The Africa International Human Rights Film Festival (AIHRFF) is back, bigger, bolder, and more urgent than ever. Scheduled for December 8–10, 2025, this year’s festival positions Lagos once again as a hub for human-rights storytelling, advocacy, and global collaboration. With its powerful theme, “Using Films to Bridge Divides,” the 2025 edition emphasizes cinema not just as entertainment, but as a crucial tool for justice, empathy, and accountability.
AIHRFF continues to grow in influence. According to organisers, the festival received an impressive 151 entries from 71 nations, one of its widest global representations yet. The submissions cut across documentary, short film, feature narratives, and activist-driven projects, each confronting urgent realities such as war crimes, political repression, discrimination, and violence against vulnerable populations.
These stories arrive at a time when global human-rights concerns are increasingly complex: rising authoritarianism, new waves of digital surveillance, conflicts displacing millions, and expanding suppression of journalists and whistleblowers. By bringing these films to African audiences, AIHRFF becomes more than a festival, it is a global mirror and a call to action.
A Three-Day Lineup of Screenings, Panels & Master-Classes
AIHRFF 2025 will run across three key Lagos venues, each offering a unique space for dialogue and engagement:
📍 DECEMBER 8–9
Venue:
- Panel Sessions: 1A Adekunle Owobiyi Close, Ogba Phase II
- Film Screenings: Freedom Park, Lagos (3 PM – 7 PM)
Freedom Park’s open-air ambiance brings an emotional weight to the stories being screened, connecting history, activism, and cinema in one space.
📍 DECEMBER 10
Venue:
- Master-Classes & Closing Ceremony: British Council, Ikoyi
The final day focuses on capacity-building. Master-classes will feature experienced filmmakers, human-rights defenders, and media specialists who will train young creators on:
- using film as advocacy
- ethical storytelling
- protecting vulnerable subjects
- building global partnerships
- navigating censorship and press restrictions
Festival founder Kehinde Adegboyega described AIHRFF as “Africa’s biggest convergence of activists, filmmakers, and rights advocates committed to exposing abuses and driving change through film.”
What’s Screening? A New Wave of Courageous Storytelling
From war zones to rural communities and from courtrooms to refugee camps, the films selected for this year’s festival reflect a diverse range of struggles faced around the world. Themes include:
- police brutality and extra-judicial killings
- violence against women and children
- ethnic conflict and displacement
- state censorship and media repression
- corruption and broken justice systems
- environmental injustice affecting marginalized groups
AIHRFF also highlights films from first-time directors, giving emerging voices a global platform. Many of these filmmakers come from regions where censorship is intense and telling the truth can be dangerous. For them, AIHRFF provides a safe and impactful stage.
Why AIHRFF Matters, A Global Human-Rights Lifeline
At its core, AIHRFF is more than a cultural event. It is an international advocacy platform using storytelling to challenge silence, complicity, and power abuse.
Here’s what makes the festival globally important:
1. It Amplifies Silenced Voices
Films submitted often come from communities whose experiences rarely make mainstream news. AIHRFF brings those stories into focus.
2. It Creates Global Solidarity
With filmmakers and activists representing 71 nations, the festival becomes a melting pot of shared struggles and collective resistance.
3. It Documents Abuses for Future Action
Many films screened serve as evidence and public testimony, vital tools for activists, journalists, and NGOs pursuing justice.
4. It Strengthens Activist Filmmaking in Africa
By empowering African creators to tackle human-rights themes, the festival supports a new generation committed to accountability and social change.
5. It Inspires Public Engagement
AIHRFF encourages audiences to question, reflect, and participate in global efforts toward justice — proving that film can be a weapon for truth.
Why You Should Attend or Follow
If you care about human rights, social justice, or the power of storytelling, AIHRFF 2025 is a must-watch, even online. It’s not just about films, it’s about truth, empathy, community, and global solidarity.
Whether you watch a documentary, attend a panel, or learn from a master-class, you’re part of a movement to use creative media for justice and accountability.
Will you be attending? Watching online? Or sharing a film that moved you? Leave your thoughts and let’s talk about which stories you think will spark change.