The Jury

Tshepiso Chikapa Phiri

Producer · Media executive · South Africa

Founder and Group CEO of Known Associates Group and Chairperson of the Independent Producers' Organisation. Her credits include uBettina Wethu, Wild Is the Wind and The Umbrella Men, alongside production executive work on Beast and The Woman King.

Blessing Uzzi

Filmmaker · Writer · Producer · Nigeria

Founder of Bluhouse Studios and filmmaker behind Freedom Way, which premiered at Toronto in 2024, won the AFRIFF Jury Prize and received Best Movie and Best Writing at the 2025 AMVCA. She also produced and served as showrunner of the Zikoko Life Series.

Keith Shiri

Festival Programmer · Jury Coordinator · Zimbabwe

International film curator, programmer and writer specialising in African cinema. Founder of Africa at the Pictures and the London African Film Festival, he has advised the BFI London Film Festival and Venice Film Festival and served on international festival juries.

Dr Ahmed Al Othman

Journalist · Film industry professional · Oman

An AFRIFF 2025 jury alumnus and member of the Oman Film Society, supporting international relations and cultural exchange. He champions opportunities connecting Omani filmmakers with the global film community.

Jean-Pierre Bekolo

Filmmaker · Author · Educator · Cameroon

Internationally recognised for Quartier Mozart and Les Saignantes, Bekolo explores African realities and futures through fiction, documentary and experimental cinema. He has taught at Duke University and was a Harvard McMillan-Stewart Fellow in 2024.

Fibby Kioria

Producer · Creative leader · Kenya

Founder of Mucii Pictures and former Program Director of Mira Nair's Maisha Film Lab, where she oversaw more than thirty short films. She co-created Return to the Source and serves on the Locarno Open Doors selection committee.

Jerry Chiemeke

Writer · Film critic · Journalist · Nigeria

Berlinale Talents and Talents Durban alumnus, pioneering Editor-in-Chief of Afrocritik and recipient of the Ken Saro-Wiwa Prize for Criticism. His writing connects African cinema with international audiences and cultural conversations.

Michel Tabet

Filmmaker · Anthropologist · France / Lebanon

Affiliated with CNRS and the French Institute for the Near East, Tabet explores society, memory and cultural identity through documentary. His films include Voices from Kasserine, Méditerranée and Habiter Beyrouth.

Femi Elufowoju Jr. OBE

Playwright · Actor · Director · Producer · Nigeria / United Kingdom

Founder of Tiata Fahodzi, with a career spanning theatre, film, television and opera. His directing credits include The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives and Opera North's Rigoletto. He received an OBE for services to drama in 2023.

Jemilah Alghali

Entertainment marketing · Brand strategy executive · Sierra Leone / United States

BET Media Group executive whose campaigns span the BET Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Love & Hip Hop Miami and Tyler Perry productions. Her work connects screen content, contemporary Black culture and audiences across Africa and the diaspora.