Nollywood legend Patience Ozokwor (Mama G) joins WIBFF 2026, presented with the Black Scholars Institute, for four days of film, culture and celebration.
The Windsor International Black Film Festival (WIBFF) makes its third comeback from August 13 to 16, 2026, co-produced with the Black Scholars Institute at the University of Windsor. The official selection for this year includes 40 films screening at ArtSpeak Gallery inside the Arts Council Windsor and Region, located at 1942 Wyandotte St. E. The event starts with a full-day symposium on August 13 and concludes with Gala Night and the WIBFF Humanitarian Awards at Caesars Windsor on August 16.
Having reached its third year, WIBFF has become a defining cultural highlight along the Windsor-Detroit corridor. The 2026 lineup includes feature films, short films, and documentaries made by Black filmmakers from Canada, the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, and the broader diaspora. These are paired with filmmaker talks, industry panels, and community events designed to create opportunities for the next wave of Black storytellers in cinema.
“Black stories deserve the biggest possible stage, and Windsor is giving them one,” said Dr. Queen Eghujovbo, CEO and Founder of Zalent Creatives Group. “Every film in this year’s programme was chosen with intention, to challenge audiences, to celebrate our artists, and to connect communities across borders and generations. WIBFF exists because our filmmakers, our young people, and our community deserve a space where our stories sit at the centre of the screen.”
WIBFF 2026 will feature Nollywood icon Patience Ozokwor, commonly called Mama G, as a special guest. With more than 100 film credits and a career spanning over twenty years, Ozokwor ranks among the most celebrated actresses in African cinema. She is a two-time winner of the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and received the Industry Merit Award at the 2023 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. She recently reached global audiences as Madam Pat in Mo Abudu’s Netflix films Chief Daddy and Chief Daddy 2: Going for Broke. Her appearance at WIBFF represents a major milestone for the festival and the ongoing exchange between Nollywood and Black Canadian cinema.
The festival kicks off on August 13 with the Black Creative Economy Symposium, a full day of panels covering film, funding, artificial intelligence, and the business of Black creative work, organized alongside the Black Scholars Institute. Screenings start the next morning with welcome remarks at 9:45 AM and the opening film, The Perfect Match, at 10:00 AM on Friday, August 14. Friday features the programme’s longest films, including Force of Blue, Destiny of a Migrant, The Battle of Henry Johnson, and The Thing About Pain.
Saturday, August 15 runs from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM and offers the broadest range of selections, starting with In My Circle and Missing, moving through Ifediche in the afternoon, and wrapping up the evening with a shorts block including Nneoma, Homegirls in Outer Space, and Beg Yuh A Call. The screening schedule concludes on Sunday morning with a shorts block featuring Harvest, To Move in My Mother’s Prayers, and the closing film Goodbye at 10:15 AM.
WIBFF’s partnership with the Black Scholars Institute roots the festival in a wider mission to educate, elevate, and expand access to Black cinema throughout the region. Programming goes beyond the screen, linking filmmakers with scholars, students, and audiences in a city situated along one of North America’s most culturally significant borders.
“WIBFF has grown into one of the most important cultural moments on the Windsor-Detroit corridor, and the strength of this year’s programme reflects the depth of talent, partnership, and community commitment behind it,” said Christopher Alexander, Board Chair of Zalent Creatives Group. “Our role as a board is to make sure this festival has the foundation to keep growing, so that year after year, the region has a home for Black cinema at the highest level.”
The festival concludes with Gala Night and the WIBFF Humanitarian Awards at Caesars Windsor on August 16, honoring filmmakers, industry leaders, and community champions whose work shapes each edition. Under the theme Legacy and Liberation, Legacy and Liberation, the evening begins with a red carpet at 5:00 PM, followed by dinner and the awards ceremony at 6:00 PM, ending at 10:00 PM. Cocktail attire is encouraged.
Tickets can be purchased at filmfreeway.com/WIBFF/tickets, and the full programme is available at wibff.com. The festival is on Instagram at @windsorblackfilmfest, on Facebook as Windsor Black Film Festival, and on YouTube at @wibff.
WIBFF 2026 at a Glance
Thursday, August 13 | 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Black Creative Economy Symposium
ArtSpeak Gallery, Arts Council Windsor & Region
1942 Wyandotte St. E
Friday, August 14 | 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Opening Day Screenings
Welcome remarks and opening film, The Perfect Match
ArtSpeak Gallery, Arts Council Windsor & Region
1942 Wyandotte St. E
Saturday, August 15 | 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Full Day of Features and Shorts
ArtSpeak Gallery, Arts Council Windsor & Region
1942 Wyandotte St. E
Sunday, August 16 | 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
Closing Shorts Programme
Closing film, Goodbye
ArtSpeak Gallery, Arts Council Windsor & Region
1942 Wyandotte St. E
Sunday, August 16 | 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Gala Night and the WIBFF Humanitarian Awards
Legacy and Liberation
Caesars Windsor
377 Riverside Drive East
Nadine Spencer
Windsor International Black Film Festival
+1 416-708-0521
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