Jali Film Weekender 2026

Jali Film Weekender returns to Edinburgh from 28 October to 1 November, five days of Black, African and diaspora cinema and extended realities. It's the second edition of the festival, which was set up to widen access to African and diasporic film in Scotland and create a dedicated space for bold filmmaking and engagement with Black, African and diaspora audiences.

The screen programme runs from narrative and documentary to animation, experimental and short film, with one world premiere, two European premieres, 11 UK premieres and 22 Scottish premieres. It opens at Filmhouse on 28 October with Dear Ajayi by Damilola Orimogunje and closes there on 1 November with House of the Wind by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu. In between, you'll find Morocco's official Academy Award submission Strawberries, the award-winning documentary Magma, and a 40th-anniversary screening of John Akomfrah's Handsworth Songs. Beyond the films, there's an Extended Realities (XR) exhibition, filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions and workshops.

The theme this year is 'Rebellion', and it runs through both the screen programme and the off-screen activities. The organisers describe rebellion as an expansive force through which individuals and communities challenge power, assert their identities and imagine different futures. The festival is run by Jali Collective co-directors Tomiwa Folorunso, Isabel Moura Mendes and Carmen Thompson, with cultural advisors Azza Mustafa, Divine Hemedi and Gemma Osuolale. The lead artwork, Up The Volume (2026), is by multidisciplinary artist and creative director Aisha Ayoade, whose work documents comfort as a practice and is anchored in West African cultural practices.

Screenings and events take place across Filmhouse, Traverse Theatre and Lochrin Rooftop Bar. The weekender is supported by the Screen Scotland National Lottery Film Festival & Screening Programme Fund, Film Hub Scotland and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch. It runs from 28 October to 1 November.