FESPACO (Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou)

Overview

FESPACO (Festival Panafricain du Cinema et de la Television de Ouagadougou) is Africa's largest and oldest film festival. The 29th edition took place February 22 to March 1, 2025 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The 30th edition is scheduled for February 27 to March 6, 2027. The festival operates on a biennial cycle (odd-numbered years), and the next submission window opens February 24, 2026 with a deadline of September 20, 2026.

For African filmmakers and diaspora directors, FESPACO is the primary continental festival. The official competition is restricted to films directed by Africans or members of the African diaspora. The Golden Stallion of Yennenga (Etalon d'Or de Yennenga) is the top prize, carrying a cash award of 20 million CFA francs (approximately USD 33,000). The festival also operates MICA (Marche International du Cinema Africain), an industry marketplace for African film and television content.

The festival is managed by ABCA (Agence Burkinabee de la Cinematographie et de l'Audiovisuel), the Burkinabe government agency for cinema and audiovisual arts. Submissions for the 2027 edition are made through the FESPACO website at fespaco.bf.

Key Sections

Official Competition (African and Diaspora Filmmakers Only)

• Feature Fiction - narrative features, minimum 60 minutes
• Feature Documentary - nonfiction features, minimum 60 minutes
• FESPACO Shorts - short fiction and documentary films, 1-35 minutes
• Cinema Schools - fiction or documentary films from film schools, 3-15 minutes
• FESPACO Series - television series: 2 consecutive episodes of 52 minutes each, or 3 episodes of 26 minutes each, or 6 episodes of 13 minutes each
• Animation - animated films, 1-35 minutes
• Perspectives - emerging talent section
• Burkina Films - films from Burkina Faso
• Critics Week - curated by African film critics

Out-of-Competition (Open to Filmmakers Worldwide)

• Panorama - non-competitive showcase
• Focus - thematic programming
• Diversites - diversity-focused programming
• Sukabe - youth program
• FESPACO Classics - retrospective and restoration screenings
• FESPACO VR - virtual reality works
• Carte Blanche - invited curators

What Filmmakers Should Know

Submission Process

Submissions for FESPACO 2027 (30th edition) open February 24, 2026 and close September 20, 2026 at 23:59. Registration is made through the FESPACO website via the Faso Arzeka digital platform.

Registration fee: 50 EUR (approximately USD 54) per film.

Required submission materials (in French and English):

• Technical and artistic specification sheet
• Synopsis (400 characters maximum)
• Director bio-filmography (400 characters maximum)
• Two film posters (portrait and landscape, JPEG 300 dpi)
• Download and viewing link of the film in MPEG-4 (H.264) format, valid through December 31, 2026
• Director passport-size photo (JPEG 300 dpi)
• Film stills (JPEG 300 dpi, portrait and landscape)

Films in languages other than French or English must be subtitled or dubbed in French or English. Registration is limited to a maximum of 3 films per director and can be submitted by the director, producer, or distributor.

Eligibility Requirements

• Competition: Open only to films directed by African filmmakers or members of the African diaspora
• Out-of-competition: Open to filmmakers worldwide
• Films must not be more than 2 years old as of December 31, 2026
• Films must not have been screened at a previous FESPACO edition
• Films must not have been screened in Burkina Faso
• Screening copies must reach FESPACO no later than January 15, 2027

Prize Money (2025 Edition)

The 2025 edition awarded the following cash prizes in the feature fiction competition:

• Etalon d'Or de Yennenga (Golden Stallion): 20 million CFA francs (approximately USD 33,000) - won by Dani Kouyate for Katanga, la danse des scorpions (Burkina Faso)
• Etalon d'Argent de Yennenga (Silver Stallion): 10 million CFA francs (approximately USD 16,500) - won by Mo Harawe for The Village Next to Paradise (Somalia)
• Etalon de Bronze de Yennenga (Bronze Stallion): 5 million CFA francs (approximately USD 8,250) - won by Rungano Nyoni for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Zambia)
• Public Prize (Audience Award): 3 million CFA francs - won by Katanga, la danse des scorpions
• Paul Robeson Prize (Best Diaspora Film): 2 million CFA francs - won by Malaury Eloi Paisley for L'Homme-Vertige (Guadeloupe)
• Thomas Sankara Prize (Pan-Africanism): 5 million CFA francs - won by Our land, our freedom (Kenya)

In the documentary feature competition, the Golden Stallion carried a prize of 10 million CFA francs, won by L'Homme-Vertige (Guadeloupe). Short film categories (Poulain d'Or, d'Argent, de Bronze) carried prizes of 5 million, 3 million, and 2 million CFA francs respectively.

MICA Industry Marketplace

MICA (Marche International du Cinema Africain) is the festival's industry marketplace, connecting African film and television producers with international buyers, distributors, and broadcasters. The marketplace operates during the festival and includes pitch sessions, co-production meetings, and industry panels.

Practical Considerations

Ouagadougou is a landlocked West African capital. Direct flights are limited; most international travelers connect through Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Accra (Ghana), or Paris. The festival draws hundreds of thousands of attendees, and accommodation fills months in advance. Filmmakers planning to attend should book travel and lodging as early as possible.

The biennial format means FESPACO operates on a two-year cycle. The 2027 edition (30th anniversary) is the next confirmed edition. Filmmakers targeting FESPACO should plan their production and post-production schedule around the September 2026 submission deadline.

Major Awards

• Golden Stallion of Yennenga (Etalon d'Or) - Best Feature Film, 20 million CFA francs
• Silver Stallion (Etalon d'Argent) - Second prize, 10 million CFA francs
• Bronze Stallion (Etalon de Bronze) - Third prize, 5 million CFA francs
• Best Documentary - Golden Stallion in documentary category, 10 million CFA francs
• Best Short Film - Poulain d'Or, 5 million CFA francs
• Public Prize (Audience Award) - 3 million CFA francs
• Paul Robeson Prize - Best diaspora film, 2 million CFA francs
• Thomas Sankara Prize - Pan-Africanism promotion, 5 million CFA francs
• FIPRESCI Prize - International critics' prize
• Sembene Ousmane Prize - awarded by the Ecobank Foundation
• Various thematic prizes - including human rights and pan-African unity themes

Festival History

FESPACO was founded in 1969 by a group of Burkinabe film enthusiasts who organized screenings of African films in the capital. The Burkina Faso government quickly recognized the cultural importance of the event and provided institutional support. FESPACO grew through the 1970s and 1980s as African cinema flourished under directors including Ousmane Sembene (Senegal), Djibril Diop Mambety (Senegal), and Souleymane Cisse (Mali).

The 2025 edition (29th) was held under the presidency of Captain Ibrahim Traore, Burkina Faso's transitional head of state. The Golden Stallion was awarded to Dani Kouyate for Katanga, la danse des scorpions, marking Burkina Faso's first Golden Stallion in 28 years. The film also won the Public Prize with an average audience score of 9.18/10, the Sembene Ousmane Prize, the UEMOA Special Prize, and the Paulin Soumanou Vieyra African Critics' Prize.

The 2027 edition will be the 30th anniversary. Submissions open February 24, 2026, with a final deadline of September 20, 2026.

See Also

For understanding African cinema markets, see International Film Markets. For festival circuit planning, see Film Festival Strategy. To calculate the financial return of festival submissions, see the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator.