Five young Nigerian filmmakers have been shortlisted for the inaugural Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts (NPCA), established by NLNG in 2025 to celebrate creative excellence among the nation’s youth.
The prize, which attracted 98 entries, challenges participants to interpret the theme of ‘Identity’ through documentary filmmaking. The shortlisted documentaries will be reviewed in a series of posts examining how each entry aligns with NLNG’s vision for the award.
Feranmi Abiola’s documentary, ‘Mara Mania,’ explores the evolving sound, dance, and street culture shaped largely by young Nigerians. The film presents identity not as something inherited and fixed, but as something a new generation is actively creating.
One participant in the documentary captures the spirit of the initiative, stating: ‘We are cultural architects. It’s our job to document the times.’
The NPCA extends NLNG’s two-decade tradition of recognising exceptional Nigerian talent, which includes The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation. The winner will receive US$20,000.
‘Nigeria is constantly evolving,’ notes Anne-Marie Palmer Ikuku, Corporate Communications Manager of NLNG. ‘New expressions of our culture are emerging alongside the traditions we have inherited. If we do not encourage people to document these moments, important parts of the story of who we are and who we are becoming may simply pass undocumented.’
The prize’s Advisory Board comprises Prof. Adimora-Ezeigbo, Prof Ahmed Yerima, and Prof Olu Obafemi, with technical guidance from Joel ‘Kachi Benson and Femi Odugbemi.
The remaining four shortlisted documentaries will be featured in subsequent posts.
Appreciating the finalists for NLNG’s The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts (NPCA)
1. Mara Mania by Feranmi Abiola.
By Anne_Marie Palmer Ikuku
Five young Nigerian filmmakers are on the shortlist for the inaugural The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts (NPCA), established by NLNG in 2025.
Their challenge? To interpret one powerful theme: IDENTITY.
The Prize attracted 98 entries from remarkably talented and creative young Nigerians. Having had the opportunity to watch the entries, I was struck by the range of stories, perspectives, and expressions of Nigeria they captured.
Over the next few posts, I will focus on the five shortlisted documentaries, not simply to review them, but to reflect on how each speaks to NLNG’s purpose in establishing the Prize.
I begin with Mara Mania by Feranmi Abiola.
The documentary takes us into Mara, an evolving sound, dance and street culture shaped largely by young Nigerians. Through the voices of those creating it, we see identity not as something inherited and fixed, but as something a new generation is actively creating.
One comment particularly captures this: ‘We are cultural architects. It’s our job to document the times.’
That thought resonates strongly with the purpose of the NPCA.
Nigeria is constantly evolving. New expressions of our culture are emerging alongside the traditions we have inherited. If we do not encourage people to document these moments, important parts of the story of who we are and who we are becoming may simply pass undocumented.
That is part of what NLNG hopes to achieve with the Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts. Provide a platform that challenges young Nigerian creatives to look closely at their society, interrogate it, document it and tell its stories with excellence.
It is one of our core values at NLNG and a principle that has underpinned The Nigeria Prizes for more than two decades: the belief that exceptional Nigerian talent should be identified, encouraged and rewarded.
We have pursued that conviction through The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation. The NPCA extends it to a new generation, using creative expression to help us understand ourselves and preserve something of our times for those who come after us.
The winner receives US$20,000 – a deliberate recognition that creative excellence and the work of telling our stories have value.
As another voice in Mara Mania puts it, ‘For me, Mara means freedom. Freedom to express.’
Perhaps that is also part of the opportunity the NPCA represents. An opportunity for young Nigerians to express, interpret and document Nigeria through their own eyes.
Mara Mania is one such interpretation of IDENTITY, the theme for 2026, as defined by the Advisory Board – Prof. Adimora-Ezeigbo, Prof Ahmed Yerima, Prof Olu Obafemi, with the technical guidance of Joel ‘Kachi Benson and Femi Odugbemi.