wire officially joins JIFF 2026. Black Film Wire Becomes JIFF 2027's Official Media Partner, Bridging African Cinema and One of the World's Fastest-Growing Film Markets. Partnership marks BFW's first collaboration in India, connecting African and diaspora storytelling with Bollywood's booming industry. JAIPUR, INDIA

Nollywood has lost one of its defining voices Veteran Nigerian actor and film executive Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs, has died at the age of 84. His family announced his passing on September 16, 2026, describing him as “The Lion of Lufodo” and asking the public and media to respect the family’s privacy. For more than five decades, Jacobs built a career that stretched across theatre, British television, international cinema and Nigerian film. He was n

API and Black Film Wire join The Diasporadical Initiative's Africa Fest Barbados 2026, bringing Cameroon's Oscar-submitted film Half Heaven , plus a celebrity-studded live Q&A to Barbados this October. African Pictures International and Black Film Wire officially join Africa Fest Barbados 2026. African Pictures International and Black Film Wire Join Africa Fest Barbados 2026 as Official Film and Media Partners Cameroon's Oscar submission Half Heaven headlines Friday screening

The cast and director of the short film First Fruit sat down with Black Film Wire to talk silence, grief, community, and why choosing quiet is its own kind of resistance. Darrin Dewitt Henson on set from First Fruit. Photo credit: First Fruit official BTS. First Fruit is a short film that trusts its audience. It does not raise its voice to be heard. So when Black Film Wire sat down with its writer, director, and producer Beverly "BJ" Rouse, lead actor Darrin Dewitt Henson, a

The 17th edition of SVAFF will run October 8–11 in San Jose, bringing together narrative features, documentaries, shorts and animation from across Africa and its diaspora, with a strong showing from Nigerian filmmakers. The Silicon Valley African Film Festivall (SVAFF) will return to San Jose from October 8 to 11 for its 17th edition, bringing 76 films from 33 countries to the Historic Hoover Theater. This year's programme spans narrative and documentary features and shorts,

With categories spanning film, television, and music, the Image Awards formally recognizes African storytelling for the first time in its 59-year history, and BET's broadcast partnership means the world will be watching. By Y. Marie Kiven Kyla Pratt at the 56th NAACP Images Award Source: Instagram The NAACP Images Award have never had a dedicated home for African film, television, or music. until now. For the 58th ceremony, the organization has introduced ten new African c

The 2026 Caine Prize shortlisted writers Credit: The Caine Prize for African Writing A member of the Black Film Wire family is having a major literary moment. Akinwande Remilekun Jordan, a Jr. EIC Fellow at Black Film Wire, has been shortlisted for the 2026 Caine Prize for African Writing, one of the most prestigious honors in African literature. His story, "So Long Now It's Starting To Look Like Eternity," published by Naira Books in February 2026, is one of just five stori

1. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother - September 25 Mahershala Ali playing a religious hitman is an intriguing contradiction! Directed by Bassam Tariq, this film is definitely one to watch. It explores themes of faith, fatherhood, and morality while delivering the tension of a crime thriller. Ali stars alongside John Cho and Giancarlo Esposito. Where to watch: In select U.S. cinemas from September 25, with a wider U.S. theatrical release on October 9 through Orion Pictures.

From a bee with Chris Rock's wit to Riri's road trip to Michael B. Jordan's gloves, here's what's leaving Netflix in the next few days, where you can still catch them after, and the licensing deals that decide when our favorites come and go. CREED, HOME, BLACK LIGHTNING, BEE MOVIE LEAVING NETFLIX SEPTEMBER 2026 Every so often, a recommendation lands from the last place you expect it. Mine came from an investor who, by his own admission, barely has time to watch movies. I aske

On August 21, the marketing icon who built Ghana's Year of Return campaign became the story herself, marrying Keely Watson in a 1,000-guest Akan ceremony in Accra with the Asantehene, Tiwa Savage, and half of RHOBH in the room. By Kiven Yefon | Black Film Wire Inside ‘RHOBH’ Star Bozoma Saint John’s ‘Sacred’ Wedding to Keely Watson in Ghana Boz didn't just get married. She staged a homecoming, and she put it on television. On Friday, August 21, Bozoma Saint John, the market

