African filmmakers have a new international platform to showcase their work following the announcement that Alternativa Film Festival will hold its first African edition in 2027, with $120,000 (approximately KSh 15.5 million) in prize money up for grabs.
The Global South film festival, founded and supported by global mobility company inDrive, officially opened submissions for its fourth edition during MIP Africa in Cape Town on October 29, 2026.
The 2027 edition will welcome feature film submissions from Africa, Asia and Latin America, while short film entries will be exclusively open to African filmmakers, placing the continent at the centre of the festival's next chapter.
All submitted films must have been completed after January 1, 2026. Filmmakers can submit their work for free through the festival's official website, with the deadline set for March 1, 2027.
$120,000 in Prizes for Filmmakers
Alternativa Film Festival will distribute $120,000 across seven award categories, with three awards specifically reserved for African filmmakers.
These include the Focus Award, worth $20,000, and two Short Film Awards, each carrying a $10,000 prize. African filmmakers will also be eligible to compete for the remaining awards.
Directors whose films are selected for the Competition will be invited to attend the festival and awards ceremony, with Alternativa covering their travel and accommodation expenses.
The festival is scheduled to take place in late 2027, although the host country, city and exact dates are yet to be announced.
Taking Global South Stories to International Audiences
Alternativa champions impact-driven cinema from the Global South, a region that is home to roughly five out of every six people worldwide but remains under-represented on screen.
Beyond its festival programme, the initiative is also working to improve access to international audiences through Alternativa Distribution, a non-profit distribution model launched earlier in 2026.
The model provides filmmakers with an upfront minimum guarantee for non-theatrical rights, funds subtitling and dubbing, and shares revenue after recovering direct distribution costs. The approach is designed to reinvest in filmmakers and local film industries.
"Exceptional filmmaking can come from anywhere, but access to international audiences is still hindered by a deeply unequal system," said Arsen Tomsky, founder and CEO of inDrive.
"Alternativa Distribution was created to challenge that imbalance."
Its growing catalogue includes Nepal's Elephants in the Fog, Malaysia's Lost Land, Afghanistan's No Good Men and Tunisia's Four Daughters, alongside other films from previous editions of the festival.
Films selected for the 2027 edition may also be considered for inclusion in the Alternativa Distribution catalogue.
Festival Records 11,000 Attendees in 2026
Alternativa Film Festival operates as a nomadic event, moving to a different region with each edition.
It began in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2023, before moving to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 2024. Its 2026 edition was held in Medellín, Colombia, where it recorded its largest turnout so far.
The Medellín festival received 1,831 film submissions from 55 countries and attracted 11,000 attendees. It also welcomed 107 international guests and brought together more than 60 partners.
Head of Alternativa Liza Surganova said the festival's expansion to Africa would build on the connections and opportunities created through previous editions.
She described the continent as home to diverse cultures, perspectives and cinematic voices, adding that the organisers hoped the new edition would deepen conversations around transformative cinema and create valuable connections within the industry.
What to Expect at Alternativa 2027
The 2027 festival will feature public screenings, discussions and other events exploring the social issues addressed in selected films.
The programme will conclude with an awards ceremony recognising films that combine artistic excellence with the potential to drive meaningful social change.
It will also include Industry Days, a professional programme designed to connect filmmakers, producers, industry experts and social impact leaders from across the Global South.
Malaysian producer Elise Shick, whose film Lost Land won the Nativa Award at the 2026 edition, said the festival had helped build connections and collaborations across the film industry.
She revealed that a co-production project involving nine countries had already emerged from relationships formed through the festival, expressing hope that it could premiere at the next edition in Africa.
How to Submit Your Film
Alternativa Film Festival is accepting fiction, documentary, animation and hybrid films across all genres.
Feature films are open to filmmakers from Africa, Asia and Latin America, while short film submissions are restricted to African filmmakers for the 2027 edition.
Entries must have been completed after January 1, 2026, and submissions close on March 1, 2027.
Filmmakers can submit their projects for free through the official Alternativa Film Festival website, where they can also find the full eligibility requirements, list of eligible countries and details of the award categories.
