Global Migration Film Festival 2021

The Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF) by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an annual global event that showcases films and documentaries about migration and related topics. It aims to pave the way for greater discussion around one of the greatest phenomena of our time. The Global Migration Film Festival West and Central Africa Edition showcases films that capture the promise and challenges of migration.

Through the GMFF, IOM and its partners have engaged global audiences, and fostered constructive debates and engaging conversations on migration-related issues.

For 2021, the Global Migration Film Festival run from 20 November – 18 December 2021. Discover the official selection, the jury panel and the agenda of the Festival.

GMFF West and Central Africa Edition

Since 2020, IOM’s Regional Office in Dakar has led the West and Central Africa Edition of the Festival showcasing films about migration from the region.

This year (2021), a call for films has been launched to create the West and Central Africa Official Selection.

The call for submission is now closed and the official selection will be published soon.

How it works in the region

A committee of film professionals, returnees and migration specialists select several outstanding productions on migration to be screened during the Festival period, 20 November – 18 December 2021, in up to 14 countries in West and Central Africa: Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone..

Film screenings will take place across the region in different spaces, from cinemas to concert halls, to schools and universities, to hard-to-reach areas in rural communities. The screenings followed by debates and side events are organized by IOM country offices and their partners.

Why is it important?

Films have the power to show different facets of life, which can in turn help viewers cultivate deeper empathy for migrants and a better understanding of their realities, needs, perspectives and capacities.

The GMFF uses films as educational tools that can influence better perceptions and positive attitudes towards migrants, by bringing attention to social issues and creating safe spaces for respectful debate and interaction.

Furthermore, the Festival is an innovative creative avenue for normalizing discussions of migration through storytelling.

Films can: Inform, Inspire, Transform and Promote Inclusion