Rwanda’s Methode Muhire, Ghislain Iradukunda and Fiston Mudacumura were honored with special awards at the 2025 All African Independent Film Festival (AAIFF) which concluded in Kigali on Sunday, October 12.

Held from October 10-12 at French Institute of Rwanda, the festival saw 21 films from 16 countries vying for prizes across 10 categories with the top accolade being Africa’s Best Independent Film 2025.

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Iradukunda received the Best Independent Feature Script Award for his film ‘Date Night’, while ‘Nyiragitwa: Daughter of Sacyega,' which was produced by Mudacumura earned a Special Jury Mention.

Muhire, who was the sole Rwandan competitor and winner of the 2024 Rwandan Students Special Award, once again scooped the award in the same category with his short film ‘So Called Friend’.

Reflecting on his earlier ambition to return with an even better project, Muhire noted that he plans to compete again in the next edition, this time aiming for the festival’s top honor — Africa’s Best Independent Film category.

"I’m really honored that my film got recognized with the Rwandan Students Special Award, just like I’d hoped last year. Big thanks to my whole team for making it happen and hopefully, next year I’ll be back, this time competing in the main category.”

The film tells the story of a boy who betrays his best friend by having an affair with his girlfriend, ultimately leading to a tragic ending.

Speaking to The New Times, festival founder Scott Hillier, who also doubles as president of the European Independent Film Festival (ÉCU) — said he intends to further develop the event next year, aiming to position it among the leading independent film festivals globally.

"We’re definitely coming back,” Hillier said.

"We’ve got an audience now, and we believe we’re building a community getting closer to our goal to become one independent film festival at a time.”

"It’s never easy to start from scratch, but we’re doing it, we’re becoming a recognized name on the continent as you see the quality has improved remarkably since last year, and I can’t wait to see what next year brings,” he added.

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Who else won big?

Other honors at the festival included Africa’s Best Independent Film, awarded to ‘The Yellow Dress’ directed by Kenyan filmmaker Caroline Odongo.

Nana Kofi Asihene received the award for Africa’s Best Independent Film Director for his work on ‘Wrong Way’.

In the drama categories, ‘Love & Jollof' by Ghanaian director Ramesh Jai Gulabrai won Best African Independent Dramatic Short, while ‘Sarah’ by Kenya’s Nick Reding was named Best African Independent Dramatic Feature.

‘Dawn,’ by Cameroonian director Gary Telly Jeannot received recognition as Best African Independent Animated Film, and ‘V’s Secret’ by Egyptian filmmaker Bassma Farah earned the title of Best African Independent Student Film.

The award for Best African Independent Experimental Film went to ‘Déjà Nu' by Rolf Hellat from Côte d’Ivoire, and Kenya’s Ian Gituku won Best African Independent Documentary for ‘10 Toes Down’.

Beninese-German filmmaker Michael Maurissens received the Best Editing award for ‘Lettre à Ma Fille’, while ‘Aicha’ by Moroccan director Oskar Jan Król secured the Best Cinematography award.

Hind Dafer was recognized as Best Actress for her performance in ‘Aicha’, and Kenyan actor Xavier Ywaya took home the Best Actor award for his role in ‘The Yellow Dress’.