Jali Film Weekender announces opening and closing films and spotlight on Angolan film collective Geração 80 for 2026 edition

Jali Collective has announced the opening and closing films and a major focus programme for the second edition of Jali Film Weekender, taking place across Edinburgh from 28 October – 1 November 2026.

Returning to Filmhouse and expanding into additional Edinburgh venues, the now five-day festival will once again celebrate and platform Black, African and diaspora stories through a programme spanning film and Extended Reality (XR), alongside filmmaker conversations, talks and other events.

Following its inaugural edition in 2025, Jali Film Weekender continues its mission to widen access to African and diasporic cinema in Scotland, bringing audiences together around bold, distinctive work from across the African continent and its global diaspora. Last year’s festival established this emphasis on community and connection, creating space not only for representation, but for meaningful participation, exchange and cultural agency, with a particular ambition to build intentional relationships with Black, African and diaspora audiences in Edinburgh and Scotland.

Across four days, the inaugural Weekender presented eight features and 12 shorts, including 16 Scottish Premieres, two UK Premieres and one European Premiere, and welcomed nearly 700 admissions. It also hosted the first Scottish presentations of Kenyan VR and AR works at Filmhouse. Beyond screenings, the programme included a public discussion on centring Black, African and diaspora audiences in Scotland, workshops and interactive XR experiences. The festival opened with Memory of Princess Mumbi and closed with Promised Sky, while guests included actress Luisa Wolf, who joined the opening-film Q&A; Amakki director Célia Boussebaa; and Sudanese film curator and producer Talal Afifi, producer of Khartoum.

“We’re so excited to be bringing Jali Film Weekender back for a second year, and to once again showcase the work of brilliant filmmakers, actors and artists from across Africa and its diaspora. It feels really special to be opening and closing with two beautiful films arriving in Edinburgh from Venice, as well as celebrating the incredible work of Geração 80 and bringing more Angolan cinema to Scottish audiences. At the heart of Jali is creating a space for these films to be seen, celebrated and shared together. This is just the beginning of what we have planned, and we can’t wait to reveal the full programme later this month” - Tomiwa Folorunso, Isabel Moura Mendes and Carmen Thompson, directors of Jali Collective.

FILM HIGHLIGHTS

Opening Film – DEAR AJAYI: The festival will open with the Scottish Premiere of Dear Ajayi, the new film from Damilola Orimogunje, arriving in Edinburgh following its World Premiere in competition, and the first ever Nigerian film to be selected, at Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori. Set in southwestern Nigeria in the 1990s, the film follows sisters Ade and Titi Ajayi, whose vastly different lives collide when their ailing mother comes to live with them. Through intimate domestic spaces, music and visual art, Dear Ajayi explores grief, faith, ambition and the fragile bonds of family as the sisters search for love, purpose and freedom.

Closing Film – HOUSE OF THE WIND: Jali Film Weekender will close with the Scottish Premiere of House of the Wind, by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu, following its World Premiere in competition in the Orizzonti section of Venice Film Festival. Set in Yaoundé, Cameroon, House of the Wind follows 80-year-old Josette, whose children have all left for the West. Hoping to draw them home, she encourages them to build houses in Cameroon, but an unexpected bond with Sarah, a young woman from her neighbourhood, challenges her ideas of family, responsibility and the future she has imagined for herself and her children.

SPOTLIGHT: GERAÇÃO 80: The 2026 Weekender will also present Spotlight: Geração 80, a special focus on the acclaimed Angolan film collective and production company Geração 80, supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch’s Gulbenkian Exhibitions Fund. Across screenings at Filmhouse, the programme will bring together a selection from Geração 80’s filmography, offering Scottish audiences a rare opportunity to encounter work from one of the key forces shaping contemporary Angolan cinema. The Spotlight will include the UK Premiere of Hugo Salvaterra’s My Semba (Meu Semba), alongside further films to be announced as part of the full programme, with the collective in attendance at the festival in Edinburgh to present the work.

Full Programme Coming Soon: The full Jali Film Weekender 2026 programme will be announced on 21 September, revealing the complete line-up of films, Extended Reality works and accompanying events taking place across Edinburgh from 28 October – 1 November.

ABOUT JALI COLLECTIVE

Jali Collective is an Edinburgh-based collective with a mission to widen access to African cinema and celebrate and elevate Black, African and diaspora stories through film and culture. The collective curates film screenings, festivals, workshops and related events that bring Black, African and diaspora cinema to audiences.

Jali Collective was founded by Tomiwa Folorunso, Isabel Moura Mendes and Carmen Thompson, three producers, programmers and cultural organisers with deep roots in the film, festival and arts sectors in Scotland and beyond. The inaugural Jali Film Weekender took place at Filmhouse in 2025, establishing a new dedicated space for Black, African and diaspora cinema in Scotland.

At the inaugural 2025 Weekender, Jali also brought film teams into conversation with audiences. Actress Luisa Wolf, one of the stars of opening film Memory of Princess Mumbi, joined a post-screening Q&A; Célia Boussebaa, director of Amakki, also took part in a Q&A; and Sudanese film curator and producer Talal Afifi, producer of Khartoum, joined an in-conversation following one of the festival’s most well-attended screenings.

Jali Film Weekender 2026 is supported by Screen Scotland and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of Screen Scotland and the BFI National Lottery) as well as other partners.

The full programme will be announced 21 September 2026 at www.jalicollective.co.uk.

About Screen Scotland
Screen Scotland drives development of all aspects of Scotland’s film and tv industry, through funding and strategic support. Screen Scotland is part of Creative Scotland and delivers these services and support with funding from the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Find out more at screen.scot and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Film Hub Scotland
Jointly funded by Screen Scotland and National Lottery Funding from the BFI. Part of the BFI Film Audience Network, Film Hub Scotland is one  of eight Hubs set up across the UK to extend film choice, increase and broaden film audiences, and enhance opportunities for audiences to engage with and learn about film.

About Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is an international foundation promoting the development of individuals and organisations through art, science, education and charity, working towards a more equitable and sustainable society. Based in London, the UK Branch contributes to the Foundation’s mission using its networks, experience and way of working. Its grant-making supports transnational exchange between the UK and Portugal to strengthen arts and civil society ecosystems.