ASIA AND AFRICA SPLIT MAJOR FAREWELL HONORS AS CHINESE AND NIGERIAN FILMS DOMINATE 23RD AIFF CLOSING CEREMONY

The global reach of cross-cultural storytelling was fully realized last night at the closing gala of the 23rd Abuja International Film Festival, as projects from China, Nigeria, and South Africa split the evening’s biggest competitive awards.

Leading the international pack was the Chinese cinematic masterpiece The Shadow’s Edge, which achieved a spectacular triple win by claiming the Golden Jury Award, Outstanding Director (Larry Yang), and Outstanding Feature Film (Foreign). Meanwhile, local Nigerian content fiercely defended its home turf, with Uvoyou Adia’s Evi capturing Outstanding Feature Film (Nigeria), Tayo Elesin’s Yellow Slipper winning Outstanding Music Score, and Uzor Arukwe winning Outstanding Actor for his performance in Evil (shared jointly with Rotimi Salami for Kilanko: The Invincible Child).

Addressing the global gathering, Founder of the AIFF, Fidelis Duker, emphasized the festival’s role as a cross-continental melting pot:

“The sheer diversity of last night’s winners shows that great cinema speaks a universal language. Whether it is a director from China sweeping the jury awards, a student filmmaker from Germany, or a home-grown Nigerian team telling an authentic local story, AIFF has cemented its place as the definitive meeting point for global cinema. We are incredibly proud of the artistic standard displayed across all 18 categories this year.”