Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou)

Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou

Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou

Also known as: FESPACO, Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou
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FESPACO is the biennial festival of African cinema in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, first held in 1969. Its official competition is reserved for films by African filmmakers and filmmakers of the African diaspora, with sections for fiction and documentary features, short films (FESPACO Shorts), series, animation and film-school works, while the out-of-competition programmes Panorama, Focus, Diversities and the youth strand Sukabè are open to films from anywhere. The top award, the Étalon de Yennenga, dates back to 1972; short films compete for the Poulains de Yennenga.

Alongside the screenings, FESPACO Pro hosts the African International Film & TV Market (MICA) and the Yennenga workshops for co-production, post-production and training. The festival is organised by the Burkinabè Agency for Cinematography and Audiovisual (ABCA), created in November 2024 by merging the General Delegation of FESPACO with other national film bodies. The 30th edition runs from 20 to 27 March 2027.

Country

Burkina Faso

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Feature, Short, Student, Television

Dates

20 March 2027 — 27 March 2027

Awards and prizes

Official prize list. Étalons de Yennenga for feature films: Étalon d'or, d'argent and de bronze de Yennenga for fiction features, and the same three Étalons for documentary features. Poulains de Yennenga for FESPACO Shorts: Poulain d'or, d'argent and de bronze de Yennenga for short fiction, and the same three Poulains for short documentaries. Other official prizes (2025 list): awards for artistic collaboration (acting, screenplay, sound, set design, cinematography, music, editing); African film schools; animation; African series; Perspectives section (Oumarou Ganda prize for the best first fiction feature, Samba Félix N'Diaye prize for the best first documentary feature, Idrissa Ouedraogo prize for the best revelation); Paul Robeson prize for the best film of the diaspora; Grand Prix du Président du Faso for Burkinabè films; Thomas Sankara prizes; audience prize; Yennenga Post-production awards. Special prizes are funded by donors for films in the official competition and the Panorama section.

Festival rules

Official Competition: open to films by African filmmakers and filmmakers from the African diaspora, in the following categories: feature fiction (at least 60 minutes); feature documentary (at least 60 minutes); FESPACO Shorts, short fiction and documentary (1 to 35 minutes); film-school fiction or documentary (3 to 26 minutes); FESPACO Series (two consecutive 52-minute episodes, three 26-minute episodes or six 13-minute episodes); animation (1 to 35 minutes). Out of competition: Panorama, Focus, Diversities and Sukabè (youth programme), open to films from around the world. Eligibility for the 2027 edition: films no more than two years old as of 31 December 2026, not presented at a previous edition of FESPACO and not commercially released in Burkina Faso. Films are submitted through the FESPACO film submission page; a submission fee applies (50 euros for 2027).

Contacts

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