The 2025 Mashariki African Film Festival (MAAF) will not be just about awards with cars set to be the grand prize for this year’s edition. The festival will also be home of big film projects that could attract the attention of global investors including Amazon Prime and Netflix. According to MAFF CEO Tresor Senga, officials from Amazon Prime and Netflix, two of world’s leading movie streaming platforms, will be among delegates expected at the festival which is scheduled for November 22-29 in Kigali. “We shall have people representing Netflix and Amazon Prime at our festival. That means that exhibitors have to bring on projects that meet the standards of their caliber,” Senga told The New Times. “We hope to have them at our film market during which they can network with filmmakers and have a glimpse of top film projects. I believe this is an opportunity for filmmakers to get their films ready and present the projects to them,” he added. During the festival, participants will participate in what has been dubbed ‘Mahsariki Market’ or ‘Masharket,’ an international content market platform designed to nurture creativity, build capacity and connect talent with industry opportunities. Masharket underscores the festival’s commitment to both artistic recognition and meaningful rewards for African talent. Best film projects to get funding A lot of activities will take place at MAFF 2025. While daily film screening is scheduled throughout the week, workshops on virtual reality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool for film production are also on agenda. Festival organisers will also start receiving film projects by African filmmakers and beyond where the best projects will be selected and be pushed for funding opportunities. They will be selected by a jury comprising judges from Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and East Africa. Synopsis submissions start on October 1 and will run until October 20. “We hope that the best projects will be pitched on the Saudi Arabian market for potential funding,” Senga said.
