Chioma Ude, founder of the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), has been named 2 Deadline Hollywood’s 2025 Class of Disruptors, a list that recognises individuals shifting the boundaries of global film and television.
Her inclusion comes as AFRIFF nears its 15th year, a milestone marked by ongoing efforts to connect African storytelling with the wider world. In a feature recently published by Deadline during the Cannes Film Festival, Chioma reflected on what led her to establish AFRIFF. She described wanting a platform that would not only spotlight African cinema but also support filmmakers from across the continent, not just Nigeria.
Chioma noted that recent editions of the festival have drawn more interest from the African diaspora, something she sees as opening up new opportunities. “It’s changed the way I was looking at the trajectory of the festival,” she says. “Before now, it was more about us going global in the sense of partnering more with the West, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but now I’m having many more conversations with companies in the diaspora and it’s opened my eyes to new partnerships. I’m really encouraged by the interest from other African nations — growth in this area is the next goal.”
Looking ahead, she confirmed plans to introduce a formal market alongside the film lineup, something she believes will take AFRIFF to the next level. “We are ripe for a film market,” Chioma says. “What we are doing now is getting ourselves ready for the next phase of economic growth, so it’s right that we have a film market that runs concurrently.”
