Olive Nwosu’s debut feature film, Lady, has been selected for the Panorama section of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, making it the only Nigerian title announced in the lineup so far.
The Berlinale, scheduled to run from February 12 to 22, 2026, revealed a new slate of films across its Panorama, Specials and Classics sections. Lady stands out among the African entries included in this latest announcement.
Set in Lagos, Lady follows a fiercely independent cab driver whose life changes after she encounters a close-knit group of sex workers. The interaction draws her into a world marked by both danger and possibility, triggering a personal transformation.
The film stars Jessica Gabriel Ujah, Amanda Oruh, Tinuade Jemiseye, Binta Ayo Mogaji, Seun Kuti and Bucci Franklin. At its center is a woman navigating a male-dominated society while earning enough to support herself and her grandmother in a city shaped by economic struggle.
Other films selected for the Panorama section include Paradise, a Canada-France-Ghana co-production by Jérémy Comte, and Safe Exit from Egyptian director Mohammed Hanmand. Morocco is represented in the Berlinale Classics lineup with Ahmed Bouanani’s Assarab (Mirage).
The wider Berlinale slate also features international titles such as Noah Segan’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, Padraic McKinley’s The Weight, and Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. The Panorama lineup includes Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment and Elle Sofe Sara’s debut Árru.
With the final festival selection set to be unveiled on January 20, Lady joins other African films from Ghana, Egypt and Morocco in gaining visibility at one of the world’s most influential film festivals.