Nearly a decade after the two companies first partnered in 2017, Shonda Rhimes and longtime producing partner Betsy Beers have renewed their partnership with Netflix, promising more of the stories that have made Shondaland a global force. Credit: Shondaland.com The partnership has already produced some of Netflix's most recognisable titles, from Bridgerton and its growing universe to Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Inventing Anna and The Residence. Netflix's current slat

African creative businesses and project owners looking to take their work to the next stage have an opportunity to connect directly with potential financiers and strategic partners through the CANEX Deal Room. Credit; Deal Room As part of CANEX WKND 2026, the Deal Room will bring selected creative businesses together with financiers, investors, development finance institutions (DFIs) and industry partners for potential investment and business opportunities. The platform is de

Sasha Calle is adding another major studio project to her growing filmography, joining Jamie Foxx in Deadlocked, the upcoming action thriller from Amazon MGM Studios. Calle, known for The Flash and Netflix’s The Rip, has been cast in a major role opposite Foxx in the feature, which is directed by Indian filmmaker Nikhil Nagesh Bhat. The casting marks another significant step in Calle’s increasingly international career. Calle at the 2024 Toronto Internationa

Dek: Wade Wofford’s Urban Ed turns the American education crisis into an intimate portrait of children navigating poverty, race, family, adolescence, and institutional failure in Springfield, Massachusetts. Kayla Staley, Dalen Davis, Keaton McLachlan and Ace M Small star in Urban Ed. ] Photo credit: [Photographer/Studio name]. Before the Bush Administration enacted the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND act into US federal law, American cinema has long treated the classroom as a secular

Christopher Nolan's $1.3 billion epic is breaking records with a cast at the peak of its power, from Nyong'o's dual role as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra to Zendaya's Athena, and the ensemble's collective payday is just as historic as the box office. Lupita Nyong’o as Clytemnestra in The Odyssey | Lupita Nyong’o attends the world premiere of “The Odyssey” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 06, 2026. Karwai Tang/WireImage Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey [IMDB] has crossed

DEK: Dolly Parton wrote the song. Whitney Houston made it a phenomenon. And when the royalties came in, Parton quietly poured millions back into a Black neighborhood in Nashville, a story Black Film Wire wants to make sure isn't lost in the wave of tributes. 2020 | Picture by Irving Penn Dolly Parton (9 to 5, Steel Magnolias) was more than a country music icon. She was a songwriter, actress, author, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and storyteller whose influence reached far bey

Nearly three hours, shot entirely on IMAX 70mm, and built on a poem composed roughly 2,700 years ago. Here's what actually lands, what doesn't, and why the sound alone is worth the ticket. Matt Damon and Zendaya in ‘The Odyssey.' Credit : Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Studios Somewhere, presumably, Homer is watching his own 2,700-year-old poem cross $1.3 billion at the global box office, get a Travis Scott cameo, and spawn a Spider-Man salary comparison, and he hasn't seen a

As the cast made their way through The Odyssey global press tour, fashion has become another way of entering the world of the film and the Black stars, Zendaya and Lupita Nyong’o, are making particularly memorable statements. Lupita Nyong’o as Clytemnestra in The Odyssey | Lupita Nyong’o attends the world premiere of “The Odyssey” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 06, 2026. Karwai Tang/WireImage Lupita Nyong'o: The Goddess in Different Forms Across the press tour, Lupita

Chike Nwoffiah, founder of the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF), drew his Nigerian and African community to San Jose to celebrate a work years in the making, one that carries his advocacy for African storytelling from the screen to the page. Chike Nwoffiah (Founder and Executive Director, Silicon Valley African Film Festival; director, A Killing in Choctaw, Sabar, and Life Is a Dance, IMDb) has spent over a decade building platforms for African filmmakers to tell

From Shadow to Set moves into the festival's Sunday closing slot, while Beyond the Screen shifts to Saturday afternoon, alongside the UK first look at Gina Prince-Bythewood's Children of Blood and Bone, as the UK's leading Black British film festival finalizes programming for its eighth edition. Beyond the Screen .Credit : S.O.U.L. Fest x ABFF London] S.O.U.L. Fest x ABFF London has issued an updated schedule for its two Sony Pictures Entertainment-presented industry conversa