Dakar International Film Festival (RECIDAK)

Overview

The Rencontres Cinematographiques de Dakar (RECIDAK) is Senegal's state-organized film festival. The first edition took place in 1990. The festival operates in Dakar, the westernmost capital city on the African mainland, a peninsula on the Atlantic coast. RECIDAK presents Senegalese films, African cinema, and international selections across approximately 50 films over 7 days. The 10th edition, held November 22 to 28, 2018, screened 25 Senegalese films alongside entries from Morocco, Angola, Cameroon, Mozambique, Palestine, Canada, Belgium, France, and Brazil.

For Senegalese filmmakers, RECIDAK is the primary domestic exhibition platform. The festival's programming prioritizes Senegalese cinema: half of the 2018 selection was local. The event also runs an international colloquium, professional meetings, a film market salon, technical workshops, and master classes. The 2018 theme, "Cinema and Development," framed the festival as both a cultural event and an economic development tool for the Senegalese film sector.

The festival has no FilmFreeway presence. Submissions are handled through the Ministry of Culture and the Direction de la Cinematographie. There is no public entry fee structure. Filmmakers interested in submitting should contact the organizing committee directly through the official website or the Direction de la Cinematographie.

Key Sections

• Senegalese Film Program - new Senegalese features and shorts, the largest section by volume (25 films in 2018)
• International Competition - films from across Africa and beyond competing for jury prizes
• Panorama of World Cinema - non-competitive international selections from Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East
• Documentary Program - nonfiction features and shorts
• Professional Forum - international colloquium, panels, and industry meetings on cinema and development
• Technical Workshops - training sessions in cinematographic techniques for emerging filmmakers
• Tributes and Homages - honors to pioneers of African cinema

What Filmmakers Should Know

Irregular Schedule

RECIDAK does not operate on a reliable annual cycle. The festival ran annually from 1990 to 1996 under the Consortium de Communication audiovisuelle en Afrique, led by journalist Annette Mbaye d'Erneville. The state took over organization in 1997. One edition took place in 2002. The festival then went dormant for 16 years. The 10th edition revived the event in November 2018 under then-Minister of Culture Abdou Latif Coulibaly. The 2023 edition was publicly promised by Minister Aliou Sow but did not materialize. Filmmakers should verify that the festival is happening before planning a submission or attendance. Check the official website or Senegal's Ministry of Culture announcements.

Submission Process

RECIDAK does not use FilmFreeway or other standard online submission platforms. The organizing committee handles submissions through direct contact. The 2018 edition programmed 25 Senegalese films out of approximately 50 total, meaning roughly half the selection is reserved for domestic cinema. International films are selected by invitation and through the organizing committee's network. Filmmakers with films addressing African diaspora themes, post-colonial identity, or Francophone West African stories have the strongest programming fit.

Venues

The 2018 edition used multiple venues across Dakar:

• Complex Sembene Ousmane / Magic Land (Safi Faye and Djibril Diop screens)
• Canal Olympia
• Cinema Empire
• Institut Francais
• Community centers in Rufisque, Pikine, and Guediawaye

The community center screenings are part of the festival's outreach strategy to bring cinema to Dakar's banlieues and outer neighborhoods, not just the central venues.

No Market Component

RECIDAK does not have an official film market. The 2018 edition included a "salon du film" (film market salon) and professional meetings, but these are small-scale compared to markets at FESPACO or Carthage. Filmmakers attending RECIDAK for distribution deals or co-production financing will find limited market infrastructure. The festival's value is in cultural exhibition, audience engagement, and networking within the Senegalese and Francophone West African film community.

Dakar Court Film Festival

A separate festival, the Festival Dakar Court, focuses exclusively on short fiction films. Its 9th edition runs December 8 to 12, 2026, in Dakar. The call for entries closes July 24, 2026. Dakar Court accepts films up to 45 minutes from African and diaspora filmmakers. Films must address African themes and include at least one scene shot on the African continent. Non-French-language films must be subtitled in French. Submissions go to soumissionfilms@festivaldakarcourt.com. This is a different event from RECIDAK and has a more reliable annual schedule.

Major Awards

The 2018 edition presented awards and distinctions. Specific award categories have varied across editions:

• Best Film - jury prize for the top competition film
• Best Senegalese Film - recognizing domestic production
• Audience Award - selected by festival attendees
• Tribute Distinctions - career honors (2018 recipients included stylist Oumou Sy, former CCM director Nour-Eddine Sail, and RECIDAK founder Annette Mbaye d'Erneville)

The festival has not published a consistent award structure across editions due to its intermittent schedule.

Festival History

RECIDAK was founded in 1990 by the Consortium de Communication audiovisuelle en Afrique, under the direction of Annette Mbaye d'Erneville, a Senegalese journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. The festival ran annually from 1990 to 1996, establishing itself as a meeting point for African cinema professionals. The Senegalese state assumed organizational control in 1997 and held one edition in 2002. After that, the festival went dormant for over a decade.

In 2017, the Direction de la Cinematographie announced plans to relaunch RECIDAK. The 10th edition finally took place November 22 to 28, 2018, under the theme "Cinema and Development." The organizing committee was led by Professor Magueye Kasse, with Hugues Diaz as coordinator. The 2018 edition screened approximately 50 films, including 25 Senegalese productions, across venues in Dakar and its suburbs. The opening film was L'Orage Africain - Un Continent sous Influence by Sylvestre Amoussou (Benin).

After 2018, the festival again went on hiatus. Minister of Culture Aliou Sow publicly committed to holding a 2023 edition, but it did not take place. As of July 2026, no new edition has been confirmed. The festival's irregular schedule reflects broader challenges in Senegal's cinema infrastructure, including limited exhibition venues and inconsistent public funding for cultural events.

Senegal's cinema tradition predates the festival. Ousmane Sembene, widely considered the father of African cinema, directed Black Girl (1966), the first feature by a sub-Saharan African director to receive international distribution. Djibril Diop Mambety's Touki Bouki (1973) is one of the most studied African films in cinema studies. Alain Gomis won the FESPACO Etalon d'Or de Yennenga in 2013 for Today and again in 2017 for Felicite. This production history gives RECIDAK its cultural significance, even as the festival struggles with operational continuity.

See Also

For the Panafrican film festival in Burkina Faso, see FESPACO Ouagadougou. For the Dakar short film festival, visit Festival Dakar Court. For West African cinema context, see International Film Markets. To evaluate the financial return of submitting to African festivals, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For festival strategy guidance, see Film Festival Strategy.