NBO Film Festival 2025 in Nairobi, Celebrating African Storytelling and Global Connections

The NBO Film Festival 6th edition took place from 16th to 26th October 2025 across Nairobi. Since its founding in 2017, NBO has become a cultural cornerstone in East Africa, spotlighting Kenyan cinema, amplifying African voices, and connecting audiences with bold new films from across the continent and its diaspora.

This year’s NBO Film Festival was more than just a  not just a festival; it felt like a pulse, a living expression of the city’s spirit and the vibrant filmmaking community that continues to rise, challenge, and inspire.From premieres that held us in silence, to Intriguing Q&As that sparked serious conversations, to films that made us roar with laughter, every screening reminded us why cinema matters: – it brings us closer to each other.

The festival is only as strong as the stories it holds, and this year, it held multitudes!

2025’s festival showcased over 26 films from over 15 countries, featuring world premieres, African debuts, and celebrated international titles.

“NBO has always been more than a festival to us. It’s an act of belief — that our stories belong on the biggest screens, and that our people deserve to see themselves in cinema. This year’s festival was an actualisation of that belief. We’re not chasing global cinema — we’re expanding it.” - Mbithi Masya

“For East Africans, storytelling has always been the cornerstone of our cultural practice — and we are increasingly seeing how that translates into the kinds of films we want to make today,” said Sheba Hirst, Festival Director.

“The NBO Film Festival exists to amplify those voices to the rest of the world and to bring them into dialogue with storytellers globally.”

“NBO’s the place to go for the best in African cinema — Big dreams, bright screens — that’s the NBO phenomena!”- Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine

The festival’s opening film was ‘How To Build A Library‘ directed by Maia Lekow and Christopher King.

A City That Became a Cinema

This year, we shared stories across three incredible venues:

Kaloleni Social Hall 

 Where community energy shaped some of the most electric screenings of the festival.

Unseen Nairobi 

Where intimate conversations and thoughtful reflections flowed late into the night.

Prestige Cinemas 

Where cinema came alive witha cinematic home base buzzing with excited queues, spontaneous debates, and unforgettable moments.

Each venue held its own magic, a different heartbeat, but together they formed the rhythm of this year’s festival.

To our Audience:

Thank you for showing up, for filling the seats, for leaning in, listening, asking, laughing, tearing up, asking the hard questions, debating, returning, and returning again!

Your presence transformed screenings into shared moments, and those shared moments into a community.