FAME Shorts 2026 programme unveiled
From Sundance, Tribeca and Rotterdam to Cape Town, FAME Shorts 2026 brings 36 films, major festival discoveries and premieres to the big screen – with tickets starting at just R75. The FAME Shorts Film Festival 2026 programme is officially live, and tickets are now on sale for three days of short-form cinema taking place from 30 October to 1 November 2026 at The Rockefeller Hotel in Cape Town.
The fourth edition of FAME Shorts brings together an international selection of short films with a strong African and South African presence, giving Cape Town audiences the chance to discover emerging filmmakers, acclaimed festival selections and films making their first appearance in Africa, South Africa and the city. This year’s festival brings together bold new voices, internationally travelled films and stories spanning drama, romance, documentary, animation, satire, horror and the wonderfully strange. Tickets are available through Quicket at R75 per screening block, while audiences wanting the full festival experience can purchase an All-Block Pass for R275.
The 2026 programme consists of 36 films which includes two World Premieres, ten African Premieres, six South African Premieres and eight Cape Town Premieres, giving audiences the opportunity to be among the first in the world, on the continent, in the country or in Cape Town to experience many of this year’s films. With nine screening blocks spread across three days, FAME Shorts is designed for both dedicated film lovers and audiences looking to discover something unexpected – whether that is an award-winning animated short, an international festival selection or a filmmaker making their debut before a Cape Town audience.
From Sundance, Tribeca and Rotterdam to Cape Town
Some of the films arriving at FAME Shorts Film Festival have already travelled through internationally recognised film festivals. Joining the programme is ‘APART’, directed by South African artist and filmmaker Pola Maneli, which will make its African Premiere at FAME Shorts. Following its World Premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, the animated short has enjoyed an impressive international run, winning Best Animated Short at the Provincetown International Film Festival and Best in Show at the SIGGRAPH 2026 Computer Animation Festival.
Set during apartheid, the film follows two boys whose friendship is tested by the divided world around them. Visionary writer Spike Lee infused the story with his bold perspective and personal cultural relevance. Grammy-winning South African musician Black Coffee shaped the film’s distinct soundscape as its Music Supervisor, and internationally-acclaimed local artist Pola Maneli directed the story with his rich visual style. Wardrobe designer Laduma Ngxokolo, South Africa’s leading fashion designer, created the distinctive isiXhosa style for the characters, fusing cultural heritage into the fabric of the story.
It joins an international line-up that includes ‘Miss You Perdularia’, an official selection at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival; ‘You Tryna Say You Love Me?’, which had its World Premiere at Tribeca 2026; ‘The Last Jiangshi’, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam; and ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’, which also began its festival journey at IFFR. Together, these selections underline the festival’s ambition to connect Cape Town audiences with short films that have already made their mark on the international festival circuit while putting new African voices and local filmmakers in the same conversation.
Be there for a World Premiere
FAME Shorts Film Festival is also giving Cape Town audiences the opportunity to see films before anyone else. ‘Juju’, by Robyn Phillips, and Ben Mall’s ‘Queezy Visits the Races’ are currently confirmed to have their World Premieres at FAME Shorts Film Festival 2026. They form part of a programme designed around discovery – whether that means seeing a film fresh from a major international festival, encountering a filmmaker from another part of Africa, or sitting in the cinema when a new film meets its first-ever audience. For audiences, that means FAME Shorts is not simply a showcase of films that have already travelled elsewhere. It is also a place to discover what is next – including films making their first-ever public appearance.
This year’s programme has films that have already travelled through festivals like Sundance, Tribeca and Rotterdam sitting alongside films that audiences will be seeing for the very first time. Come and see the film you know, but also take a chance on something you don’t. Discover a filmmaker you’ve never heard of and hopefully leave the cinema talking about a film you weren’t expecting. – Martin Hiller, Portfolio Director, FAME Week Africa
Five worlds to discover
The 2026 FAME Shorts Film Festival takes audiences on a journey through five distinct themes, each bringing together films connected by a shared mood, idea or way of looking at the world. Rather than presenting the programme as a single long list of films, FAME Shorts has grouped its 36 selections into five thematic worlds, giving audiences different ways into the festival and making it easier to find a screening that matches their mood.
