Ninety-eight submissions walked in. Eleven survived. And somewhere in Lagos, ten filmmakers are currently refreshing their email a little too often.
The nominees for the first-ever Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts (NPCA) have officially been unveiled, and if you’re a young Nigerian documentary filmmaker who’s been quietly editing footage in the dark for months, this is your moment to feel things.
The NPCA is the shiny new successor to The Nigeria Prize for Criticism, still generously bankrolled by NLNG, and still very much in the business of handing serious money to serious talent — this time, specifically to documentary filmmakers between the ages of 18 and 35. Consider it NLNG’s way of saying: we see you, and now go tell us who we are.
The Assignment: Figure Out “Identity”
For its maiden edition, the prize handed filmmakers a theme that could easily swallow an entire film school semester: Identity. Not exactly a light prompt. But 98 filmmakers took a swing at it anyway, weaving together stories about Nigeria, her people, her communities, her cultures, and the ever-shifting, never-quite-settled question of what it means to belong to all of that.
From that pool, a longlist of 11 emerged, unveiled on Sunday, August 2, at the 18th CORA–Nigeria Prize for Literature Book Party at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos — proving once again that if you want a major literary and cultural announcement in Lagos, MUSON Centre is apparently where it happens.
Next up: a shortlist of three, followed by the big reveal at the Grand Award Night (GAN) on Friday, October 9, 2026, also in Lagos. Mark your calendars, or at least your Twitter notifications.
Meet the Longlist
Eleven films. Eleven filmmakers. One very competitive next few months. The lineup:
- Mi Tazi — Blessing Bulus
- Women of Salt: The Resilience of Ebonyi’s Women — Jessica Chinyere
- No Food for Lazy Men — Unmi Bukar
- Àkúdàáyà — Dominic Fayenuwo
- Arugba: The Weight of Purity — Tosin Keshinro
- Argungu Fishing Festival — Ibrahim Khalil Bala
- Beyond Tarkwa Bay — Peter Oghenetega
- Calabar My Calabar — Joseph Okulaja
- Mara Mania — Feranmi Abiola
- Okrika — Abraham Ayodele Aiwyuse
- Far From Home — Aimalohi Ojeamiran
Eleven different lenses on one enormous theme — from fishing festivals to sacred rites to the quiet weight of distance from home. If nothing else, someone should bundle these into a single sitting, because that’s a genuinely stacked watchlist.
The Judges Are Impressed (And They’re Not Easy to Impress)
Announcing the longlist, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, Chair of the Advisory Board for the NPCA, didn’t hold back the praise. She pointed to the sheer breadth and quality of the 98 submissions as proof that Nigeria has a deep well of emerging talent, and that its young filmmakers are growing more confident about telling their own stories, on their own terms.
She noted the documentaries brought thoughtful, wide-ranging takes on identity, digging into the people, cultures, communities, and everyday realities that shape modern Nigeria. Taken together, she said, the films show just how powerful documentary filmmaking can be at preserving important stories, building understanding, and capturing the full complexity of the Nigerian experience through a new generation’s eyes.
She also flagged just how big a deal 98 entries is for a debut edition — a genuine vote of confidence in both the prize itself and in young Nigerians’ ability to tell their own stories, with each of the 11 nominees earning their spot through sharp, considered takes on the theme of “Identity.”
The jury doing the actual deciding includes Adeola Aderonke and George Ugwuja, with Dr. Sam Dede chairing the panel — presumably the three people currently watching eleven documentaries back-to-back with a very serious notepad.
What’s Next: The Countdown to October
The 11 films now head into the next round of adjudication, with the shortlist of three still to come before the big winner is crowned at NLNG’s Grand Award Night this October. Whoever takes it home won’t just walk away with $20,000 — they’ll make history as the very first recipient of The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts, a fully NLNG-sponsored initiative built to spotlight and champion standout creative work from young Nigerians.
For eleven filmmakers, the cameras have stopped rolling. Now it’s just the waiting game — and honestly, that might be the hardest part of the whole process.
