About
Our storyStories connect us.
The Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival was created from a belief that the stories we tell shape how we understand ourselves, our communities and one another.
ENIFF is rooted in Eastern Nigeria, a region with deep ties to the development of Nollywood and African screen storytelling. The festival was created to give filmmakers a place to show their work, encounter audiences and industry, develop their practice and build meaningful creative connections from the region to the world.
Our first edition took place in 2020. When the pandemic made a physical gathering impossible, ENIFF went online and screened 40 films virtually.
Since then, ENIFF has grown into an annual international gathering in Enugu, bringing together cinema, filmmakers, cultural practitioners, institutions and audiences.
Our mission
To spotlight African stories, empower filmmakers, and create opportunities for cultural exchange and economic growth through film.
01Why Eastern Nigeria
Rooted in the east
ENIFF is not simply a festival that happens to take place in Enugu. Place is central to why the festival exists.
Eastern Nigeria carries an important history within Nigerian cinema, while filmmakers and young creatives in the region continue to face questions of access, infrastructure, opportunity and visibility. ENIFF exists in part to create a home where creative work can be seen, developed and connected to wider audiences and industries.
02What we do
Four ways we work
01
Festival
International cinema and creative exchange in Enugu.
02
Filmmaker development
Learning, mentorship and opportunities for filmmakers.
03
Culture
Film in conversation with heritage, identity and contemporary life.
04
Connection
Connecting local creative voices to audiences, institutions and collaborators beyond the region.
03Our people
Festival leadership + team
Dumebi Akukwe
Director, Operations
04Advisory board
Advisors
Femi Odugbemi
Advisory Board
05ENFAI
The organisation behind the festival
ENIFF is the flagship festival of the Eastern Nigeria Film & Arts Initiative.
ENFAI works to empower young people through film, media, technology and creative skills, with a particular focus on Southeast Nigeria.
Alongside the festival, ENFAI runs training, mentorship and creative-development work that widens access to the screen industries in the region.
06Impact
Our impact
5,000+
Submissions received
1,000+
Festival attendees
43
Countries represented