Island Stories
The festival opens on 30 October with Island Stories presented in partnership with La Kourmétragerie. Taking audiences into the Indian Ocean through stories from Réunion, Mayotte and Mauritius, the programme explores how memory, heritage, family, love and environmental change shape who we are and where we belong. Moving between fiction, documentary and animation, the programme features ‘Misouk’, ‘Haraka Haraka’, ‘52 Reasons’, ‘Lo Chain Lo Bassin’ and ‘Pie dan lo’.
At First Light
On 31 October, At First Light turns towards hope and the people who choose to keep moving forward. Through music, sport, dance, community and tradition, these stories explore courage, possibility and the belief that change can begin even in difficult circumstances. The programme features ‘Sikelela’, ‘Sanctuary’, ‘Leopard of Congo’ and ‘Klop Klop’.
Follow the White Rabbit
As darkness falls, audiences are invited to Follow the White Rabbit, where the ordinary becomes wonderfully strange. Across two screening blocks, reality begins to shift as the films move into darker, eerie, uncanny and sometimes downright bizarre territory. For audiences willing to follow wherever the rabbit leads, the programme features ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’, ‘Juju’, ‘Sugarcane, Burning’, ‘Goat’, ‘Burning Lies’, ‘The Last Jiangshi’, ‘Colour of Dreams’ and ‘Dread’.
On the Horizon
Later that evening, On the Horizon looks at familiar worlds from unexpected perspectives. Moving between romance, satire and social critique, these films question inherited rules, challenge the systems around us and find humour and humanity in people willing to push against convention. The programme features ‘Vimba! Pt 2’, ‘Whispers of a Burning Scent’, ‘Luna’ and ‘Aasvoëls (Vultures)’.
And They Lived
The festival’s final day, 1 November, belongs to And They Lived — stories that remind us that life does not end with happily ever after. Across four screening blocks, the programme explores passion, creativity, relationships, resilience and second chances. These are stories about choosing what makes us feel alive, finding the courage to begin again and learning to live life on our own terms. The programme features ‘Miss You Perdularia’, ‘Dears in the Headlights’, ‘The Father of the Queen of Angola’, ‘Amigo the Griot’, ‘Runner’, ‘Don’t Pity the Girl’, ‘It’s Just a Movie’, ‘Ubani Lore?; ‘APART’, ‘A Poppy on a Hill’, ‘Talking to Family’, ‘You Tryna Say You Love Me?’, ‘The Man, The Cliff and The Dog’, ‘Everything Between Us’ and ‘Queezy Visits the Races’.
<span style=”color:blue”>Across the five themes, the festival moves from island stories and hopeful journeys to the uncanny, social satire, romance, resilience and second chances – reflecting the range of ways contemporary short filmmakers are using the form to tell stories that can be intimate, provocative, funny, unsettling and deeply human.</span>
The full programme, screening times and further information about each of the selected films are available on the FAME Shorts Film Festival website.
Cape Town welcomes filmmakers and film lovers
As Host City of FAME Week Africa, the City of Cape Town continues its support of FAME Shorts Film Festival, welcoming filmmakers and audiences to a city with a strong connection to film, television and the creative industries. The festival also places Cape Town talent firmly within the wider programme, with 13 films by Cape Town filmmakers represented in this year’s selection.
Cape Town has an incredible filmmaking community, and it is particularly exciting to see 13 films by Cape Town filmmakers represented in this year’s FAME Shorts programme. Having their work shown on the big screen alongside films from across Africa and around the world speaks to the depth of creative talent we have in the city. FAME Shorts gives these filmmakers a platform to have their work seen, celebrated and positioned as part of a much bigger international film conversation. – Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, City of Cape Town
For Cape Town audiences, the festival offers the opportunity to see local filmmakers represented alongside international selections, creating a programme that connects the city’s creative community with a broader African and global short-film landscape.
