From Kenneth Udeh, Abuja
The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) has announced the return of the heritage film festival Decasia to Lagos, scheduled to take place from Sunday, July 27 to Wednesday, July 30. The four-day cultural event will be held at the NFC’s Lagos office in Ikoyi.
A collaborative initiative between the NFC, the Lagos Film Society, and key German institutions—Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Arts (Berlin), Deutsche Filminstitut & Filmmuseum (Frankfurt), Goethe University Frankfurt, DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), and the Goethe-Institut Lagos—Decasia 2025 is dedicated to the rediscovery, preservation, and creative reimagination of Africa’s cinematic heritage.
According to Dr Ali Nuhu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NFC, this year’s festival promises to be a landmark gathering of filmmakers, archivists, historians, scholars, and cultural stakeholders.
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Nuhu, in a statement issued on Thursday by the NFC’s Director of Public Affairs, Brian Etuk, said the programme will include the screening of rare archival films, panel discussions on preservation strategies and the role of cultural memory in national development, and networking sessions to drive policy dialogue.
“This edition of Decasia will support conversations around the draft National Film Archive Policy and underscore the importance of safeguarding our audiovisual heritage in a digital age,” Dr Nuhu stated.
The festival will also examine the impact of digital technologies on preservation efforts and explore the vital relationship between film archives and festivals. A core objective of Decasia is to promote Nigeria’s National Film, Video and Sound Archive (NFVSA) as the country’s premier audiovisual repository, while strengthening its linkages with academic institutions like the National Film Institute (NFI) and the University of Jos, home to a Master’s degree programme in Film Culture and Archiving Studies.
By involving filmmakers, government agencies, the private sector, and the broader public, Decasia 2025 aims to build sustainable frameworks for audiovisual preservation and expand the reach of cultural diplomacy.
The festival was first held in Lagos in 2019 under the title “1st Berlin-Lagos Archival Film Festival.” Its 2020 edition took place in Berlin, Germany, themed “Reclaiming History, Unveiling Memory.” The 2025 edition, alternating once again back to Lagos, is expected to deepen Nigeria’s commitment to heritage protection, archival skill development, and global cultural engagement.
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