Cameroon's Lights Out Lands on ABFF 2026 Lineup as Festival Unveils 30th Anniversary Slate With Jamie Foxx, Marsai Martin and More
- Sahndra Fon Dufe
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
The American Black Film Festival has unveiled its 2026 lineup, with Cameroon's Lights Out earning a world premiere slot among the international narrative features in this landmark anniversary slate.
Atlanta, GA April 9, 2026
The American Black Film Festival has revealed its official 2026 lineup, celebrating its 30th anniversary with a slate tied to Jamie Foxx, Marsai Martin, Courtney B. Vance, Jesse Williams, Coco Jones and more. Among those selections, Cameroon's Lights Out stands out as one of the few titles giving the program a distinctly international dimension.
ABFF's official narrative features page lists Lights Out as a Cameroon production directed by Enah Johnscott, written by Nfua Buh Melvin, and produced by Carista Asonganyi and Nfua Buh Melvin. The cast includes Wale Ojo, Ngongang Elizabeth Wandji, Shaffy Bello, Syndy Emade and Libota MacDonald. The festival designates it a world premiere.
That distinction carries real weight. Lights Out is one of only four clearly international narrative features in the section, alongside titles from Brazil/Italy, Canada and the U.K. in a lineup that otherwise skews heavily American. It gives Cameroon a meaningful foothold inside one of the most visible Black film ecosystems in the United States.
Producer Carista Asonganyi called the selection a homecoming. "It's one thing to produce a movie and another thing when the movie lands," she said. "ABFF 2026 is the home of Lights Out and we are very excited to be selected. This is going to be a pivotal moment for Black people all over the world."
The timing adds another layer. ABFF 2026 runs May 27–31 in Miami Beach, placing it squarely within Mental Health Awareness Month. For a film centered on memory, dementia and emotional strain, that alignment gives the selection a resonance that feels anything but accidental.
As Variety reports, the broader ABFF 2026 anniversary slate brings together some of the most recognised names in Black film and television today. Within that company, Lights Out puts Cameroon in the room. In a screen economy where placement shapes perception, that matters.
Lights Out is directed by Enah Johnscott and produced by Carista Asonganyi and Nfua Buh Melvin, with the film positioned as a dementia-centered story from Cameroon entering one of the world's most prominent Black festival conversations.
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