Cameroon’s Oscar Entry Half Heaven Finds Its “Cousins” in Barbados at Africa Fest 2026
Updated: 11h
From the team behind ABFF-nominated Lights Out, Cameroon's 96th Academy Awards submission screened in the Caribbean for the first time, where audiences followed its Pidgin without captions and talked co-productions between Central Africa and the Caribbean.
![Barbadian audiences watch Half Heaven at the Barbados Museum & Historical Society, with Kizito (N.R. Seehofer) on screen, during AfroFilms at Africa Fest 2026. | Photo: [Charlette Thomas]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7199b8_cbf84398d44b4fcf8339cfeb70a56419~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_656,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/7199b8_cbf84398d44b4fcf8339cfeb70a56419~mv2.jpg)
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – October 30, 2026, marked the launch of the second edition of Africa Fest at the Sir Trevor Carmichael Walled Garden Theatre of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society. The festival organizers, The Diasporadical Initiative, in association with African Pictures International and Black Film Wire, presented the Cameroonian film Half Heaven to an audience of around 100 people.
The protagonist of the film, Kizito, (played by N.R. Seehofer) a pastor who is sent on a journey to save souls in an unfamiliar town, finds himself at a crossroads of judgment and acceptance of those who do not live as he does.
Produced and executive produced by Carista Asonganyi of Check Sense Productions and directed by Enah Johnscott, Half Heaven was Cameroon's official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards and is now streaming on Prime Video. It marked Johnscott's second Oscar submission, after The Fisherman's Diary represented Cameroon at the 93rd Academy Awards. The film stars Syndy Emade alongside Nollywood actor Chidi Mokeme. The same team went on to make Lights Out, a psychological drama about dementia, produced and executive produced by Asonganyi, written and produced by Buh Melvin, and directed by Enah Johnscott. Starring Wale Ojo, Elizabeth Ngongang and Syndy Emade, Lights Out earned a nomination for International Narrative Feature at the 2026 American Black Film Festival.
Following the film, the event's organizer, Prince Kuntulo Bazawule, introduced the virtual question-and-answer session moderated by Sahndra Fon Dufe, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Black Film Wire. The audience was treated to thoughts from the film's director, Enah Johnscott, and producer and executive producer, Carista Asonganyi, and was then given a moment to engage via the live link.
With Half Heaven's script interspersed with moments of hilarity that were thoroughly enjoyed by the audience, Johnscott stated that he hoped the greater takeaway would be for people to exercise the ability to be more accepting of others. He also acknowledged how heartwarming and fulfilling it was to have the first Caribbean screening of Half Heaven take place in Barbados at an African festival, opening room for discussions on film partnerships and co-productions between Central Africa and the Caribbean.
Asonganyi, who produced and executive produced Half Heaven as her first feature, mentioned that while the film was not crafted around the traditional or commercial themes one would expect from general movies, it was an authentic African story that explored relatable topics on a global level.
Her commitment to seeing the film come to life came at the cost of shooting it during the civil unrest that has affected Cameroon's English-speaking regions for nearly a decade, a risk that could bear financial and personal consequences, given the film's realistic-looking prop guns.
Barbados' Ambassador to CARICOM, His Excellency David Comissiong, shared his thoughts with Black Film Wire about the shared heritage of Africa and the Caribbean, and the ways in which it can be explored through film.
Of the story depicted in Half Heaven, Ambassador Comissiong said: "It's a social reality that is to be found in the Caribbean and Africa. We face many of the same issues." He further made the case for Caribbean and African filmmakers to collaborate in telling the stories of both regions.
Other audience members of Barbadian heritage expressed their delight at understanding the Pidgin spoken in the film without the use of captions. The Barbadian dialect, commonly referred to as "Bajan," includes many words of African origin, further cementing the similarities the Caribbean and Africa share. Tosin "Tosinger" Taiwo, a Nigerian actress and storyteller who took part in the festival and attended the screening, playfully described her attendance as a chance to connect with her "cousins."
For Barbados, the evening also spoke to an industry still finding its footing at home. Central Bank of Barbados Governor Dr. Kevin Greenidge said in August 2025 that the creative sector accounts for just 1.2% of the island's GDP, a figure he believes understates its true size, even as the orange economy grew 14% after COVID-19. The government is developing film incentive legislation, and Culture Minister Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight has promised Barbados will have "one of the strongest film legislations in the region."
Africa Fest continued on October 31 with a family day of activities under the theme "Celebrating Our Queens & Kings." It culminated on November 1 with a wind-down beach event, AFRO LIME, which brought participants together for a conversation on sustainability and a hands-on building activity with Rebella.
Charlette Thomas is a multidisciplinary entrepreneur with film as her primary passion, using her skills to help develop and grow the film industry in Barbados.
A Note From the Editor
There was more in that room than one article could hold, so here is what stayed with me.
In the Q&A, Enah Johnscott spoke about the heart of Half Heaven. "One message I wanted the audience to take away would be not to be judgmental," he said. "Most of us sometimes tend to neglect our own darkness and focus so much on the little glitches in other people's lives." Enah, whose The Fisherman's Diary was Cameroon's submission to the 93rd Academy Awards, was named Best Director at the Cameroon International Film Festival in April. Half Heaven is his second Oscar submission.
Carista Asonganyi was candid about what it takes to make a film like this independently. Half Heaven was her first title as a producer and executive producer, and it was self-financed. She has since produced and executive produced Lights Out. "I'm hoping that as our stories are being exported and we're building bridges of partnership, the subsequent projects would be a lighter lift on our end," she said.
The Barbados audience asked the best questions I have heard at a screening this year. One viewer wanted to know whether Kizito returns for Bisona: "I have to know how it ends." Enah revealed that the team filmed Kizito's return to Victoria but cut it in the edit. "I always want to respect the intelligence of the audience," he said. Carista added: "Our goal is to spark conversations. Where you are right now is exactly where we wanted you to be." Another asked whether the people Kizito reached would fall back into old ways once he left. Enah's answer: Boko is Kizito's root. "There is no abandonment, but there is something he needs to finish in Victoria."
The weekend kept growing after Friday. Close to 500 people attended Saturday's family day at Wildey House Gardens, headquarters of the Barbados National Trust, up from 350+ in 2025. Our children's film slate included three favorites from Norway's youth-focused Bragi Film Festival, brought by its co-founder, Nigerian filmmaker Regina Udalor: Emo Town, winner of Best Screenplay (Under 12) at Bragi 2025; Pure Water, winner of the Rising Star Award; and When Mummy Calls. On Sunday, AFRO LIME closed the festival on Miami Beach, Oistins, where participants built sand pyramids and then sustainable structures from sand and seawater with Rebella.
At the start of the Q&A, I asked how we move beyond celebrating the connection between Africa and the Caribbean to actually creating, producing, financing and distributing stories together. Barbados gave us part of the answer that night. The rest is ours to build.
Read the full Africa Fest 2026 release: [EIN link]
Disclosure: African Pictures International, Black Film Wire's sister company, was the Official Film Partner of Africa Fest 2026 and curated its film program. Black Film Wire was the festival's official media partner.
Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Black Film Wire
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