Decasia heritage film festival returns to Lagos in July 2025, celebrating African cinematic history through rare films, discussions, and cultural preservation

Decasia heritage film festival will return to Lagos in 2025, as announced by Dr Ali Nuhu, Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC). The four-day event will take place from 27 to 30 July at the NFC’s Lagos office in Ikoyi.

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The announcement, delivered through NFC’s Director of Public Affairs, Brian Etuk, highlights a major collaboration between the NFC, the Lagos Film Society, and several German partners including the Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Arts, Deutsche Filminstitut, Goethe University Frankfurt, DAAD, and Goethe Institut.

Nuhu said the festival would bring together filmmakers, historians, scholars, and culture enthusiasts in a celebration of Africa’s cinematic past.

“It’s a landmark gathering dedicated to rediscovery, preservation, and creative re-imagination of Africa’s cinematic heritage,” he stated.

Attendees can expect screenings of rare archival films and engaging panel discussions on film archiving, preservation strategies, and national development. Networking sessions will explore the power of cultural memory and its role in shaping Nigeria’s creative future.

“Decasia heritage film festival provides a public platform for creative opportunities inherent in archival materials,” Nuhu added. He emphasised the importance of archiving to Nigeria’s cultural identity and the growing role of digital technologies in film preservation.

The event supports initiatives such as the Master’s programme in Film Culture & Archiving Studies at the National Film Institute in collaboration with the University of Jos.

Nuhu also noted that Decasia aims to engage government bodies, private sector stakeholders, and content creators on the urgency of protecting Nigeria’s audio-visual history.

“The 2025 edition offers skill development, heritage protection, and film diplomacy opportunities,” he said.

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Decasia heritage film festival first debuted in Lagos in October 2019 and was later held in Berlin in 2020 under the theme “Reclaiming History, Unveiling Memory.”