The CANEX Shorts 2025 competition at this year’s Intra-African Trade Fair in Algiers offered a luminous glimpse into the future of African cinema. With subjects ranging from ancestral memory to childhood resilience, the winning short films – each weighing in at less than five minutes – proved that brevity can be a vessel for depth, emotion, and cultural truth.
Matthieu Abal’s Zogbeto (Togo) took top honours in the Fiction category, weaving ancestral beliefs into a haunting meditation on identity and tradition. In Animation, Algerian filmmaker Shawki Boukef won with Olivia, a visually arresting tale of perseverance in an unforgiving world. The Documentary prize went to Egypt’s Marwa El Sharkway for Young Hearts, a poignant reflection on the global plight of children.
CANEX Shorts 2025 winners pose with their prizes after the award ceremony.Special mentions included Misfit by Kenya’s Karanja Ng’endo, exploring albinism with empathy and nuance; Heart of Gold by Benin’s Destin Junior Gnonlonfou, spotlighting women and children; and Where the Dust Still Smiles by Uganda’s Kristian Kisaa, a lyrical documentary on memory and place.
With over 700 entries from across Africa and the diaspora, the competition which is open to filmmakers aged 18 – 35, affirmed the continent’s rich storytelling tradition and its evolving cinematic language. Each winner received a $2,000 prize and a screening at CANEX, part of Afreximbank’s broader initiative to elevate Africa’s creative economy.
As the jury noted, short films are more than stepping stones; they are complete works of art, demanding precision, emotional clarity, and vision. CANEX Shorts continues to nurture this artistry, spotlighting voices that speak not only to Africa, but to the world.
