Wapah Ezeigwe’s Shall We Meet Tonight continued its success from the October 2025 nominations to emerge as one of the biggest winners at the 2026 FilmJoint Awards.
The queer romance, produced by Bisi Alimi and chronicling the love story of two women, took home three of the night’s top honors: Best African Film, Best Picture, and Best Cinematography.
Tying in acclaim, On Our Skin, a story about forbidden words from banned books appearing on students’ skin as a form of rebellion, also secured three awards: Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Production Design.
Shall We Meet Tonight had entered the awards with ten nominations, winning three while losing seven, including Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Indigenous Film. Similarly, On Our Skin won three of its seven nods.
Other notable winners included Isekonu, which claimed one award for Best Indigenous Film (Nigeria) out of nine nominations, and Ovisa, which won two of seven nominations for Best Sound Overall and Best Costume Design.
Among the night’s most nominated films that did not win, Peter Inyang’s faith-based drama Unbound, starring Stan Nze and Chinelo Ejianwu, went home empty-handed despite eight nominations, including Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.
With the ceremony held on February 7, 2026, the FilmJoint Awards continue to spotlight bold African stories, celebrating the creativity, talent, and dedication behind short films.
Below is the full list of 2026 winners across 19 categories:
- Best Makeup/SFX — Anuoluwapo Fayenuwo —Two of Us
- Best Costume Design — Jadesimi Latifat Ifunanya —Ovisa
- Best Production Design — Nneka Jane Mekwunye —On Our Skin
- Best Film Editing — Tobi Hassan —The Cry
- Best Sound Overall — Kolade Mann —Ovisa
- Best Cinematography — Ayoola Oladimeji —Shall We Meet Tonight
- Best Student Film — Yinka Ikubuwaje —Omo Eko (Nigeria)
- Best Documentary Film — Shedrack Salami —Beyond Olympic Glory
- Best Screenplay Original or Adapted — Uchenna Ugwu —I, Too Crave Death
- Best Actor in a Leading Role — Korede Lawal —On Our Skin
- Best Actress — Diekola Blessing —Two of Us
- NAIFF Best AI Film — David Mgbeahuru —Godzilla in Lagos
- FilmJoint Award for Voice of Impact — Mel Rouge —Toll Free
- Jury Award for Outstanding Storytelling— Levgen Koshyn —Chop, Chop
- Best Picture — Bisi Alimi and Lanre Njoku —Shall We Meet Tonight
- Best International Film —Adi Alfa —Bleached out (UK)
- Best African Film —Bisi Alimi and Lanre Njoku—Shall We Meet Tonight
- Best Indigenous Film (Nigeria) — Adeojo ‘Story Priest Emmanuel —Isekonu
- Best Director — Adeojo ‘Story Priest Emmanuel, Abiodun Udom —On Our Skin