A partnership with purpose
There is one member of the FAME Shorts team who has become increasingly difficult to ignore: the penguin. The African penguin sits at the heart of the FAME Shorts identity, leading its slightly unruly film crew across this year’s campaign and encouraging audiences to “Follow the penguins. Find your next favourite film.”
This year, the mascot has an added connection, with CapeNature joining FAME Shorts Film Festival as a Supporting Partner. While the festival penguin brings humour and personality to FAME Shorts, the story facing its real-life counterparts is far more serious. The African penguin is listed as Critically Endangered, with CapeNature reporting in 2025 that fewer than 8,750 breeding pairs remained in South Africa. CapeNature manages important conservation areas that include the African penguin colony at Stony Point Nature Reserve in Betty’s Bay.
The partnership gives FAME Shorts Film Festival an opportunity to use the affection audiences have for its penguin mascot to also shine a light on one of the Western Cape’s most recognisable and threatened species.
The African penguin is one of the Western Cape’s most iconic species, but it is also facing an extremely serious conservation challenge. The FAME Shorts penguin provides a fun and creative way to start an important conversation with new audiences about the species and why protecting it matters. We are delighted to support FAME Shorts Film Festival and to see storytelling, creativity and conservation coming together in such an engaging way,” – Dr Ashley Naidoo, CapeNature: CEO
CapeNature continues to work alongside conservation partners on measures aimed at protecting African penguin colonies and improving the species’ chances of survival.
Tickets now on sale
Audiences can build their own FAME Shorts experience, choosing individual screening blocks for R75 each, or go all in with an All-Block Pass for R275. Tickets are now available through Quicket
With nine screening blocks across three days, audiences can choose individual films and themes or experience the full FAME Shorts programme from beginning to end. Across three days, there are opportunities to discover films from Africa and around the world, see World, African, South African and Cape Town Premieres, and experience some of the filmmakers and stories shaping the future of short-form cinema.
Whether you are a dedicated cinephile, an aspiring filmmaker, a lover of African cinema or simply looking for something different to watch, FAME Shorts offers an opportunity to discover films that may not otherwise reach the big screen in Cape Town.
A snapshot of the films to watch
From acclaimed international festival selections to films making their first appearance in Africa, South Africa or the world, these are some of the standout titles arriving at FAME Shorts 2026.
- ‘APART’ — Following its World Premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, Pola Maneli’s acclaimed animated short ‘APART’, written by Spike Lee, Tim Jones, Jeff Leisewitz and Lubabalo Mtati, makes its African Premiere at FAME Shorts 2026, following wins for Best Animated Short at Provincetown International Film Festival and Best in Show at SIGGRAPH 2026.
- ‘JUJU’ — ‘JUJU’ will make its World Premiere at the 2026 FAME Shorts Film Festival in Cape Town, screening as part of the festival’s wonderfully strange ‘Follow the White Rabbit’ programme.
- ‘Queezy Visits the Races’ — ‘Queezy Visits the Races’ will make its World Premiere at FAME Shorts 2026, screening as part of the festival’s closing ‘And They Lived’ programme on 1 November.
- ‘Miss You Perdularia’ — An official selection at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, ‘Miss You Perdularia’ comes to Cape Town for its African Premiere at the 2026 FAME Shorts Film Festival.
- ‘You Tryna Say You Love Me?’ — Following its World Premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, ‘You Tryna Say You Love Me?’ makes its African Premiere at FAME Shorts 2026.
- ‘The Last Jiangshi’ — After making its World Premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2026, ‘The Last Jiangshi’ comes to FAME Shorts for its African Premiere.
- ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’ — Zimbabwean short film ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’ arrives at FAME Shorts following its World Premiere at IFFR 2026, and will make its South African Premiere as part of the festival’s ‘Follow the White Rabbit’ programme.
For more from FAME Week Africa, including the latest stories, interviews, announcements and highlights from the event: Explore the TVMzansi FAME Week Africa Hub.
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